Interning from home during a global pandemic and tips for achieving Work-Life Balance post-COVID

August 7, 2020

Finding a summer internship is a trying process of searching, applying, and writing cover letter after cover letter until you get an interview that leads to a job. So, when my summer plans to participate in one of Maxwell’s global programs was abruptly cancelled due to COVID-19, I really considered calling the summer a wash. However, after a few more applications and offers, I decided to intern with Hopeprint, a local Syracuse non-profit that works to build community and provide resources for refugees and New Americans to prosper in place. Being able to work within a community in which I also lived, felt valuable and purposeful after feeling disconnected by the shift to working from home and self-isolating. During my internship, I served as the Fund Development Intern Team Leader working with other interns to research private and government funding opportunities and draft grants for Hopeprint’s planned expansion into new cities across America. At the end of this internship, one of my main deliverables will be a government funding guide on how to locate, apply for, and use government grants and community development programs, as well as which funding opportunities best align with each location’s projects. While financial planning and fund development is a bit of a new area for me, the most important learning aspect was learning how to intern from home. How do I manage distractions, create work-life balance, and feel motivated to get work done when my cat keeps interrupting my Zoom calls? I’m still working on those answers, but I’m taking my summer internship from home experience as practice for the new learning and working environment that lies ahead. In the weeks ahead while we manage “hybrid-flex” classes and while the threat of going back online looms over us, I’m taking what I’ve learned this summer and putting it to use.

Some of the helpful intern (and class) from home skills I’ve learned so far are:

Separate your workspace from your home space. This is all about creating balance. While the work-home life balance may feel non-existent right now, it is important to claim your off-duty hours and your right to them. One way to do this is by designating a space that is specifically used for working. This 100% means not working from bed.
Create a work schedule (also an off-the-clock schedule). Again this is about creating balance. Now, I will personally admit that I’m frequently guilty of doing my relaxing during work hours and then actually working well into the AM, but I’m constantly trying to create boundaries. For interning at home this means I’m working from 9-5 and not a minute after.
Variety is important. Have variety in your life. Whether that is changing up where you watch TV or read in your house, your walk to and from school, or your extracurriculars. It is important to introduce variety into your life—especially when interning/learning from home makes you feel trapped inside your house.
Step away from the computer. I repeat, step away from the computer. I hate sitting at a computer for eight hours a day and staring at a screen always leaves my eyes tired. So to combat this I try my hardest to periodically get up and step away from my computer, so I have a quick 5 or 10 minute break before diving back into a project.
Be comfy. (Does this need elaboration?)

I’m still learning how to navigate the constantly virtual post-COVID world, and it’s certainly not made easier by the ongoing pandemic and the reemergence looming, but life is about doing what we can. As we go through this new (in more way than one) semester at Newhouse, it’s important to step back and think about what we can do to help ourselves get things done without burning out.

Here I am working from home in my favorite nook with my favorite WFH footwear.