As PhD students, working from home is an option for many of us on a “normal” day – as indeed is increasingly the case with jobs which primarily need just an Internet connection. But, thanks to COVID-19, working from home (WFH) is our new collective reality. So how can we make this work well, when for many, our offices may only now be a few steps away from our beds? We asked around for advice on this matter from current PhD students.
Remember to take a break every half an hour or so. Go away from the desk!
It can be easy to forget to take a break when you’re “at home”, even if you’re also “at work”, and especially when you’re likely closer to the kettle/food/toilet than you would be otherwise. Get up, move around!
Stick to a regular schedule: when you wake up, go to sleep, work, relax, etc.
This is great advice for doing a PhD in general, but even more pertinent now that our routines have been turned upside down.
Pretend that you “go to and from work”, i.e take a morning and afternoon walk/cycle to mark the start and end of your work day.
A commute can be a great time to wake up in the morning and wind down in the evening. Get creative with what you can (safely, and in accordance with government guidance) do to replace your commute during this time.
Pretend that you go to work by dressing accordingly, it makes the brain active and makes you stronger against the ‘do something else’ or ‘ relax’ mode activated by the comfy at home clothes.
It’s tempting to work wearing pyjamas, but will this help your productivity and mindset? Getting dressed for work can also help to maintain your work-life balance.
Look after your posture. If possible, sit at a desk with a screen at the right height.
Try to follow standard health and safety advice when it comes to working long hours at a desk. If possible, invest time and money in making your home working environment a comfortable and non-straining place to be.
If you can at all help it, don’t work in the room where you sleep. It can cause difficulties sleeping.
This also helps add some breaks and changes in your day, which can help to maintain focus and motivation.
Enjoy the benefits of working from home: take a break to actually cook lunch, get things done around the house. Let yourself appreciate the things that are handy about it as well as the negatives.
Being able to get away from your work and do something like ironing, cooking, baking or cleaning might actually help your productivity and concentration by providing a better break than you might otherwise get in an office. Embrace it!
Schedule social e-contact. Don’t let yourself go more than a day without at least hearing someone’s voice on the phone. Use the opportunity to reconnect with old friends.
In Reading, we’re making extensive use of Microsoft Teams to remain in contact with each other and try to mimic our vibrant work atmosphere.
Do (as long as it’s safe to do so) go for walks, head outside, make sure you do some exercise twice a week.
Luckily, we’ve got some very nice weather this week in most of the UK. But do please adhere to social distancing guidelines when you do go outside.
It can be easy for the lines between work and life outside of work to be blurred during a PhD at the best of times, and WFH can make this more problematic. Set your hours, and stick to it.
If you work 8-4, work 8-4! At 4pm, switch your computer off and do something different. Without an evening commute, it can be trickier to bring an end to your working day, but this is probably one of the most important things to maintain.
Most operating systems, including Windows 10, support multiple virtual desktops. Try using one of those for your virtual “work” PC, and another as your virtual “home” PC. Then you can keep the two segregated.
At the end of the day you can switch to your “home” desktop, and then return to “work” the following day.
This Twitter thread has some great advice: https://twitter.com/ProfAishaAhmad/status/1240284544667996163?s=19
Twitter is of course full of great (and not so great) advice. It can keep people connected but also increase anxiety. Be cautious with it, along with all social media during this time.
Allow yourself ample time to adjust, get the important things in order first (friends/family/food/fitness), and build a regular schedule.
This is a huge change. It’s not just a huge change to work, it’s a huge change to our entire lives. Go easy on yourself as you get into the swing of things.
Fill the space around you with plants – it’ll make you feel like you’re outside if you don’t have that luxury – and open your windows every morning (you’ll appreciate the fresh air!)
Nature is very calming. Open the window, listen to the birds (you might hear them more than you used to nowadays).
Extending our best wishes to all from everyone in Reading Meteorology during this challenging time.
The Social Metwork 