Working remotely has greatly improved my health and productivity.
Balancing the numerous responsibilities of college life — academics, extracurriculars, social-life, and work — can often feel like I’m being pulled in a lot of different directions. Throughout my academic journey, I’ve experienced the challenges in juggling these commitments, but I’ve also discovered how beneficial remote work plays in achieving that sense of balance.
Living on campus and attending daily in-person classes means that any job not a part of my university may require me to commute. This additional time spent traveling to and from work, along with other commitments on campus, can quickly escalate into a hectic schedule. Constantly moving and running around can easily cause a feeling of being burnt out for me. Being able to easily make that transition from work to school and vice versa has saved me time, energy, and money.
In the whirlwind of college, there’s often an unspoken expectation of always being “on-the-go,” a constant pursuit of academic and extracurricular excellence. However, I’ve come to realize the importance of embracing moments of comfort and self-care. Working in an environment where I feel completely at ease allows me to channel my energy and attention solely into my tasks at hand, without outside distractions.
For me, I genuinely love being at home, it’s my safe space to decompress and to be productive. I have customized a space for myself where my room can double as my “office” by decorating it with things that bring me joy. I love the warm lighting from my lamps, all my plants surrounding me, and the pictures and posters adorning my walls. All those small things bring me joy and relax my mind.
Even a hybrid work environment where you can go to work some days and work from home the rest, can provide me with a level of flexibility and ease that differs from on-site work. There are so many stressors being in college, but being able to alleviate some of them with the flexibility of working in my own safe space has improved my mental health greatly.
Working remotely has also helped me improve my time management skills and my sense of self-discipline. Being remote makes me responsible for myself and allows me to understand that others rely on me to complete my tasks on time. I must be able to dedicate my time solely to work, not be distracted by scrolling through my phone, watching tv, or other engaging with other interruptions. Being given this level of responsibility and autonomy has helped me hold myself accountable and practice prioritizing tasks to meet set deadlines.
I’ve learned to increase my productivity with a technique I learned from my internship called the Pomodoro Technique, and time blocking on my work calendar. The Pomodoro Technique is when you choose a task you want to work on and set a timer for 25 minutes. You work strictly on that task uninterrupted and then when the timer goes off, you can take a break for 5 minutes. I usually spend my break scrolling on my phone or giving my friends a quick call. Then you repeat this about 3 more times and increase the break by 5 minutes each time.
This technique has been beneficial for me in being able to structure my own time and improve my workflow. It allows you to eliminate distractions, take forced breaks to give your mind a pause, and block out procrastination to make work more manageable.
Working both remote and hybrid has allowed me to alleviate some of the stress that comes with balancing work and school. If you’re unable to work remotely, I encourage you to find possible alternatives to your daily schedule and small tricks to help prevent the feeling of burn-out.