Whether because of personal or health needs, or as the result of shifting expectations and opportunities in workplace cultures, you may find yourself working remotely or in hybrid environments. Below you will find a series of tips and associated resources that the University has gathered to help students navigate working from home effectively. 

Create or continue your routines

During the time you are working from home, try using these 5 tips for creating a daily routine. A well-structured routine is crucial to maintaining productivity at home. 

Parenting

For graduate student parents, we know many childcare routines and activities are impacted during this time. Consider some tips for parents working from home, and check out these online resources: 

Set up an ergonomic workspace

Even if you are working at your kitchen table, there are strategies you can implement to create a more ergonomic set up. Review the ergonomics information provided by Safety Office, including an Office Ergonomics workshop on LEARN.

Stay connected

There are lots of free online tools available to help you stay connected while working from home. Try out a new tool for your next meeting:

Stay active

Whether you are at your desk or kitchen table, sneak in some (free!) yoga:

Even if you don't have fitness equipment at home, there are options to stay active: 

Continue moving and stretching: 

  • Try some desk stretches that you can do quickly and easily wherever you're working. 

Take time to focus on your mental health

You may be avoiding a stressful commute when working from home, but remote work can come with challenges of its own. There are many free, online resources to help:

Take breaks

Elise Vist, Multimodal and Public Scholarship Program Developer at the Writing and Communication Centre, offered a tip for grad students: "the best academic writers write consistently rather than a lot. 15, 30, 60, 120 minutes a day - whatever you can do -- is better than 8 hours one day and a week of exhaustion!" 

Try out these options to take a break and maintain motivation while working remotely: 

Continue your career development

There are many ways to engage in career development even when working from home and not actively present in an office space.