At-Home Office Hacks

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Title (Dublin Core)

Description (Dublin Core)

While I am not currently working from home, I am studying from home and staying home as much as I possibly can, which can feel extremely stifling. I would sit at my small desk in my bedroom for hours at a time, longing for the setting of a library or cafe to do my work in, and would soon grow bored and unfocused, failing at being productive. After a week or two of some distracted study sessions in which it felt like I got nothing done, I was fed up and frustrated, so I decided to try out a few changes to refresh my study space. Here are my hacks to creating a comfortable study-from-home (or work-from-home!) space without investing in new furniture or risking exposure to Covid-19.

1) Move your desk. My previous desk location blocked my window, leading my little office area to feel dark and closed off. By moving my desk, I now sit adjacent to the window. This allows more natural light to shine, raising my mood, and it allows me to people watch when I need a break from staring at my screen all day.

2) Clean your workspace. I am definitely guilty of having a cluttered, messy workspace, with papers all over my desk and books all over the floor. I recently reorganized so only the absolute essentials were in my workspace, and it feels so streamlined. It really is true that a cluttered space leads to a cluttered mind, and clearing it out has given me more mental clarity when working.

3) Go outside! I don't have a huge backyard, but I have enough space for a small patio table and chair that has provided a great change of scenery when I'm feeling cooped up. Now, I do work on a desktop computer, so I can't do all of my work outside, but I try to go out there as often as possible when I'm working on readings or using my tablet for school instead of my computer. The fresh air is so necessary, and the sunlight gives me some vitamin D while also raising my spirits.

4) Drink tea. While this isn't really a pandemic-specific hack, I found that a cup of tea serves as a great timer for working on schoolwork. I make a fresh cup of tea right before I start working, sip it throughout my study session, and take a break when I finish the cup. A cup will usually last me 30 minutes to an hour, and I typically take a few minutes to stretch and walk around before making another cup and starting the process over again. It is both relaxing and hydrating, and serves as my own little form of the pomodoro technique.

So, there ya go. My little tips and "hacks" to make at-home studying or working just a little more bearable. While I definitely look forward to the day that I can study in public again, I have gotten more comfortable with my home set-up, and will continue with this routine while staying at home is the safest option.

Date (Dublin Core)

January 14, 2021

Creator (Dublin Core)

Julia Rose Jensen

Contributor (Dublin Core)

Julia Jensen

Event Identifier (Dublin Core)

HST580

Partner (Dublin Core)

Arizona State University

Type (Dublin Core)

Text story

Controlled Vocabulary (Dublin Core)

English Emotion

English Education--Universities

English Online Learning

English Food & Drink

Curator's Tags (Omeka Classic)

less productive

stifling

move desk

clean workspace

outside

tea

Contributor's Tags (a true folksonomy) (Friend of a Friend)

pandemic prompt

pandemic hack

Collection (Dublin Core)

Teleworking

Linked Data (Dublin Core)

Pandemic Prompts

HST 580 Professional Experience/Archives course

Date Submitted (Dublin Core)

01/14/2021

Date Modified (Dublin Core)

01/26/2021

02/08/2021

07/05/2021

08/02/2022

09/20/2024

Item sets

Covid 19

Arizona State University

This item was submitted on January 14, 2021 by Julia Jensen using the form “Share Your Story” on the site “A Journal of the Plague Year”: https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive

Click here to view the collected data.

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