By Ankita Banerjea 

Towards the end of the summer, I’ll admit I was apprehensive about starting the new school year on campus in this dramatically altered world that we’re living in due to the pandemic. For the first couple of days, I kept drawing parallels to last year and feeling frustrated. Once the momentum of classes set in and a routine began to take shape, it was a lot easier to stay engaged and embrace the uniqueness of this situation for what it is. 

I’m a second-year MIP student and all of my classes are remote - that being said, it’s been encouraging to see professors adapting class formats to combat Zoom-fatigue, and find ways for us to engage with our classmates through breakout room activities during class sessions and otherwise. I’m also grateful to still be on Stanford’s campus and take advantage of the natural beauty that it has to offer! 

7:00 a.m.: Ever since the pandemic set in, I’ve attempted to make the most of my day by waking up at a reasonable hour and starting off my morning right. This usually means drinking a cup of coffee, eating something light and reading the headlines for the day before setting up for my 8 a.m class. I also try to stick to a technology-free routine for the first hour of the day and enjoy the beautiful view from my apartment.

7:45 a.m.:

Setting up my desk for the day.  My workspace has evolved over the past year, with the addition of a monitor and mouse alongside my laptop and a conveniently-placed headset in case I need it, and to account for my roommates who are also in classes in adjacent rooms. 

8:00 a.m.: GSB class on strategic communication. Today we learned techniques to draw an audience “into the room” and make our storytelling more compelling, and discussed in breakout rooms some of the ways in which we can manage our anxiety around speaking in public.

I have classes continuously until 11 a.m. on Monday, with a 30-minute break in the middle where instead of having to sprint from one side of campus to another, I simply stretch my limbs, have a drink of water and a snack and log into the Zoom link for my next class.

11:00 a.m.: Class on online open source investigation. In this class we learn how to perform targeted research on online platforms, which can be particularly useful when looking into mis/disinformation campaigns intended to mislead. Today we learned how to effectively seek out information on specific individuals we may be interested in. 

11:15 a.m.: I signed up for one of Stanford’s open-air fitness programs which takes place on Monday and Friday afternoons. As a result, I’m able to take a technology break in my day and incorporate some self-care in the form of yoga on Wilbur Field. 

12:30 p.m.:

Post-yoga, I usually make myself some lunch consisting of assorted food items in my fridge, but today I decided to treat myself to a take-out meal from Coupa Cafe near Green Library (and rode past Encina Hall for old times sake!) I also used this time to catch up on pending readings for my 4 p.m. lecture and then it was a short bike ride back to my apartment and time to jump back into class.

4:00 p.m.: I’m taking a class at the Graduate School of Education about economic models of education. Today we learned different methods to estimate returns from education and discussed some of the systemic reasons underlying the gender wage gap. 



5:30 p.m.: After my last class for the day, it’s usually time to cook some dinner and get started on homework or other non-school related obligations. Today though, I felt like I needed a bit of fresh air to motivate me, so I went on a hike to the Dish. The rolling hills were welcoming as ever, and I even spotted a turkey in the distance (too far to capture it on my phone, unfortunately!)

7:00 p.m.: Back from the Dish and tired, it’s finally time to wind-down for the day. I spend some time catching up with my roommate and then start on a problem set for a class that’s due tomorrow. After getting through about half of it, I engage in a 10-minute guided meditation, and then it’s lights out by 11 p.m.