[Samantha Chang]

How are you staying productive during this time? How do you manage work from home? Do you use the pomodoro technique or do you have an accountability buddy? Share your experiences, tips, and strategies in the forum below.

[Barbara E. Dietlinger]

Every morning I make a plan for the day, which helps me to focus on that day’s tasks. Also, I love the pomodoro timer “Forest” (Android). For every 25 minutes you work, a tree grows for your forest. If you use your phone during the 25 minutes, the little tree will wilt.

[Celine Camps]

Thank you for the suggestion, Barbara! I have found a similar app for my Iphone (called Flora) and love it. I have also found writing sessions with a friend/colleague to be very helpful. You set a time/date to meet on Zoom (or whichever program you prefer) and then we just write in silence together, checking in at predetermined intervals to keep accountable to one another.

Our “Find a writing buddy” discussion topic can surely help people connect for this purpose.

[Carla Zecher]

When I was a student, a scholar told me an incredibly simple strategy that has helped me so much. I used to work on my dissertation for hours, then stop when I was feeling blocked and figure that I would sort it out the next day. The problem is that the next day I might still be feeling blocked. This scholar said that each day, when he stopped writing, he was careful not to stop at a point where he was stuck. He made sure that he knew exactly what he was going to start with when he came back to his project (whether that was the following day or a week or even a month later). It’s helpful to never begin a day feeling blocked–to get at least one easy paragraph written before tackling something difficult.

[Celine Camps]

Thank you, Carla. I have gotten similar advice from a former Professor once: “Take a break when the writing is going well.” It sounds counterintuitive, but it actually helps me to stay motivated.

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