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It can be tough, however, to stick to those times in the same way that your schedule, and your physical presence on campus, led you to follow your study routines before confinement. Unless you have an innate sense of time and project management, it鈥檚 easy to fall behind on your larger projects or to get distracted from your work because you didn鈥檛 identify goals that were clear and realistic. This is easier to fix than you might think if you equip yourself with a few mental tools and techniques.

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Workout routines for your brain

Just as your body will thank you for keeping up healthy physical routines right now, like regular exercise, meals and sleep, your mind will thank you for building back into your life some mental routines for focusing on your work. You can do that using time management techniques, like, that break up your work into short, structured sprints.

The basic idea of the Pomodoro technique is that you identify a goal, set a timer to work on that goal for 25 minutes, take a short break, and repeat three more times before taking a longer break. You force yourself to focus, but you also make sure you take regular breaks. (The technique is named after the tomato-shaped 鈥楶omodoro鈥� kitchen timer the technique鈥檚 inventor had, but听 you can use.)

One variation on Pomodoro that I鈥檝e been using in my own work is called听. It involves a little more reflection and self-evaluation, but the template worksheet linked there will guide you through it. The main idea is that you identify a goal (鈥淲hat do I want to get done by the end of this series of sprints鈥�), and then you:

鈼徧� 听 听 Commit time to work on a project/assignment/problem for specific periods (e.g. four 25-minute work cycles, with 5-minute breaks, starting at 10:00 am)

鈼徧� 听 听 Clarify your intermediate goal: what鈥檚 the next thing you need to get done in order to make progress on your work toward your broader goal

鈼徧� 听 听 Set a time limit for your intermediate goal: use this time to work on that goal without conversation, interaction or distraction

鈼徧� 听 听 Break and review: reflect on the work you just did and recognize when you鈥檝e made progress. If you struggled, you can also identify what kept you from making progress. Then, make sure you take a short break! Stretch! Refill your coffee!

鈼徧� 听 听 Repeat

Over time, these techniques will help you learn to break down larger projects into smaller goals that can be achieved in a time frame for which you know you can maintain focus. You can then improve upon this through iterative self-evaluation.

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Virtual study sprints: social accountability is your friend

These are already great techniques for setting up the structure and focus to get work done. But there鈥檚 another way to ensure you don鈥檛 get distracted from your Pomodoro/Work Cycle: doing it with others, but independently, as study sprints. We鈥檙e all in confinement, so these will have to be virtual study sprints*, but it鈥檚 easy enough to do using Teams meetings or any videoconferencing platform. Here are some ways to do study sprints with others:

The minimal version is to set up an uninterrupted timeframe during which each person commits to being present and working on their own work. For example, schedule a one or two-hour videoconference where you can all come together online and work in each other鈥檚 presence. Leave the audio off for most or all of the session, but leave your video or avatar on to attest to the fact that you鈥檙e there, connected and working. It鈥檚 similar to how you might come to the Library where everyone is quiet and focused on their studies.

A more structured version makes use of time management techniques and breaks up your study session into shorter sprints. At the start of the session, everyone defines their own goals for the next two hours, and just before each sprint, everyone takes a minute to summarize their intermediate goal for that sprint. They can share their goal via chat or write it down, but sharing your goals contributes to the feeling of presence and focus.

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Why go to the trouble to do any of this?

鈼徧� 听 听 It takes minimal setup -- just agreeing to a schedule and a few ground rules.

鈼徧� 听 听 Reflecting on your goals before and after sprints helps you manage distractions and challenges, and can help you work more effectively over time.

鈼徧� 听 听 Having peers working next to you, even if it鈥檚 virtual, can feel supportive and energizing, even without direct interaction.

鈼徧� 听 听 Working independently but in front of others puts gentle pressure on you to identify realistic goals, and stay focused to make concrete progress on them.听 (who build services supporting the use of Work Cycles) calls this 鈥�social accountability鈥�.

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Organizing Virtual Study Sprints

If you鈥檇 be interested in attending a study sprint, or if you鈥檇 like to organize a Virtual Study Sprint yourself (and get more information about how to do this),听 and we鈥檒l get back to you.

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* Thanks to Rebecca Campbell (Professor, Educational Psychology, Northern Arizona University), whose 鈥淰irtual Homework Sprints鈥� inspired this.