In the moments when you lack focus or motivation, or when you procrastinate, maybe just the right thing to help is a change of the workspace – with virtual coworking.
Last week, I stumbled upon the website Focusmate*. It’s a community of people trying to boost their productivity through an interesting activity – virtual coworking (aka “body doubling”).
Basically, you want to focus and get something done, so you choose a timeslot of 25, 50 or 75 minutes and get paired with a random person who is also getting something done. You get on a video call, greet eachother, share goals, and each do their thing. When the time’s up, share your progress and briefly chat. As simple as that. It can be studying, writing, working… even chores or exercise.
Sounds weird? Maybe, but it works. Like a charm.
img: Focusmate.com
My virtual coworking journey
I’m still quite new to the whole concept – having stumbled upon Focusmate* last week, but it’s been a very valuable and interesting experience.
I had 7 sessions, and so far I’ve:
- worked on an article for my PhD studies,
- learned math (Focusmate actually unblocked me and helped overcome days of procrastination!)
- worked on this blog post
Some thoughts
- Focusmate works well because you have:
- accountability (as you commit to a timeslot to do a certain thing)
- support ‘buddy‘ (as another person will work on their thing with/next to you)
- intention (at the beginning of the timeslot you say and write in chat what your goal is)
- community (you usually meet interesting and supportive people that are part of
- timeboxing (I’m a big fan of timeboxing in work and life and it helps with focus)
Is virtual coworking/body doubling something you would like to try?
I think you should.
Let me know your thoughts 🙂
*This is a referral link, if you sign up, you get a free month, and I get a free month