{"id":51546,"date":"2020-03-25T00:00:09","date_gmt":"2020-03-25T07:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/world.edu\/?p=51546"},"modified":"2020-03-25T13:30:55","modified_gmt":"2020-03-25T20:30:55","slug":"struggling-to-focus-at-home-youre-not-alone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/struggling-to-focus-at-home-youre-not-alone\/","title":{"rendered":"Struggling to focus at home? You\u2019re not alone"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nFor many people, the next few weeks will be their first sustained period of working outside their normal working environment and the routine it imposes.<\/p>\n

So how can we resist the distractions of 24-hour news and get some serious work done on that article or book? There are a number of free strategies and tools that I\u00a0have been using for years to help me sustain focus at home. These employ some of the same techniques as the successful\u00a0Academic Writing Group<\/a>\u00a0that I\u00a0set up at the\u00a0University of Oxford\u00a0in 2015 to make early career academics feel less isolated and more accountable, through group motivation and peer support.<\/p>\n

1. Find a Skype writing buddy.<\/strong>\u00a0Once or twice a week, I\u00a0meet my writing buddy at an assigned time to work together on Skype (FaceTime or Zoom can also work). We keep chatter to a minimum and encourage one another to focus.<\/p>\n

Although there are a number of Twitter writing groups where you tweet your writing goal for a session with a hashtag, such as #suaw (the acronym stands for \u201cshut up and write\u201d), I\u00a0have found that the visual accountability of seeing someone else there working with me is what works.<\/p>\n

Rather than long sessions, the well-known pomodoro technique\u00a0works best for us. This consists of short bursts of 25\u00a0minutes, measured by a timer (it doesn\u2019t\u00a0have<\/em>\u00a0to be shaped like a tomato), during which we aim to achieve one clear, predefined goal, such as writing a difficult email, drafting 200 words or marking two essays.<\/p>\n

Of course, your audience needn\u2019t be confined to one person, and some online\u00a0groups<\/a>\u00a0for isolated writers are already being set up.<\/p>\n

2. Use\u00a0<\/strong>Focusmate.com<\/a>.<\/strong>\u00a0This is like having a Skype buddy, but your buddy is actually a stranger who could be anywhere in the world and most likely isn\u2019t an academic. Sign up for a free account and note your availability (sessions begin every quarter of an hour); you\u2019ll be paired with someone for a 50-minute Zoom session, where you share your goals and then mute for the remaining time, before checking in briefly at the end. In the past, I\u2019ve been paired with medical students cramming for exams, tech guys working on building apps, and even someone who meditated on camera for the entire session.<\/p>\n

Having a complete stranger beamed into your home might sound intimidating, but this system particularly helps with accountability: you\u2019re less likely to cancel an appointment with a stranger, and there isn\u2019t room for small talk. The online scheduling can provide a sense of routine and achievement. Plus, you realise there are millions of people all over the world trying to focus, which provides some camaraderie.<\/p>\n

This system is free for three hour-long sessions per week, or you can pay $5 (\u00a33.70) per month for unlimited sessions.<\/p>\n

3. Try\u00a0<\/strong>\u2018Study with Me\u2019<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0videos on YouTube.<\/strong>\u00a0Inspiration doesn\u2019t even have to be live. It\u00a0can also be surprisingly effective to watch pre-recorded videos of people studying. YouTube is full of them, often featuring a student revising for exams, usually at\u00a0home<\/a>\u00a0or in locations such as the New York Public Library. They typically incorporate a timer, and music or background noise (obviously you can turn this off). Some\u00a0livestreams<\/a>\u00a0are already being posted of people working in self-isolation.<\/p>\n

The enormous viewing figures of these videos are testament to their effectiveness. If you can get past the starting adverts for how to pass your GCSEs, they offer some accountability if you don\u2019t like the idea of being scrutinised by a live human being.<\/p>\n

4. Experiment with time management apps and internet blockers.<\/strong>\u00a0There are thousands of time management apps available. If you like pomodoros, you can simply do the original method using a kitchen timer. But apps such as\u00a0Be Focused<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Focus To-Do<\/a>\u00a0allow you to keep a record of completed pomodoros, which can itself be motivating (my ancient app has a list going back to 2011). More fun apps such as\u00a0Forest<\/a>\u00a0grow a tree as you work (it\u00a0dies if you break your focus).<\/p>\n

Well-known internet blockers include\u00a0FocusMe<\/a>,\u00a0Cold Turkey<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0RescueTime<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 all of which have specific prices and capabilities (blocking certain websites, limiting time on specific sites, tracking internet usage). I\u00a0use\u00a0Freedom<\/a>, which makes it impossible to access the internet for the times I\u00a0have specified (9am-1pm), even if I\u00a0turn the computer on and off again. I\u00a0like the routine this enables. The first seven sessions are free.<\/p>\n

5. Try creating a sonic working space.<\/strong>\u00a0There are number of noise apps and websites that aim to boost concentration. I\u00a0use\u00a0Rainy Mood<\/a>, and I\u00a0have trained myself (Pavlov style!) to associate the sound of rain with concentration by turning it on every time I\u00a0start a\u00a0pomodoro. Other people use\u00a0Noisli<\/a>\u00a0(which allows you to put together your own sounds, from trains to birdsong),\u00a0Coffitivity<\/a>\u00a0(which provides the background noise of a coffee shop),\u00a0Spotify \u201cMusic for Concentration\u201d<\/a>\u00a0playlists or even YouTube\u00a0videos<\/a>\u00a0of crackling fires. It\u2019s about figuring out what works for you.<\/p>\n

Author Bio: <\/strong>Alice Kelly works at the Rothermere American Institute,\u00a0University of Oxford<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For many people, the next few weeks will be their first sustained period of working outside their normal working environment and the routine it imposes. So how can we resist the distractions of 24-hour news and get some serious work done on that article or book? There are a number of free strategies and tools […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":51556,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[351600],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-51546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-higher-education","tag-academic-writing-group"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nStruggling to focus at home? 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