Dear Agony Aunt,
I see so many researchers who are smashing out papers, grant applications, job applications and other outputs. Everyone is learning lockdown skills. But I feel like I am barely meeting the minimum criteria of my role. I’m constantly in online meetings, and I am more exhausted than I ever was with my commute to the lab. I feel like I’ve failed at work from home and I’ll be forever scrambling to make the time back. I’m afraid I’ll be the first to go in any job cuts.
From,
Focus Lost.
Hi Focus Lost,
You are not alone. The Zoom-fatigue is real, motivation is hard to find, and working from home is still working. Remember, we have been working from home in a pandemic and at short notice, without proper preparation. This isn’t normal working from home. It isn’t normal anything. Some have thrived working from home, and others have been plodding along. Extroverts and team players have lost motivation, others who were previously distracted by the office and lab environment are finding time to focus. A research career often feels like a competition, with competitive funding, awards, and competition for places, but productivity in a pandemic is not a competition for your self-worth.
Isolation can be a demotivator. Fear certainly is, and many of us have been going through a sort of grief for opportunities lost. If you aren’t kind to yourself, the self-loathing will only reduce your motivation further. Be kind to yourself, reach out to your colleagues, have the conversations you need to have with your supervisor or boss. Do what you can to just start something. Action can breed motivation. But remember it’s 2020, this year is going to have different goal posts and standards. Get yourself through it, and then you can go from there.
Yours in COVID-related slow-down,
Agony Aunt.
© 2024 Australian Academy of Science
