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Am I really an adult?

I live on my own, I pay my bills听and I cook for myself, but the question still remains: am I really an adult? For me, this struggle of not feeling like an adult rears its ugly head most often on co-op terms. Why? Well, I feel like I still have a lot of learning and growing to do, while still navigating听a full-time position and getting to know a new team.

But that鈥檚 the beauty of learning during a co-op term, growing and adapting听to new circumstances.

For those working remotely during a co-op, like I did during Spring Term, there听was a learning curve to feeling听connected to my job. Like many other remote co-op students,听I hadn't yet听met many of my coworkers in person. They had听only really seen me听on camera, in dress-down clothes听and at a听make-shift office of my bedroom, kitchen or living room.听I struggled to grasp how my听coworkers could begin to take me听seriously in this context,听but quickly learned that they, too, are facing these interrupted work environments.听I began to see how I'd听been offered unique opportunities to work independently and to try new things, while giving me the freedom to navigate my work from a听home environment.

As a result of being thrown upside down into the world of remote working, we've developed听professional resilience听and听learned some lessons听along the way.

Here are some tips I've picked up from my work-from-home co-op term:

1. Make sure you鈥檙e aware of what your camera is showing during meetings. Use the time between clicking 鈥渏oin meeting鈥� on Teams and joining, to scan your environment and ensure that you have听nothing embarrassing behind you!
2. Don鈥檛 underestimate the importance of keeping a clean workspace. It will make you look more professional,听keep you organized听and most importantly help you focus on the work at hand. So, take the time to stop and tidy things up.
3. Don鈥檛 be afraid to mute yourself or to turn off your camera 鈥斕齱e can鈥檛 look like Blake Lively or Ryan Reynolds every single day听鈥斕齛nd there鈥檚 no shame in that.
4. On the days that you鈥檙e struggling, take a break.听Stretch your legs, make that second cup of coffee听or stop for a snack.
5. Keep things separate. Your work and home life should be two very different spaces, and for the sake of your stress levels, don鈥檛 try to mix them. Set up a space that is solely for work. And no, your bed doesn鈥檛 count! Don鈥檛 be afraid to set boundaries and to stick to them. For me, Outlook is only open when I鈥檓 on the clock, not 24/7.
6. Your team has your back, feel free to reach out to them.听They鈥檝e been doing this since March, and they鈥檙e bound to have some useful advice or听lend an ear to listen. Remember, your colleagues are there听to听mentor you and听help you develop and听grow.

Overall, my best advice听is not to sweat the small stuff, like accidentally muting your mic during web meetings or worrying if everyone heard your roommate听in the background of your all-department conference call. We鈥檙e all trying to navigate this new virtual world听and as long as you鈥檙e putting in the right effort, you鈥檙e doing great.

Check out below how Angelica stays organized in her role.

Be professional by staying organized

Having the ability to stay organized can help you succeed and look professional during your remote co-op work term. Looking back on how I managed my work-from-home situation in Spring Term, staying organized听helped me succeed in my role. This went听beyond a clean desk or room. For me, it听meant organizing my priorities and tasks on a daily basis. Hint: if you鈥檙e not sure what to tackle first, just ask. Don鈥檛 waste time with stressing.

Taking notes during meetings

Meetings can range from a 30-minute discussion with your team to an hour-long meeting with an entire business unit. I used a notebook, whether it鈥檚 lined or a bullet journal, to write down meeting notes and reminders for myself.

It鈥檚 important to keep track of what is mentioned in the meeting, especially if it is a task that requires a follow-up action from you. Also, having written notes can help you in the long run if a colleague missed the meeting and asks for an update 鈥� you鈥檒l likely have the information you need in your notes.

If you鈥檙e not a notebook type of person, you can use Microsoft Office鈥檚 OneNote 鈥� a digital version of a notebook that allows you to organize your meeting notes听or any notes for that matter, by sections or groups. This is a great feature if you are working on multiple projects that have frequent team meetings. There are many simple ways to help you organize your notes, including bolding type, highlighting actions, using bullet points, etc.

Organizing your computer files into folders

If you鈥檙e a co-op student who is using a personal computer, your desktop or documents folder can start to look cluttered with the number of files being saved. Organizing computer folders and files can sometimes feel like a tedious task but it is actually an important step to take to help keep you organized.

For every new project, task or an assignment I took听on, I created a new folder, named it and saved all related files accordingly. Having your folders organized and easily accessible can help you find files faster and respond quickly to your colleagues requests.

Staying organized (digitally and physically within your workspace) can help you stay focused and more productive while working from home. It can also help you feel less stressed, more in control and ultimately more professional and prepared to succeed in your workplace.

Let鈥檚 show them what we鈥檝e got, Warriors!