I, for sure, am and I would like to share my experience with you:
In January 2019 I applied for a PhD position in the LimnoPlast project. A project, so fitting to my academic and personal interests that I would have not thought it exists. As a PhD student in LimnoPlast I am embedded in an international training program together with 14 fellow PhDs in other institutions all around Europe. The aim: Tackling freshwater microplastics in Europe. How? By applying an interdisciplinary research approach including environmental-, technical-, and social sciences, which is looking at the whole plastic life cycle.
Luckily, in February 2020, Sabine invited me for an interview and I was offered the position shortly afterwards. As part of LimnoPlast, my PhD is focusing on the social, specifically on the human behavioural perspective towards microplastics.
We agreed on a starting date, but as the situation all around the planet got more critical it was decided that I was not going to move abroad. Therefore, I started my PhD in April 2020 remotely. In the first few weeks I immersed myself in literature. I was trying to grasp what microplastics research and plastic related behavioural research was published so far and draw connections to my own potential research. Simultaneously, I was trying to cope with lockdown, social distance measures and the overload of pandemic news. After a lot of trial and error during the first months I noticed that the three following things help me to stay focused in times of great distractions:
1) My Morning routine
Starting my day without taking a glimpse on my social media apps is easier said than done. I realised that when I am on my phone in the morning, I spend more time on it than I want to. Additionally, I was being left with a feeling of restlessness. What a start into the day - something needed to change. Therefore, I tried to structure my morning in different ways. Currently, I am getting up, brushing my teeth, sitting down in the same place each morning, playing a guided meditation (between 10 to 15 min) on my speakers followed by writing down three things that I am grateful for in my journal.
2) Accountabilibuddies
Something I made use of many, many times without having a name for it for a long time: Accountabilibuddies. For me an Accountabilibuddy is someone who accompanies me to reach a specific goal and holds me accountable if I do not show up to put in the work – and vice versa. This has been really helpful for me in home office when having a lack of external structures. It all started when my colleague Isabel introduced me to the virtual “shut-up and write sessions”. Both of us set an achievable goal for a certain time window – in this case 25 min – and during this time we turn our cameras off, leave our microphones on. This allows us to hear each other typing away and the occasional sipping on the preferred beverage of the day. After the set time a short break – around 5 min – follows. A catch-up and adjustment of the goal initiates the next session. I prefer to have these sessions structured and scheduled for two to three hours. Inspired by the “shut up and write sessions”, I started Accountabilibuddies session with my LimnoPlast Early Stage Researcher colleague Marcos. In the beginning we scheduled these for three times a week. Holding each other accountable to do our literature search, writing our research proposals, designing our surveys and applying for ethic approvals etc. in time. The idea is similar to the “shut-up and write sessions”; however, the practice is a little different. The structure: Goal setting – working session – break – repeat. Marcos and I leave our cameras on and turn our microphones off. This lets us see the other person (staring into the void of the endless amount of work) in a small picture frame on our screens – which can be something surprisingly calming. Additionally, if needed, we leave room for longer discussions in the breaks and mostly around 50 min long working session. Personally, this has been highly effective for me in times of increased lack of motivation and focus.
3) Regular semi-structured team meetings
At first, I was so nervous about being the “newbie” in the research group and I did not know what to expect and what the others expected of me. These thoughts vanished after the first meeting. Each week I was looking forward to meet the research team, chat about some personal matters as well as discussing papers or hearing presentations about the latest findings of my colleagues. These meetings make me feel that life is ok, even if I have a week where it is harder to focus. I especially enjoy hearing about the small and big achievements of everyone. Moreover, the feeling of belonging to a group of individuals who face similar struggles as well as having a place to exchange ideas to overcome those motivate me to keep pushing.
When I developed my first survey I found the exchange with experienced researchers such as my supervisors Sabine and Mat inspiring and helpful. Every time I leave these conversations with a lot of food for thought. Therefore, I try to have some quiet time afterwards to structure my thoughts and make hand written notes which I can get back to if needed. The important bit for me is to not wander with my attention. This happens easily to me by jumping on my phone or “just quickly” answering some emails right after a conversation. Therefore, I am trying to avoid these and instead have a blank page in front of me where I can start writing down my thoughts. Staying focused for a little longer helps me to get a greater outcome and move on effectively.
I don’t even want to pretend that I am able to always stick to these points. There are many other things such as a writing schedule, regular exercise, time spent outside (hereby, I would like to express my gratitude for my bike) and no work on weekends which improve my workflow as well as my personal wellbeing. Still, the points above help me to keep up with a high workload and even enjoy it most of the time. Additionally, what keeps me motivated long-term is the gratitude for having a job which allows me to learn new things every day as well as the sense of purpose that comes with the feeling of working towards sustainable changes in our environment and society.
Enough from me. Now, I would like to hear from you:
What keeps you motivated, productive and balanced in home office?
I invite you all to try out some of the things above yourself. If you do so, comment on my Twitter and let me know how it goes!
Happy researching, Maja
