Work More Productively From Home by Teaming up With Your Digital Buddy
Working from home is hard. Every time you sit down to work on a large project, you inevitably remember that you really need to do a lot of laundry, or clean the bathroom, or really do something other than what you really need to work on.
The easiest way to deal with this is to find an accountability assistant you can sit with. When someone else knows that you should be doing something right now, you are more likely to do it simply because there is someone who will know if you end up grabbing a snack rather than finishing the report.
When you work in an office, it’s easy. When you work from home, not much. Recently, a friend who works from home offered me a web-based solution to the problem: FocusMate .
It works quite simply: you sign up for a service and then choose a time slot when you want to work. In particular, with a step of 50 minutes. So, I can choose 8-8: 50 or 18-18: 50.
When you register, you are paired with another person who signed up for the same period of time. Come to work, you start video chatting with that person through the website, tell them what you are working on, and get to work.
Now that someone knows you have to work, and will know if you leave to do something else, you will potentially force yourself to stay a little more focused than if that person was not there.
Admittedly, this sounds like an opportunity for some shenanigans from your video mate, but the service remains pretty clean.
Aside from focusing on work while you work, it can also be a good motivator to get you out of bed in the morning. You’re much more likely to get up for work at 8 a.m. if someone is waiting.