OMG is Working from Home

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Like many research groups around the world the Oxford Micromechanics Group is currently physically dispersed and working, as best we can, from home.  These are strange and stressful times that we haven’t seen the like of before.  We are all adjusting to new ways of working and its not necessarily easy.  I wrote these notes to share with the group – but thought better of it, and decided to share wider here.

Home working under covid-19 restrictions:

1. Look after yourself - you can't think when you're worried and stressed

2. Look after yourself - work can damn well wait

3. Look after yourself - get your mind and body straight

4. Try to eat right.  Its easy to end up grazing/snacking, but try to break the day with proper meals, with fruit and veggies.  Try not to eat at your workspace.  It helps to force a break from your work, while your brain is still engaged with another activity.  It also stops (at least cuts down) the snacking.  Keep hydrated too – water, squash, not just endless coffee (physician heal thyself).  If you can’t get out because you’re self-isolating or looking after someone else, then just let the rest of the OMG team know –we will get something sorted for you.

5. We are allowed to go outside for exercise once a day.  Use this each and every day if you possibly can.  Our options for exercise are limited: no team sport, no gym, no pool.  Worse still all the hidden physical activity like cycling/walking to work, moving between buildings, up and down the stairs etc – well that’s been switched off for us now.  I’ve been getting out for a run, a cycle ride, football with ‘the boy’ to get him out of the house (I always win), or at least a walk.  This is not just for your physical fitness it is so important for your sense of well-being.  Regular physical exercise lifts our self-esteem, reduces stress and anxiety and makes us feel more alert.  

6. Your mental health is going to be under some pressure too.  The physical isolation steps we are all taking to reduce exposure risks obviously also present the issue of feeling isolated.  The chat we get around the office isn’t just going to be there for us – we’ll have to make conscious effort to connect and its important that we do.  Join the ‘Coffee, Cake and Chat’ sessions as much as you can (Weekdays 11:00 on Teams), use the chat messenger feature on Teams to share a joke, or a picture of some glorious baking, or ask for help.  If you’re feeling OK, then maybe reach out to others especially if they’ve not been very visible – remember sometimes we say we’re OK when really we’re not (its good to ask twice).  Teams is not just there for project meetings, use it (or other video-call systems), for social interactions too.

7. There is a lot of advice out there to wash your hands – rightly so because its important.  BUT this is a potential trigger for anxiety and OCD.  If you feel able to then let somebody know if you’re fighting this (easy said, I know).  Think about some breathing exercise for while you wash hands, and set a 20 sec timer to limit you, have something definite in mind to move onto once the timer goes.

8. Having some routine or schedule to structure your day can help.  Try not to let your day drift to waking later and then going to bed later [if you’re a night owl then fine move to a later schedule but do it purposefully don’t just let it drift].  Don’t spend all day, every day, in your pyjamas – get up, get washed, get dressed.  Try to give yourself some defined times to work, to exercise outside, to speak with friends, watch a movie, do some baking, get your sketchpad/watercolours out… – times can adjust as you go along.  Its helpful if you change location for different activities, even sitting in a different spot in the same room can help.  I find it easier to transition from work to rest (and rest to work) by doing all my work at the same spot which I now associate with work.  

9. During the day time get as much light into the space you’re living and working in as you can.  Open the curtains wide, move large objects from the windowsill, max that daylight.  This is an important one for me.  I know I’m prone to feeling down through the winter months – this year I used an LED light panel most morning and I think it has helped (placebo or real effect - who knows?).  Open the windows too, to let in some fresh air, if you’re lucky you may get some bird song too.  

10. If you’re finding the news hard to take then don’t watch it, or limit how much you see a day.  If you switch out from it entirely, then tell somebody that’s your plan and ask them to let you know If there is a major change in policy that you need to comply with.  You can get updates on the University’s position at https://www.ox.ac.uk/news-and-events/coronavirus-advice without getting drawn into the worst of the news stories.

11. I like to dip into social media during most days but I’ve had a couple of times in the last week when I’ve got drawn into covid-19 stories that have been upsetting but compelling and its been difficult but necessary for me to step away from it.  There are ways on twitter (my favoured platform) to set filters to avoid certain content you might want to explore these or similar on other platforms.  On the whole I’m still finding twitter a good way to connect with folk around the world and find it more positive than negative (but be watchful for yourself and others).

12. You may worry that you're not being productive. This is a widely shared experience - its not just you feeling like this.  Let me share a little:  I've been working from home since 16th March, and for me the last few weeks has been very busy, there have been lots of email and videocalls to take up my time and leave me tired at the end of the day.  This has needed a bit of organisation but not much deep thought.  The busy period has eased of a bit in the last couple of days, which have not been particularly productive.  My mind has wondered off to think about the covid pandemic and the worries I have for family, friends and colleagues.  I think this is completely natural.  When it happens to you try not to dwell on it (easy said), but don't beat yourself up for it either - it just shows you're human and care for those around you.

13. Most of us are adapting our work patterns and adjusting to working from home.  The process we had in place at work may not run as well, or even at all, while we work from home.  Remember that its not just you finding your way through all this.  If others seem slow in responding to an email think twice before getting grumpy about it, everything is taking a little longer than usual to get done, and you don’t really know what they are dealing with in their home life (ill family member, children at home,…).   

14. ‘I can’t get in the lab - what should I work on?’. 
(a) Think about the next report you are due to make – for DPhil students this might be for transfer, or confirmation of status or your literature review, for part II students its all about that thesis. 
(b) It may be a while till we get back to the labs, so lets make sure that methods we were working up just before the shut-down are well documented, along with notes on what you were going to do next in the lab.   
(c) Have a look at where and how your data is stored and organised.  Is the raw data saved with some redundancy, including the network drives (RAID)?  Is code for analysis also saved along with the data.  What about the processed data?  Is this all well-documented?  Generate a simple text file in your folder on the network drives to describe what is in the folder.  Have you cleared space on the temporary (PREM – Parks Road Electron Microscopy) drives?
(d) Work on drafting a paper.  Section and sub-section headings and a few bullet points first (maybe describing the key figures).  Share this early, especially if this is part of a bigger programme of work.   Think about the author list (notes on our group discussion about this are here), and maybe even draft an author contributions section early on to give some clarity.  It maybe that we can’t get the paper complete but at least efforts can be very focused when we get back to the lab and those last missing micrographs can be prioritised.
(e) If there are data analysis or modelling aspects to your project then now is the time to get stuck in to them.  Talk to Ed Tarleton if you’d like some background reading of FEA methods and crystal plasticity.  There are lots resources for learning different aspects of Matlab.  Remember not to overload the workstations - you can see how hard resources are being used via task manager.  Use MS Teams to talk to each other to schedule usage.
(f) Have a think about the bigger picture.  What does your research feed into, why is it important?  Could you (with help) plan a short Outreach video or podcast showing your research and its context.  Have a listen to the this podcast by Clara Barker, or look at the animation that Jack Haley and Steve Roberts helped create.  Or you could think about the IF-Oxford science festival planned for October (deadline for ideas 30th April).

 

 

 

OK – I’ve run out of steam right now and need some R&R – I’ll no doubt be reviewing and modifying this in the days to come.  Happy to have feedback – extra links etc

AJW
7 April 2020 

Some useful links:

Mental Health Foundation - Looking after your mental health while working during the Coronavirus outbreak

Mind - Coronavirus and your wellbeing

Mental Health First Aid England – ‘video on getting set for home working

Anxeity UK – ‘coronanxiety support resources’

NHS Every Mind Matters - Mental wellbeing while staying at home

Mates in Mind – Homeworking Mental Health Tips

Time to Change - Supporting someone during Covid-19

Dr Zoë Ayers – twitter thread on ‘scientist without a lab during covid-19’  & in poster form as part of a series of #mentalhealth posters on twitter

Bryony Ravate – blog piece ‘Staying productive and mentally well during the corona quarantine

Dr Tim Gregory – twitter thread on ‘working from home in a small space