This page shares some takeaways from our April 30, 2020 session concerning strategies and challenges of working remotely.
Challenges Shared
- It’s hard not having the informal opportunity for chatting that the Business Building affords – every interaction has to be “formal” and handled via email, etc.
- Zoom is not efficient for being an administrator (you have to send an email and wait for a response, then schedule a formal meeting vs. walking down the hall or talking to a student in person)
- The Inbox is now flooded, as is the number of Zoom meetings.
- We’re trying to balance more than just work. There are conflicting priorities (work, family, having to homeschool, do childcare while trying to get work done)
- Work is “always there.”
- Feeling like you need to “prove” that you’re working and be “on” all the time.
- Feeling quarantine guilt: Why have I not been able to make time to _______?
- Self-care
- Feeling isolated and disconnected
- Feeling disorganized or scattered
- Steep learning curve due to learning new tech or do things differently.
- Not having the same equipment at home as at work
- Not having an ideal workspace at home
- Managing interruptions
Strategies Shared
Staying Healthy:
- Keep a small set of dumbbells next to the desk.
- Keep a list of exercises. Every time you get up, move down the list to another set of exercises. Hack: You can move a paperclip down the list to keep track of what you have done.
- Order food from places like Misfits Market to eat more healthy fruits and veggies.
- Weather permitting, walk for an hour every day in the late afternoon. It’s a great way to clear your head from the pressures of work.
- Walk during meetings where you will only be listening.
- Schedule walking phone meetings, walking while talking. Set them up as a “walk & talk” with the other person.
Work-Life Balance and Efficiency Hacks:
- For some, this means setting segregated hours for different “facets” of life. For others, it may mean being more flexible – maybe taking breaks during the day to do what you need/want to do and return to work later.
- It’s important to be kind to ourselves, take care of ourselves, and not feel guilty.
We are fortunate to have leadership that is supportive and flexible - There are differences between faculty and staff expectations for seat time that play into these feelings as well
- Start the day with a plan (Franklin-Covey kind of list: A, B, C-level items).
- ‘Job in a Box’: Keep all of your work materials in a box. At the end of the day, put your work in the box and put it away to transition to home time.
- Schedule breaks deliberately on your calendar so that meetings do not get scheduled.
- It’s OK to take vacation time! And make it an actual vacation day.
- Set up rules in your Outlook email to combat the increased emails.
- Bundle activities together – emails, calls, etc.
- Consider putting some headphones/earbuds in and listen to some music while working.
- If an email comes in with ‘unsubscribe’, it goes into a separate box that you can check just once per day
Social Connections
- Schedule non-business check-in meetings just to chat with colleagues.
- Use Teams, Slack, or other instant messaging to have conversations with colleagues.
- Reach out to colleagues to see if they are ok. You can send Kudoboards to encourage folks or Smeal Pawsitive Notes to spread a little cheer.
- Check out the Smeal Community in Microsoft Teams to stay connected to colleagues and share ideas.
Tools Shared and Discussed
- Use a Microsoft Surface or tablet with a stylus and the Zoom whiteboard to replace the function of the whiteboard in the classroom.
- Buy or DIY an inexpensive computer stand to allow for standing while working (especially during meetings). That allows for more movement during the day. This adjustable laptop stand was being used by one of our attendees.
- Purchase Bluetooth headphones for meetings that you are just listening/receiving information – so you can walk while listening.
- Use Microsoft To-Do to track tasks.
- We discussed several ways groups can use Teams. Check out ITLD’s Teams Learning Path for more information.
Articles and Links
- Remote Work Bingo (suggestions for better work-life balance)
- PSU Libraries’ De-Stress Fest
- BBC Article on Zoom Exhaustion
- Inc Article on Zoom Exhaustion
- 6 Daily Questions for Quarantine
- Beating Pandemic Burnout
Just for Fun
Virtual Bingo created by the eLDIG team for your entertainment
Videos to Make You Laugh