#WFH Series: Elisha Fielding

Up next in our work from home series is Elisha Fielding, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Biochemist at GreenLight. Elisha shares her work from home hacks and how she stays connected to colleagues during this time. Check out Elisha’s full responses below.

Do you have any work from home tips/hacks you’d be willing to share with others?
Keeping track of steps (either through a watch or phone app) has been really eye opening. At least when I was in office and had meeting heavy days, I would be bouncing from my desk, to conference rooms, to the kitchen, etc. It’s too easy to click from one Zoom meeting to another without getting up and moving in between. Also, my house is nowhere near the size of the office, so even getting up to walk to the kitchen or bathroom isn’t very much. I try to move the room I’m working in 2-3 times a day.  When possible, I try to reclaim part of what was formerly morning commute time for a bike ride. I try to go outside for a 10 min walk around the block mid-day.  It’s not always easy to fit in, but by actively monitoring my steps, I have some accountability.

What has the GreenLight team done (or plan on doing) to keep the great culture intact? What has worked best to keep everyone connected?
I think moving to the weekly all hands, and adapting the format of those as we proceed has been helpful. I try to reach out to individuals that I may not work directly with, but when in office had regular conversations with. That has been hit or miss. The daily office chatting is really hard to re-create digitally. I think the forums where folks from teams are mixing has worked the best (all hands, coffee and donuts).

What are your must-have items for working at home?
Laptop, notebook for meeting notes, WiFi. Places where I can plop down for meetings and not have anything distracting in the background. Spaces to work where I can close the door and keep the kids out when it’s important.

Are there any GreenLight work from home “scenes” that you’ve found interesting? Recipe swapping? Pet photos? What fun things are happening in the GreenLight Slack channel?
My favorite is when people’s kids, pets, or SOs randomly make their way into the screen.  It’s incredibly relatable for me.  It injects some humanity into the situation.  It provides a spark where a chit chat can start. Normally when we’re in office, I’d organically be speaking with these folks about how their kids are doing or their pets or hobbies. It can be hard to do that when Zoom meetings are all business. So yeah, a kid popping in or a cat meowing provides some much-needed levity.