What is your setup? 

I have my desk set up right beside my window. My desk wasn’t originally here – it was in another corner of my room – but I wanted to try to get as much natural light as possible. I have my two screens because I often have Zoom meetings/teaching on one screen while having notes, my email, or reminders on my other screen. It means I can multitask far more effectively. (Also, it makes me feel like I’m living a little more in the future as I throw app windows from one screen to the other like a Boss.) 

What are your tips for working from home? 

I’m very guilty of working long hours while sitting in my chair and barely moving. I’m also very guilty of working throughout the day, taking a break for dinner, and then coming back to my desk to ‘just catch up on my emails’. My two biggest tips would be: make sure to move as much as possible and don’t stay all day in one chair, and pull yourself away from your desk as much as possible.  

For movement, try to go for walks (even if it’s to the kitchen to make some tea) as regularly as possible. My pug, Murdag, is good at telling me when she’s had enough of just sitting on the sofa behind me, so she’ll come over and demand attention and/or walks and/or snacks.  

For managing the work-life balance, I’d say try to timetable and schedule up your day as much as possible, and remember that it’s okay to down tools. It’s more difficult when your home is also your office which is also your refuge which is also your meeting room which is also your Netflix room. If you can, try to establish separate places for work and for relaxing. If you can’t do that, organisation of time – Work/Study Time and Relaxation Time – should be separated. Keep them separate. 

What would you change about your setup, if you could? 

I really love my working setup, and I’m comfortable working here. As I said, I’d moved my desk from the other corner of my room to get more natural light. That’s really important; I can now see the outside, see the sky, and see some greenery. Being able to see the light has really made a boost to how energised and engaged I feel (although it has made me look like a washed-out, pale Victorian ghost on camera in some Zoom meetings!) 

What’s the one thing you can’t live without? 

Anyone that knows me knows the answer to this already: my pug. She’s my best friend and she sits in my meetings with me all day. She snores (loud enough to be heard by everyone on Zoom calls) through every meeting; she swaps over for some hugs; and she just generally looks cute. In short: she’s the best. 

Aside from Murdag, I’d say it was my TouchPad. I have become so used to being able to swipe around and use all the gestures that, when I go back to a regular mouse, it feels like I can’t do anything. (I sometimes get the same thing with non-touch screens after using a touch-screen for a while; I jab at the screen and then realise that, no, that does absolutely nothing.)