Life Management by Driving Around



Tuesday and Thursdays are traveling days this summer... most of my work on these days is in the homes of families all over Western New York, providing early intervention and home-based preschool services.

  1. There isn't much to do in a car by yourself, so I spend a lot of time thinking. Here are some things that crossed my mind while driving around today:

  1. I thought about buying a Hybrid vehicle to save on gas.
  2. I thought about my newest niece.
  3. Because I am alone in the universe I considered submitting an article to OT Practice on virtual contexts and Blogs.
  4. I checked the Power Vista and Lewiston-Queenston bridge for signs of terrorists. What a world we live in.
  5. I wondered if there was a web site that had lists of what students (i.e. my son) need for college (A google search tonight solved that problem).
  6. I wondered if all my daughters have strep throat (oldest does, younger ones pending).
  7. I thought about my grandmother.
  8. I mentally designed a brochure to advertise a staff member's expertise and certification in lymphedema management for the Lockport office.
  9. I wondered how long it would take me to operationalize my mentally designed brochure.
  10. After seeing a bunch of kids I stopped in Lockport and had an unsuccesful fight with the motors in the Fluidotherapy machine. I decided that I didn't want to be the resident electrician. Expenses be darned - I want someone else to fix these things for me.
  11. I thought about how good it feels to get paperwork done, so I spent the afternoon writing notes.

This is just a small sample, of course. I remember reading an article in an undergraduate management course about 'MBWA' or 'Management By Walking Around.' The idea is that you could keep tabs on 'things' by walking around the worksite and interacting casually along the way. 20 years later and I find that I have modified the concept into 'Life Management by Driving Around.'

If I didn't have my drive time, when would I get anything done?

Comments

Anonymous said…
MBWA is my favorite way to keep in touch with colleagues and supervisees. What I used to see as interruptions and added work I now see as building relationships and staying in touch. Love the random stream of consciousness!
Dee

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