But, I’ve always been able to harness my productivity when I’ve organized work periods with friends. This was how I managed to get unstuck and get rolling on my own dissertation after many months of avoidance. I utilized it again when I was studying for my licensing exams. It is also how I most happily get satisfying chunks of work done now. It’s also a great way to get to see some of my other busy (and productive) friends who I might not otherwise see if we waited until our respective projects were complete. Co-working can give you an opportunity to be accountable to another person which can sometimes be more compelling than keeping commitments to yourself. You also have the built-in reward of socializing.

Some people like co-working so much that they will happily do it with strangers. This may be a good solution for you, if you’re looking to break out of solo-work isolation. If so, you may want to check out this great co-working wiki designed to help folks find others with whom they can work. If you’re in San Francisco, like me, you may find the direct link to the SF resources helpful.

But the way I most prefer to utilize co-working is to do it one-on-one with a friend or a couple of people. If you haven’t done this before, try sending an email out to your pals to see if anyone is up for a work date. Or if you know someone doing any of the following things: taking classes, studying for a big test, working on a book, wrestling with a large project, consider emailing them directly to ask if they want to try a work date. Agree on a set time period. I suggest two hours to start. If you’re both having trouble focusing on your work, set up before you meet just how much time you will spend catching up. It may work to spend the first 20 minutes catching up and then settling in to spend 40 minutes working. Then plan to take a 15-20 minute break to talk a bit more, followed by another 40 minute work period. See how this goes for you, and then fine-tune as necessary.

Be prepared for the reality that not every co-working couple is a match made in heaven. Some people have a much harder time buckling down and getting focused on work, or you may just have different styles and needs when it comes to taking breaks or chatting as you work. Like all relationships, you may need to communicate a bit more about this in order to find a good working arrangement. Sometimes, you may need to accept that a good friend is better as a movie and dinner date than a co-working date. On the other hand, if you’re easily distracted, you may get lucky and find someone who is a good influence on you. Also, one of the dangers of working in public spaces is that other things like unexpected noises may distract you. Consider trying earplugs or using earbuds to play low-level ambient sound as you work.

If you find a good co-working pal, consider making a regular thing out of it. Or you may want to find several good co-working partners and rotate days and times with them so you get to see all of them more often.

Good luck and welcome to the co-working revolution!

Time: Wednesdays, 4:00 – 5:30pm (October 7, 14, 21, & 28)
Location: San Francisco (2148 Market St. between Church & Sanchez)
Cost: $30 per session per person, $120 for month of October
Contact: Please contact Dr. Keely Kolmes at 415-501-9098 or
drkkolmes at gmail dot com if interested.

The dissertation process can be challenging. Students struggle with
isolation, procrastination, time-management issues, feeling stuck, and
moments of low self-esteem. Some lack adequate support from advisors,
school, friends, or family.  I offer a weekly support group for
graduate students who are in the dissertation phase of their academic
career. Learn to structure your time while getting support from
others.

This group utilizes co-working and an email list to help extend
support beyond our weekly meetings.  Group is open to graduate
students of all sexes, genders, and sexual orientations and is open to
up to 8 participants at a time.

All members have a free initial interview. I will also maintain a
waiting list in the event that the group is temporarily full.

This is an ongoing group which you may sign up for on a monthly basis. The time of the group is Wednesdays, from 4:00pm – 5:30pm.

This group is recommended if you wish to learn how to structure your time while getting support from others who are moving through a similar process.

Students struggle with different aspects of the dissertation. You may experience isolation, procrastination, time-management issues, feeling stuck, or moments of low self-esteem. Some lack adequate support from advisors, school, friends, or family.

This group meets weekly to offer support and utilizes co-working and an email list to help members extend support beyond the weekly meetings.

This is an ongoing group open to graduate students of all sexes, genders, and sexual orientations. Members will be screened to assess goodness of fit.

Group is open to 6 – 8 participants at a time and is currently accepting new members.

All members will have a free initial interview. The group membership opens up periodically, every couple of months, so please do not hesitate to contact me if you are interested.

You may also find my blog post on Taming Procrastination to be helpful.

As someone with a passionate relationship with the the technologies I use, I can be a bit defensive when people pathologize internet and social networking technology. However, living in a culture of constant distraction certainly has an effect on our attention and concentration, even if we don’t have Attention Deficit Disorder. We are constantly being interrupted by our cellphones, SMS messages, Instant Messages, RSS feeds, Twitter updates, news headlines, email inboxes, and Facebook wall updates. All of this input can contribute to problems with task management. Information overload is also changing how we communicate: people are now microblogging and exchanging smaller snippets of information. This may be an adaptive way to connect with others, but it’s not always the best way to complete larger work projects.

Staying plugged in while still managing one’s time wisely is challenging. I’ve spent the past five years working in the counseling center at Stanford University, where I have seen many graduate students try to manage large chunks of unstructured time while working on their dissertations. Here are some time management tips that have been useful with these clients. They can also help you if you’ve fallen under procrastination’s spell.

1) Short work periods

If you have gotten really stuck on a project, try scheduling a 30-40 minute work period for your first day of getting back on-task on a project. Clients usually think I’m kidding when I prescribe such a short work block, but I am astounded at the number of people who come to see me who set aside 6 hours of work time and then are frustrated with themselves for not using the time well. Think of it this way: it’s much easier to mismanage 6 hours of time than it is to mismanage 40 minutes of time. This is especially true if you’re already reinforcing poor work habits. Get in the new habit of experiencing what a productive piece of work feels like. Keeping to short work periods helps create reasonable expectations while helping you build your skills and focus. It will also help you by leaving you feeling satisfied and productive, rather than angry at yourself for wasting time.

Tools

I tell clients to use an old-fashioned kitchen timer if they can find one, since it’s big, hard to ignore, and somewhat symbolic while you see it running out of time. There is the added tactile experience of twisting the time up when you set it, which may help to jar you from unconsciously web-browsing back to conscious work mode. Plus it’s one less thing to fiddle with on the computer.

Some people prefer to download different timers or stopwatches and use them instead.

2) Eliminate distractions

Have a big project to do? Turn off your cellphone (and that means turn it off vibrate!) and stick it in your backpack. Don’t leave it sitting on the table in front of you. Close your IM software, or at least go invisible. Close your web browser if you can, but if not, then close windows that are not work-related. If you have an email notifier, turn it off.

Is 40 minutes without access going to make a big difference? If you create room for interruptions and distractions, they will find you. It seems pretty straight-forward, but lots of people have gotten used to letting technology tap them on the shoulder every two minutes, and deciding that you’re going to be unavailable during your short work period will help immensely, at least for the outside interruptions.

Tools

If you need access to the web for the project you are working on, you can also use tools like LeechBlock to lock you out of specific websites for a specified period of time if you fear you will browse away from the project during your blocked out work time.

3) Schedule reward and break periods

When people are just starting to get back into good work habits, I recommend they start with 30-40 minutes of work each day. For many serious procrastinators, 6 days of 40 minutes of work is already three more productive hours of work a week than they’ve been completing. If someone is able to manage this and feel successful, we’ll talk about sandwiching an hour of internet playtime between two 40 minute chunks of work next. It is just as important to set the timer on the break periods as it is to set it during the work periods. After success with this, we’ll talk about increasing stamina to four work periods a day, with breaks scheduled and we may move the work period to 60 minutes with 40 minutes for breaks, internet browsing, research.

4) Break large tasks into smaller ones

Many people have difficulty because the size of the task. This can be particularly daunting if it’s something like a book or dissertation. Large projects can easily overwhelm a person. Start breaking projects into smaller pieces. Get specific about what you want to do with your block of work time and be reasonable. It may make more sense to start reading and reviewing one article than thinking you’re going to write ten pages of your lit review in one work session. If you’re having trouble breaking up your tasks, schedule some time with a friend who may be able to help you get organized and help you assess what a smaller task really is and whether it is manageable.

5) Get support

Try co-working or having a project partner. Getting together with someone for 1-2 hours of work a couple of times a week can help you to be accountable. It is sometimes easier to have to show up for someone else than it is to show up for yourself. Agree at the beginning of your work time on what tasks the two of you are hoping to complete. Check-in at the end of the work session and set an agenda for your next work date. If you can’t get together to work, plan a phone check-in at a set time later in the week to update one another on your progress. If you don’t have a partner, try Googling co-working and your city. Many cities have co-working networks and resources for people who want to get together and work.

Some other good sites and resources

Some people like to use tools to track their time to get a baseline measure of how and where their time is being spent. I don’t recommend people start with this, as it can add to the distraction or just bring up feelings of shame and defeat about misuse of time. But if you’re interested, RescueTime is a time management software that can do this for you. MeeTimer is a Firefox extension which does the same thing.

David Allen, the author of  Getting Things Done (GTD), a strategic approach to workflow management, has sparked a large movement of devotees. You can find a 1:26 minute podcast over at 43 folders, where there is another great post about his concepts in practice.

I love Cory Doctorow’s piece on Writing in the Age of Distraction.

Thanks to Tim Ferriss for his post on How to Use Twitter Without Twitter Owning You in which I was tipped off to the software recommendations in this post.