How have you kept working during the pandemic?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader writes:

I'm a 3rd year PhD student (I've passed my comps. and started my proposal) and here's my query: How are y'all working, publishing, editing, applying, defending during covid pandemic? Though I see philosophy might be even more present those times, I only feel useless, and on top, not having in-person seminars, presentations etc completely blurred the exciting part of pursuing this path. I've definetly not adapted to online courses, even though I've TAed and runned tutorials in both fall and winter. Something I used to be excited doing it is now just too painfull. I've been thinking and feeling more and more that it is senseless to try to be "out-there-soon-to-be-employabe" (i.e., publishing, networking or whatever), and that I should rather have a plan B at this point (I'm 30yo). Am I done with philosophy after 12 years stringing along with it? (p.s.: I know I'm the one who might be able to answer this question, but since there are eventually people here who gave up the career etc, I'd like to hear if someone could relate and/or see this as the first indices of my leaving the field; p.s.2.: I do not consider not defending, just not being "out-there-soon-to-be-employabe"). Thanks a lot.

I empathize with this reader. As a hard-core introvert, I expect that I may have been able to handle the isolation of the pandemic more than most. But still, the changes during this time have deprived me of many professional things that I enjoy, sapping those parts of my life in academia of a lot of joy. Here, I particularly have in mind hybrid classes, where I would often only have 1-3 students in the classroom with everyone else on Zoom (which was really frustrating), as well as the lack of in-person conferences (I presented at two APA's this year, and had been really excited to travel to them, catch up with friends in the profession, browse the book exhibits, etc.). Still, I've been able to keep going pretty well with things like research because I mostly work alone and enjoy working that way.

Anyway, I guess if I had one bit of advice for the OP, it would be to not to get too locked into how things are right now at the present moment. I've gone through many real ups and downs in my time in the profession, including several years in graduate school where I felt completely lost, down on myself, and (like the OP) considered leaving the profession. The thing about this life is: things change. Next year will almost certainly be very different. The OP will probably be back in the classroom, back in seminars and colloquia, etc., enjoying again all of those things that they are currently missing. Now, should they actively develop a 'Plan B'? Absolutely! We all know how bad the academic job-market is. But still, if the OP suspects that the conditions of the pandemic are the main source of their current difficulties, then it seems to me that the thing for them to do is to simply be patient for these conditions to pass. This year has been profoundly difficult for most of us. But it has also been a unique year unlike any other in recent memory. If the OP otherwise enjoyed their time in grad school prior to the pandemic and has real intentions of developing a plan B (so they're not in a bad position if they have trouble on the academic job-market post-graduation), then my suggestion would be to probably stick with it. But again, as they note, only they are really in a good position to know their situation.

Anyway, these are just my thoughts. What are yours?

Comments

[Tom]

I'm in the exact same boat as you- same place in my program, same age. And I agree that this past year has been a joke, at least as far as department life goes. Doing things online will always be crappy.

I guess my advice is to be really honest with yourself if this is your passion or not. Is this your 'calling' in life? If it is, you will find a way to push through. As Marcus points out, you will reach low points in your program, covid or no covid. So, in a way this present situation is nothing new or unique. If its not covid, it will be something else. Might as well figure out how to deal with adversity now.

If you strip away all the exterior things - department life, conferences, teaching in person, etc.- and all you are left with is just you and your books and your writing, and you hate it, maybe that is an indicator of something. Maybe you have been pursuing philosophy all these years as a way to just avoid 'the real world'? I suspect many students do this.

Only you can answer these questions. What has gotten me through the last year is my certainty that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing and my passion for it. Doesn't mean it isn't hard, of course. But again, if it weren't covid, some other challenge would come along to make you question your choices.

[sympathetic reader]

Initially, my response to the loneliness of the pandemic was just to bury myself in my work, mostly by writing papers and dissertating. It helped that my dissertation was already well under way. Knowing that the finish line was close helped me not to get too bogged down in sadness. But OP's situation is different, since they only just starting out on the dissertation--an already overwhelming task at the early stages which, when coupled with pandemic blues, can no doubt feel like the last thing you want to spend your time on. Still, I want to emphasize that OP is nowhere close to being alone in having a hard time keeping motivated right now. For me, things have been harder more recently; the strategy of burying yourself in work is not a healthy one for the long term.

Anyway, if there is a tiny piece of advice I can offer as regards finding motivation, it's to try and organize regular or semi-regular online work sessions with some of your peers. You might structure them by using the "pomodoro" method, where you work for short intervals of 25-30 minutes and then allot breaks of 5-10 minutes (these are sample numbers; you can adjust as you see fit, but the idea is not to make each work interval too long, at least if your objective is to gently guide yourself back into productive work habits). During these breaks, you can just socialize with others on the call. And because the work intervals are short, it can feel less daunting to just dive in.

This link is useful for getting the pomodoro sessions going:

https://pomofocus.io/

It helps if one person on the zoom call shares the timer using the share screen function, so that everyone on the call is synced up with one another.

[Michel]

I set myself one small, precise research goal at the beginning of every day, and then went about satisfying it (e.g. write 250 or 500 words on paper X, read paper Y, etc.). Once I reached the goal, I decided whether I felt like stopping (in which case, I could happily do so) or pressing on and exceeding my goal for the day. I reported on my progress each day in an online community, too, for some accountability.

I worked 1-2 hours most weekdays using this method, and not at all on weekends. I also wrote four papers from scratch, submitted them, R&Red them, had them accepted, revised several other papers, wrote many referee reports, etc. It was painless.

You don't need the motivation to do a lot. You just need to sit down and do a little bit on a regular basis.

[Michel]

I should have added: one I was done with my task for the day, I spent the rest of the day on fun stuff--hikes, movies, games, etc.

[new assistant prof]

@sympathetic reader: I have been doing regular zoom work sessions with a friend as well, and this has been hugely motivating and a way of connecting. We do 30 minute work sessions and prior to each session we state what mini goal we will accomplish. After we say what we accomplished, maybe do a little exercise together or get a snack, then set goals for the next session. Probably the reason I am not insane.