CO-WORKING IN SMALL, SHARED SPACES
Are you sharing a small space with family members, roommates, or significant others? This can present a variety of challenges including slower wifi connections, distractions and noise during important meetings or classes, and difficulty focusing on work.
Communicate about your schedule
Create a system for sharing schedules with one another so you can make a plan and strategize. This might look like a check-in in the morning to discuss your day and any important events that you’ll need quiet or privacy for.
Another helpful strategy could be to jointly plan your routine using THINK TANK’s weekly planner. Map out each person’s regularly occurring meetings, classes, etc. Figure out where there might be regular conflicts (such as multiple Zoom meetings at once) and figure out if you can make any adjustments that will make things run more smoothly.
Reduce distractions
If you and others in your house are working/studying from home, agree on a chat tool that you can access from your computer and receive notifications (WhatsApp, GroupMe, and Skype all have free desktop versions). This will allow you to communicate when one or both of you is in a meeting without having to look at your phone or take your attention away from the screen. It might also be helpful to develop a signal for when you are in a meeting so others know that they shouldn’t interrupt you.
Find ways to block out noise and visual distractions. Headphones will help filter other noise in your space. A room divider, or a rope with a curtain/blanket/towel, can create separate workspaces allowing others to move around in the background, and quiet some sound as well.
If there is a lot happening in your space and you know that generally, you will prefer to keep your camera off for privacy reasons, communicate in advance with your professors. Let them know why you feel that is the best choice for your situation and make sure they understand what is going on. You can show that you are engaged by participating with audio or in the chat.
Encourage and support one another
It can be challenging to maintain our motivation when we never see our professors or classmates in person. Find ways to offer and receive support from the people in your home. Set and discuss mini goals as to what you each want to accomplish in the next hour and check in with each other about your progress at the end. Communicate about big projects and celebrate one another’s accomplishments. These are ways you can provide the accountability that might be lost from not going to class in person.