Productive Pandemic Blues

 It has been a long time since I've updated this.

Shit went sideways at the end of last year. Lost my grandfather, got pretty depressed and was still stuck in the middle of the [redacted] lockdown!

However, in amongst all of that were moments of sheer joy. Passing my MPhil, starting my PhD. My weirdest happy moment was getting my desk!!

Currently, my life consists of getting out of bed, going downstairs and unlocking the front door (So many damn packages), putting on the kettle, and just... existing.

Working from home feels like you should work all the time. One of the ways I wind down is gaming but lately being on my computer feels... guilty if I'm not working. It's honestly a bit of a struggle.

Because of this I recently went to a seminar by Dr, Robin Henderson called Working Productively at the start of your PhD. Working productively? I thought I already did that! But I went along anyway as the guilt was gnawing away at me whilst I murdered my boyfriend for the 5th time (He'd already got me 6!) on GTAV.

Dr. Henderson's session really helped me with refocusing what I believe productivity to be. The session took a focus on motivation - something I think we've all been struggling with lately!

He suggested that at the end of the day, take some time and write a 'What have I done today' list. Doing things is anything and everything! Watching YouTube to calm down, spending half an hour cleaning because it needs doing, laughing for an hour with your loved ones. All of these things are productive. They're all important.

However, the session was on being productive in your PhD work (or just generally working from home). Dr. Henderson went on to suggest that we focus on what matters, prepare our workspace (going for a run can count as preparing your workspace!) and taking time to reflect on good days. 

Ask questions such as 'what enables me to be effective', 'what patterns are there in your effectiveness?' and 'How could these be reproduced on a regular basis?'. 

Much like the pandemic, a PhD seems like a long neverending, always winding, sometimes hiding road. Dr. Henderson broke the PhD process down into the three years:

• Y1:

Literature review, reading, formulating the question(s), learning methods, settling in and making connections. Oh, and Ethics if you need that!

• Y2:

 Data collection, analysis, conferences, career development activites (interships and whatnot)

• Y3:

Thesis process, closing reserach, job hunting 

For ease though, you should really write all the way through your PhD (100,000 words is a lot to try to do in some sort of mad scramble!). 

You may think that you're a bad writer at the moment but you really can't edit a blank page. Dr. Henderson has suggested that we book in some time every week to write. He also suggested that we should set up our own deadlines to hold ourselves accountable in our work!

The biggest thing of all that Dr. Henderson suggest was having time for self-care. A PhD is basically a full-time job - we're expected to work around 40hrs a week! Even within this, we have to be realistic with what can be achieved. Within our week, we also have to put aside time for doing the things we enjoy. I love baking and photography so when it's dry, I head out with my camera and spend a couple of hours editing them. Baking is a bit more tricky. It's all about trial and error but it's worth it! 

Overall, what I'm saying is that productivity changes day to day and week to week. We all have good and bad times in our lives and we should try to reflect and reframe our productivity.

Signing off now,

The Confused Archaeologist