We’ve asked some of our Asian Studies faculty, staff and students to share their experiences on working from home. Michelle Strauss, Communications and Events Coordinator for UBC’s Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Program in Buddhism and Contemporary Society, shares how she is keeping active in both mind and body:
What are some problems you may have encountered during the transition to remote working?
- How to optimize my living space into a working space that would help me be just as efficient and focused as I was in the previous working environment. As well, the sudden distance between I and my coworkers. I couldn’t any longer pop in and ask a question then run back to my desk – asking for help is a much more deliberate act now, which can make it hard to do.
How did you cope with the problems to ease the transition?
- I would act as though I really were heading into the office that morning. I would tidy up my bed and change and groom myself so that I wouldn’t be as tempted to hop back into bed, and that I wouldn’t feel self-conscious if I needed to make a zoom call with a coworker to get some assistance with a task.
Describe one new thing (skill, interest, pastime, etc) you may have learned during the quarantine time?
- Photoshop and yoga! Both of which I’ve always wanted to get into, and I like having something new to do that involves some athleticism when I spend most of the day lounging around.
Any medium (music, books, cooking recipe, etc.) you could recommend that you’ve found relaxing/entertaining recently?
- I would recommend reading more. If you can get your hands on some books or e-books, it helps time pass by much quicker and you tend not to feel as though you’ve wasted the day away as you might binging a show on Netflix.
During this time, have you sought/found any words of wisdom or quotes from your particular language area/culture/background that you have found to be particularly comforting?
- A quote I’ve found that is particular to the current social circumstance we’re in is: “You are not working from home, you are at your home during a crisis trying to work.” And I think it gives some perspective to just a be a little easier on ourselves when we notice a decrease in our work ethic, or when we feel uninspired to be bettering ourselves despite all this time on our hands.
As a thank you for your time in answering these questions, is there anything personally you’d like to promote or let everyone know about right now?
- I would like to promote one particular film to watch: “Earthlings” on Youtube. This movie was life-changing for me!
To read more Inspiration in Isolation stories, click here!
