Working Remotely in the Pandemic: A Day of a Textbook Editor

What happens to a textbook packager employee in the wake of the coronavirus? In some respects, nothing. But, in the midst of a pandemic, it remains important to keep yourself grounded.

The Academic publishing marketplace, with deadlines annually to provide for school systems across the country, must push on. These books are not luxury, nor are they convenience items. Textbooks (or textbook-adjacent materials) are seen as a necessity for kids across the globe. For a textbook publisher, that means that in the wake of this urgent pandemic, it's close to being business as usual. And, because our clients are moving forward with projects, working in a textbook packager seems to still be a steady employment option. Which is great for any and all of you looking for a job in the industry.

In this short post, I want to focus on an average day while I work at home. Maybe some of these tricks will help those not accustomed to working at home.

8:00 - Wake up

8:30 - Check on my checklist of the day. I write down in a notebook if there are certain tasks today that I wish to accomplish. There are standard ones, like my meals, as well as a few exercise challenges I have going for a 30-day ab challenge, for example.

9:00 - Breakfast, and check emails and/or chat messages from coworkers. I usually have a task that has transferred over from the day before. In which case, I continue working on said task. If nothing comes in, I talk to coworkers and see how I can help them out.

12:00 - Eat lunch. After lunch, I may do the first set of my daily exercises. I find it extremely helpful, and I feel more productive after working my body out even a little.

Around 1:00 I usually have a meeting for a company-wide announcement, or project update. These are crucial, as it's important to stay in contact with people. These meetings help your company still feel like a professional organization.

The rest of the business day, is business as usual. I typically have editorial service work to do these days, which basically entails anything from proofreading, to creating alternative text.

Here are a few behind the scenes activities I work into my weekly life:

1) Go to therapy. I find that because I have an anxious mind, this is still an essential step to my weekly life.

2) Do homework & catch up on the publishing world. These things are sometimes simultaneous.

3) Read a book/week, or at least bi-weekly. This is great for mental health.

4) Weekly phone calls with family and friends.

Comment below and let us know if you have other tips and tricks. Let us know what your day-to-day life is like.