It was Sunday at 11:30am when the email came in.... I am officially unable to go into the lab indefinitely. As an experimentalist, this is a strange new reality. It brings up new fears and anxieties I was not prepared to handle. What does working from home look like? How will I make progress on my research without the lab? As more and more graduate students are finding themselves in a similar situation, I wanted to share some tips on making the most of this challenging time.
Routine...Routine...Routine...
I am sure you have heard this many, many times, but finding a new routine is vital. Both for your productivity as well as for your mental health.
- Morning Routine: Start your day off right. Have a set time you will wake up every day and determine what you want your morning to look like. Will that be a workout in the morning? Maybe a nice breakfast while scrolling on social media or watching the news?
- Work Hours: Have a set time during your day where you will focus solely on work. View this as the time you would normally be at your office or in your lab. These hours will help you both focus on the work you need to get done as well as help establish work-life balance that can be so easily muddied by working in the same place as you live.
- Breaks: Working from home, you do not get the normal breaks in your day that you would get by chatting with your labmates. Make sure you set up times in your day where will you take a break. I have found using the Pomodoro Method is great to keep me focused on the work I need to do while instituting much needed breaks.
- Night Routine: Establish a time you will go to bed. Keeping to a consistent sleep schedule is so important. Set an alarm on your phone for going to bed. Also end your day with something. Maybe cooking a nice dinner, or watching a TV show, or doing a workout class. Have something to separate your work time from your rest time.
- Set Goals for the Week: Starting each week, set a goal of what you want to accomplish by the end. That might be reading a set of papers and writing a lit review on it. Making the figures for a paper you have been needed to get published. Having goals will help you keep your eye on the prize as you go through each day.
Keep Up with Exercise
Back in my “Tis the Season to Battle Burnout” blog, I talked about the importance of having some sort of physical fitness in your life. Although many gyms are closed, there are many options for you to stay active.
- Go Outside: Take a walk around your apartment complex or home. Go for a run in a park if your town still allows for that. Even if it is just 15 minutes you can relieve stress and improve your mental health through physical fitness.
- Online Classes: Although many of the gyms that hold fitness classes are no longer open, many are offering free online classes. You can find Barre, Yoga, and Pilates classes almost everyday plus YouTube has a ton of great HIIT workouts that you can do from home.
Cling to Your Community
As you often see in my blogs, community is so incredibly important. During this time where there is so much uncertainty and added stress in our lives, community is key to working through it all.
- Call, Text, FaceTime: Reach out to your people. Check in with them and share how you are feeling. Spending a little time talking with those whom you loved will help your navigate through all the craziness right now.
- GradSWE Community Slack: If you need a community or more of a community right now, join our Slack. We are here for you to share any of the anxieties, frustrations, and sorrows you may be having.
- Virtual Hangouts: There are many ways for you to keep in touch and enjoy time with your friends. You can have a virtual game night via Google Hangouts or a movie night with Netflix Party which allows you to watch movies online with friends. Make sure you are able to keep up with the little joys in your life.
Are You Defending This Semester?
Academic Twitter has really come together to try and help those who will have to defend this semester.
- Tips for Defending Remotely: Alyssa Frederick (@paua_biologist) compiled a document with tips for defending remotely. You can find the document here.
- Share Your Defense with the World: The academic community wants to support you as you defend! Ben Ackerman (@backerman150) has created a Google Form for you to share information on your defense so we can supoort you! You can also share your livestream link in the #virtualdefense channel in the GradSWE Community Slack for our community to cheer you on!
- Support Each Other: You can find the information on upcoming defenses here.
During this challenging time, take care of yourself. As things are difficult, know that you are doing great! We are here for you. Let us know how we can best serve you during this time. Share in the comments or on Slack what resources would be helpful. Keep on swimming!
