Lockdown: how to survive working from home

27 March 2020 | Story Niémah Davids. Photo Pexels. Read time 5 min.
Differentiating between work and home life will be important as more people around the globe work and study from home amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Differentiating between work and home life will be important as more people around the globe work and study from home amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Countries around the world have been responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in unprecedented ways – self-isolation, social distancing, travel bans and, in South Africa, a 21-day lockdown – to curb the spread of the deadly virus. University of Cape Town (UCT) experts give their take on how best to navigate this “new normal”, which is being defined by working from home.

The way employees work changed in the blink of an eye. If you traded your office desk and chair for a spot at the kitchen table at home, you’re not alone. More than one billion people around the globe are doing the same.

For tertiary students the world over, studying is no different. Traditional lectures have stopped and tertiary institutions have shut down, leaving students with no option but to study from home too.

To help make sense of the new normal, UCT News spoke to a few experts from the UCT academic community for their take on how to survive working and studying from home.

Control the controllable

According to Associate Professor Kevin GF Thomas, head of UCT’s Department of Psychology, stress and anxiety levels escalate during unpredictable times. Therefore, it’s important to differentiate between the controllable and the uncontrollable.

“One good piece of advice regarding this indefinite situation we face is to control the controllable. If you know you’re working from home, try to control that situation as much as possible,” he said.

This, Thomas said, takes many forms, including bringing “order and structure to your day” and dedicating set hours in the day to fit in with your new work-from-home schedule.

“Let those hours mirror your normal workday as much as possible. In other words, make each day as predictable as possible so when you need to deal with surprises you have [enough] cognitive capacity to deal with it.”

Practice mindfulness

Thomas also stressed the importance of making a distinction between work and home life – there is one, even while working from home. To tick this box, he advised setting up a designated workspace, as well as designated spaces to spend time with loved ones.

“It’s up to you to make that distinction manifest in your environment,” he said.

He encouraged the practise of mindfulness techniques in order to appreciate the “here and now” and to simply “enjoy the present”. While mindfulness techniques don’t preclude planning for the future, he said they provide perspective and effective and efficient long-term planning.

“Under many circumstances we find internal sources of motivation because external sources are not available. Such a circumstance is upon us during lockdown. We need to focus on things in our immediate environment that motivate us,” Thomas said.

Establish a routine

For Dr Memory Muturiki, director of Student Wellness at UCT, studying from home could be both “challenging and rewarding” for undergraduates.

She suggested students put together a study schedule and establish a routine to accommodate the new normal as much as possible, while also incorporating elements of a traditional campus schedule.

“Having a routine can eliminate the risk of procrastination, and [students should be] setting clear boundaries for study time and free time,” she said.

Muturiki noted that it may be difficult for students who don’t live alone. In this case, she advised that they discuss their study needs and requirements openly with housemates.

 

“Read a book, stream a movie or binge watch a series.”

While she encouraged students to keep their campus study groups active online via Skype, WhatsApp and other social networking channels, she also reminded them to take regular breaks in between.

“Read a book, stream a movie or binge watch a series. Group video chats are also a great way of keeping in touch with friends in a different city,” she said.

Maintain a healthy mindset

A healthy eating plan forms a fundamental part of holistic health, and with a bit of flexibility in your new work-from-home routine, Muturiki suggested learning to cook healthy meals to enjoy at home.

Thomas also agreed that healthy eating is essential, as is maintaining a regular exercise timetable and getting enough sleep. Finally, he said, don’t allow for family time and conversations with loved ones to be dominated by negative news or social media reports.

“Find comfort in the fact that you are a resilient human being who has survived many challenges and you will survive this one,” Thomas said.


Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Please view the republishing articles page for more information.


UCT’s response to COVID-19

COVID-19 is a global pandemic that caused President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare a national disaster in South Africa on 15 March 2020 and to implement a national lockdown from 26 March 2020. UCT is taking the threat of infection in our university community extremely seriously, and this page will be updated with the latest COVID-19 information. Please note that the information on this page is subject to change depending on current lockdown regulations.

Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla, has in June 2022 repealed some of South Africa’s remaining COVID-19 regulations: namely, sections 16A, 16B and 16C of the Regulations Relating to the Surveillance and the Control of Notifiable Medical Conditions under the National Health Act. We are now no longer required to wear masks or limit gatherings. Venue restrictions and checks for travellers coming into South Africa have now also been removed.

In July 2022, the University of Cape Town (UCT) revised its approach to managing the COVID-19 pandemic on UCT campuses in 2022.
Read the latest document available on the UCT policies web page.

 

Campus communications

 
2022

Adjusting to our new environment 16:50, 23 June 2022
VC Open Lecture and other updates 17:04, 13 April 2022
Feedback from UCT Council meeting of 12 March 2022 09:45, 18 March 2022
UCT Council
March 2022 graduation celebration 16:45, 8 March 2022
Report on the meeting of UCT Council of 21 February 2022 19:30, 21 February 2022
UCT Council
COVID-19 management 2022 11:55, 14 February 2022
Return to campus arrangements 2022 11:15, 4 February 2022

UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre

On Wednesday, 20 July, staff from the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Faculty of Health Sciences came together with representatives from the Western Cape Government at the UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre at Forest Hill Residence to acknowledge the centre’s significance in the fight against COVID-19 and to thank its staff for their contributions. The centre opened on 1 September 2021 with the aim of providing quality vaccination services to UCT staff, students and the nearby communities, as well as to create an opportunity for medical students from the Faculty of Health Sciences to gain practical public health skills. The vaccination centre ceased operations on Friday, 29 July 2022.

With the closure of the UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre, if you still require access to a COVID-19 vaccination site please visit the CovidComms SA website to find an alternative.

 

“After almost a year of operation, the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Community of Hope Vaccination Centre, located at the Forest Hill residence complex in Mowbray, will close on Friday, 29 July 2022. I am extremely grateful and proud of all staff, students and everyone involved in this important project.”
– Vice-Chancellor Prof Mamokgethi Phakeng

With the closure of the UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre, if you still require access to a COVID-19 vaccination site please visit the CovidComms SA website to find an alternative.


Thank You UCT Community

Frequently asked questions

 

Global Citizen Asks: Are COVID-19 Vaccines Safe & Effective?

UCT’s Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IDM) collaborated with Global Citizen, speaking to trusted experts to dispel vaccine misinformation.



If you have further questions about the COVID-19 vaccine check out the FAQ produced by the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation (DTHF). The DTHF has developed a dedicated chat function where you can ask your vaccine-related questions on the bottom right hand corner of the website.

IDM YouTube channel | IDM website
 

 

“As a contact university, we look forward to readjusting our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in 2023 as the COVID-19 regulations have been repealed.”
– Prof Harsha Kathard, Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching and Learning

We are continuing to monitor the situation and we will be updating the UCT community regularly – as and when there are further updates. If you are concerned or need more information, students can contact the Student Wellness Service on 021 650 5620 or 021 650 1271 (after hours), while staff can contact 021 650 5685.

 

TOP