"It's OK to struggle with the current situation"
Can you give a brief description of your home office work routine?
For now, I'm still trying to figure everything out. I'm giving my best to attend lectures, mainly to keep a sense of structure and to keep up with the material. Luckily, my thesis doesn't require any equipment that I don't have at home, thus I can continue my work without major adaptations. Furthermore, VIS meetings are still happening, we simply have a group call. So in short: everything is the same, only from home and with less socialising in between.
Do you have any specific advice that makes working from home easier?
Something that helps me is trying to keep my usual routine as much as possible: get up and go to bed at the same time, get dressed in day clothes, eat meals at the usual times and so on.
What is your strategy to cope with cabin fever when working from home?
As we are luckily not in a lockdown yet, I make sure to get plenty of fresh air by going on walks and runs. On the other hand, whenever I sense myself struggling with the current situation, I try to remind myself that this is only temporary and we're all doing this for the greater good. I've also started to try thinking of all the positive things that will result from this situation whenever I get frustrated with it. All in all, a good strategy is to be patient and mindful. It's important to acknowledge that it's okay to struggle with the current situation and to reach out if it doesn't seem to be working out.
"VIS meetings are still happening, we simply have a group call."Nicole Wenzinger
What do you like most about working from home?
Ask me again in a few weeks. For now, my brain still feels like this is another learning phase. And yes, there's nothing I like about study phases.
What is your current menu plan?
I'm still trying to figure this out. For now, I've told myself that I really should pick up cooking again to pass the time.
Do you have a recommendation for an app that might be useful at this particular time?
For me, it's my Fitbit app, which of course only makes sense if you also have a Fitbit device. It makes it easy to keep track of basic things like the number of hours I sleep or the number of steps I take a day. I've noticed that it's very hard to not sleep too much if there are no pressing meetings during the morning, a morning lecture or a date with your workout buddy at ASVZ, so I use it to keep that in check. Furthermore, now that being active is slightly more challenging, having a step count helps me keep on track with not being too sedentary during these times and making walks more fun.