(a little picture of where the monotony, I mean magic, happens) Working from home as a PhD student is a repetitive task. Sometimes I feel like I have the same day over and over again. Working from home as a PhD student is a repetitive task. Sometimes I feel like I have the same day over and over again. Oops, there I go again.
Don't get me wrong, there is something glorious about working from home at times. I have been known to work in my pajamas until almost noon. And, the overall dress code is pretty relaxed. My pajamas and my working attire could easily be confused as the same items. I also find I can get a lot more done at home than when I go in to Sheffield. Obviously, the 50 minutes on the train and 20 minutes of walking involved in getting to work might have something to do with it.
On the other hand, the down side of working from home is the minimal contact with the outside world. I can go days without seeing anyone but Brent and without going outside. I try to get out once a day just for the sake of it and to stretch my legs. Sometimes the days seem to drag on. My day typically goes like this: I do some variation of reading and writing all morning. From 0830 until 1230 I am usually fixated on my work. Then I take a break for lunch and watch some tele - usually re-runs of Will & Grace (I can't watch the re-runs of Scrubs or Frasier, because the same episodes will be on later and if I watch them now, what will we do in the evening?!!). The afternoon is when it all goes down hill. It's 1400 before I know it and if I'm going to get out for a walk I better do it now. Getting out is not always particularly enjoyable depending on the weather and the crowding on the streets. We live really close to the high street shopping area, but if it is crowded I usually lose the will to live after five minutes of walking through all the people. At which point I head home.
Of course the other down side of working from home is the domestic duties. Interspersed between reading and writing is lots of laundry (thanks in large part to the ridiculously small washing/dryer we have), cleaning and meal preparation. The work of a domestic goddess is never done.
I seem to go in cyclical patterns of feeling like I am getting a lot of work done and the next minute feeling like I don't do enough work. This mirrors the PhD process in general. There are great highs and lows of activity. You can work for unending hours for a few weeks straight, only to hit a patch where there is virtually nothing to do and no real demands or deadlines. I am sure some really dedicated students do extra reading or write articles or something. Me, I'm planning our next trip! Oh yeah, and there's that other wee job that I have teaching midwifery students that takes up all the rest of my time.
For someone who is usually over-organized and, let's face it, a little anally retentive, I seem to have picked lifestyles (midwifery and the life of the permanent student) where there are no clear boundaries between work and home life. For better or for worse, I am blurring the boundaries. Or maybe my thoughts are just permanently blurred...also a hazard of the phd life!!
