I can confirm that the efficiency is drastically reduced when working in an open office landscape, especially if you share this with a 6-year-old, a snoring dog, and the regular visit of teenagers. In contrast, the working day has been extended by several work sessions, e.g. “The pre-breakfast session” and the “while-dinner-is-cooking-session”. I am approaching the end of my postdoc period and my work assignments now is to write manuscripts and analyze data. Table and figure editing can be partially combined with homeschool teaching, while work that requires deeper concentration is dependent on good “noise cancelling”.

I have had some problem with unstable VPN but setting files and software in offline mode has mainly solved this issue.

Digital meetings work well, and it is motivating to have someone to talk work-related stuff with. I miss my colleagues at MGM and K2, but lunch break zoom with the Martens group has been a nice option.

I enjoy working in the home office, but unfortunately it is not ergonomically designed as a workplace. However, I can vary between different workplaces / chairs / couch, and I have access to a good coffee machine and a good selection of lunch dishes. The view of Løvstakken is great, especially when the sun is shining. Significantly much better than the dark view of the rock wall from the 2nd floor of the Lab building.