The bright side, Part 6
Recent hire Jason Vaughn, who often rides bikes with his wife, stays focused by integrating health breaks into his day.
Jason Vaughn, clinical information technology operations manager
As a new member of the IT staff in Dallas, I didn’t have a lot of time to get settled in the office before the stay-at-home orders were issued. I joined the staff on March 2 and feel I have a bit of a unique perspective.
Working from home as a newly hired employee forced me to switch gears; where I would normally shadow others on the team and learn how they work, I was immediately “thrown in the deep end” to help other team members across Texas A&M Health IT find solutions so our staff and clinicians could work from home. I was able to leverage experience I had picked up throughout my career and contribute more directly than I would have believed possible given my newness. It was gratifying to be involved in those efforts and see it pay off big-time in the ensuing weeks.
I think the way my life has been most impacted—for better or worse (depends on the day!)—has been that I no longer adhere to a rigid “8-to-5” work schedule. I used to block off my time and keep work and personal time apart. Nowadays, I find that I still accomplish eight or nine hours of work in a day, if not more, but it’s spread out over more hours. This allows me to take frequent breaks, which is something I like.
I often find myself starting around 7:30 a.m., taking a “working lunch” at my desk and continuing well into the 6-7 p.m. hour. I will work furiously for a few minutes, stretch, work some more, then go for a walk, etc. Working my full day spread out over nontraditional working hours accommodates this lifestyle.
It can be easy to get too involved in work and not set aside time for family, exercise or other healthy habits. Everything should be balanced in moderation; something I’m still learning as I grow accustomed to this role.
