As we continue to stay home and stay safe, Constantin Mirsky, MACES IT Assistant, provides book suggestions and his tips for time management.
What has been the biggest challenge for you during the past few weeks of social distancing?
Constantin Mirsky: The biggest challenge is time management – I have no feeling that there’s work and there’s home. Also, I discovered that confinement is a big challenge for introverts.
Working and studying remotely can come with its distractions, from email notifications, family commitments, to social media alerts, and of course Netflix; how do you stay focused?
Constantin Mirsky: I enter all activities over 5 min in an Excel chart, using the Pomodoro tracker and I write down a plan for the day before 9 am.
Do you have any tips for SCS students on how to stay social while physical distancing?
Constantin Mirsky: Skype, Zoom, and text the people you haven’t seen for ages. Talk to your family often. A lot of classes, groups meet daily on different platforms. I would also recommend meditation and board games.
Do you have a favourite book, article, workout routine, movie or TV series, playlist, or anything else to recommend to students?
Constantin Mirsky: A friend of mine for McGill Service Desk helped me to rediscover McGill library’s services – borrow tons of books and audiobooks for free there. Google Arts and Culture app is just great. A lot of theatres (from Bolshoi on their webpage every Sunday to National Theatre Live, music of all types (here and here) is available for free. Coursera, EdX.
Latest books I have read that I would recommend – Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall, Culture Map by Erin Mayer, All Books by Yuval Harari, AI Superpowers by Kai-Fu Lee, Peter Mayle with his fantastic books about his life in Provence, France. Harry Potter as well 😊