Focus and motivation while working from home

I don’t know about anyone else, but finding ways to focus and get work done has become much more important for me in the last few months. With the temptation to doom-scroll, lack of structure in daily life, and just generally having to adapt to a new world where nothing feels normal anymore, it’s easy to get distracted. To try and help (both us and our writers), I’ve listed out a few ideas that may help people get motivated to focus on uni work. Fingers crossed that writing it down helps me!

Cultivate a study space

Who else has worked from bed in the last few months? I haven’t meant to – I don’t sleep at the best of times and don’t want to cause further disruption – but it’s just so easy. While the odd day here and there probably isn’t the end of the world, and we all definitely deserve some slack for working through a global pandemic, it’s not a great habit to get into. You want to find yourself a study space with slightly less sinkable cushions tempting you to nap.

I know for myself I work best if I’m at my desk, it’s not covered in clutter, and I’ve got some nice stationary close at hand to make myself feel motivated. I keep the window open, have a citrus-y reed diffuser nearby to keep me feeling perky, and try to remember my water bottle. That’s what works best for me, but it’ll be different from person to person. Maybe you need a study playlist to help you focus, or to block all social media. The most important thing is having a space that encourages you to focus on work things and minimises other distractions.

Plan your day/week/month

Time doesn’t really feel like it exists anymore, making it easy to just lump things into this grey I’ll-do-it-at-some-point pile that you’ll never actually make progress on. Then, all of a sudden, a deadline creeps up and you suddenly have to do two months of work in two days. Very stressful! Setting aside time to plan things – and displaying deadlines prominently – can help with this. Make planning part of your routine, whether it’s at the start of each month, each week, or even each day. At least then there’ll be fewer surprises.

I have to admit that I’m not perfect at the planning each day part – I know what’s on my to-do list for the day, but don’t always set specific times for them – but I’m fairly good when it comes to my monthly plan and borderline religious about my weekly plan. I have a little, yellow academic diary that I check each month so that I know what events and meetings I have scheduled, and then a weekly tear-away planner that I fill in every Sunday evening so that I can note down all the things I want to get done and when I roughly want them to happen (don’t forget to allocate catch-up times for when life ruins your carefully planned week!). I also have a whiteboard that I write notes on about ongoing tasks (because I will never have enough stationary-related things in my life). I personally like having things clearly displayed around my workspace, so that I know at a glace that I had planned to finish X assignment on Y day. I have another friend who uses post-its, effectively creating a timeline for themselves on their wall, while my sister prefers to keep everything in one of the many organiser apps that are available. The important thing is having some sort of plan, so that you can work through tasks effectively and feel the satisfaction of seeing the to-do list get smaller.

The Pomodoro Technique

The basic gist of the Pomodor technique is that you have short periods of focus with little breaks in between. Commonly this is 25 minutes of work, where all of your focus is on one particular activity, followed by a quick break, and then on to another 25 minutes. After around four cycles of this, you have a longer break.  So, say that you have a 1500 word essay to write. Your first 25 minutes is focused on researching a list of topics you’ve already planned out. Then break. Another 25. Break. Then, for your next two 25 minute slots, maybe you switch to writing. Snack time!

I find this technique helpful because it forces me to focus, while also promising rewards through the breaks. And 25 minutes on one task feels a lot more manageable than the grey, incalculable timeline of ‘write a 1500 word essay’. I quite often decide what my first 25 minute block will be (say, for example, answer emails and organise day), decide on task two in the five minute break, and then keep evaluating where I am after each slot. You get a nice boost of “look at me, I’m productive!”, without feeling overwhelmed and unsure of how long you should keep going for.

Study Sessions

A good study space, planning, and the Pomodoro technique are great for getting yourself going, but it doesn’t help with one of the biggest demotivators floating around at the moment: isolation. It’s easy to feel like you’re drowning in work all alone. Online study sessions can really help with this though. Get a group of friends online in some way – Teams, Discord, Skype, etc – and turn your study time into a social event. As with Pomodoro, focused slots with cameras off and mics muted interspersed with short breaks are really helpful here, combining accountability with socialisation. It also gives you the chance to bounce ideas off of the people studying with you, or to share resources if you’re all working on a similar task.

I have a group of friends I do this with regularly. It’s time I have carved out of my week that I know is going to fulfil some of my social needs, but that is also there for focused study. If I’ve managed nothing else that week, I know I’ll at least do a little work in those sessions. Setting something up with friends is really helpful. For postgrad students, the Bangor PGR Society does an online “Productivity Retreat” every Tuesday where you tell one another your task(s) for the session and then get them done (accountability motivation again). I’m aware that there are also youtubers/streamers who do study with me sessions as other possible options as well.

Change things up

Sometimes you just need a new location to shake yourself out of a slump. Even the most perfect study space gets boring after a while, after all. While the weather is dry, why not find a spot outside? This can also have the added benefit of removing social media temptation if you end up in a spot with no wifi. Alternatively, you might find a coffee shop with good social distancing measures and wifi in place. Even rearranging your room can help with this one. Studying seated on the floor, while not ideal as a long-term study spot, can change your headspace for a few hours to help get that assignment done.

So, those are my big tips for getting focused while working from home. Does anyone else have other suggestions?