Kaplan, J., Crooks, T. et al
While working from home has its challenges, grad student know that it’s important that your supervisor remain as dismayed with their progress as possible for a more seamless WFH. Here are some ways to let down your PI from afar!
Have spotty WiFi
First and foremost, be sure your WiFi signal is spotty at best. A po- -r in- net n-n-nection… will… ge…t any virtual communication off to a d-d-d-d-d-dis-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-appointing start.
Avoid setting hard deadlines
When sending updates, avoid using hard deadlines like “next Friday” or “by the the first,” which your supervisor can put in their calendar. Vague, open ended statements are key to ensuring you retain little to no commitment. When asked, say you’ll have data “soon” or “by the end of the month” (no one explicitly said which month).
Send corrupted files
When your PI demands results can’t open them, act confused and above all else, deny any knowledge of the issue.
Blame quarantine
Need the results from that experiment a few months ago? Damn! It’s in your lab notebook and tragically you left it back in the lab.
Background noise
Ensure your significant other is working on loud but “important” tasks in the background. For extra credit, give your dogs something to bark at for hours on end.
