Many
of us are struggling with a problem how to combine a school life and career.
That’s why we start to look for some freelance or remote job that is quite
convenient for school boys :) I’d like to introduce to you how I find balance between those two things and
what helps me to be as productive as possible!
In
my opinion the hardest part is to cut off all the things that distract you from doing work. I mean everything – a fridge, an urge to make another cup of coffee and
stuff that surrounds us in our computer like Facebook, e-mails and so on. The
problem is that at home they are so close, and we all know, how much they
distract us and how awful it might be just to start working… Here are some tips
that are very helpful for me.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/294845106828793843/
First
of all, it is very important to set a schedule for a day – to write down
what has to be done today, give priorities and start with the hardest ones. I
always try to estimate how long will it take
to finish each task, it helps me to control my work and
not to take too many things.
Here comes a helpful thing: a pomodoro technique. I estimate how many pomodoros
I need to finish each task.
Wait wait, what kind of unit might be “one pomodoro"? What the heck is pomodoro, you might ask? This is the best thing I have ever come up with :D It is quite simple – your work is divided into parts: you work 25 minutes, and then you have a 5 minute break, and the sum gives you a unit = one pomodoro. That’s really cool, because 25 minutes is not so much, and the vision of 5 minutes for coffee, a short walk or anything you want is a nice reward ;) Sometimes I even think “Ok, it’s only 25 minutes, I will do 1 pomodoro, and I’m done”, but when I finally start it is a way easier to get stuck and work 3 times longer and finish the project finally. The hardest is to start :)
Wait wait, what kind of unit might be “one pomodoro"? What the heck is pomodoro, you might ask? This is the best thing I have ever come up with :D It is quite simple – your work is divided into parts: you work 25 minutes, and then you have a 5 minute break, and the sum gives you a unit = one pomodoro. That’s really cool, because 25 minutes is not so much, and the vision of 5 minutes for coffee, a short walk or anything you want is a nice reward ;) Sometimes I even think “Ok, it’s only 25 minutes, I will do 1 pomodoro, and I’m done”, but when I finally start it is a way easier to get stuck and work 3 times longer and finish the project finally. The hardest is to start :)
The
technique also provides a longer break – just
after 4 pomodoros (2hours) you get 20 or 30 minutes off :) The best thing about
it is that it helps you systematize your work, and give you clear boundaries
when to start doing something and when to stop. There are loads of mobile or
web applications that help you track your time with the
pomodoro technique, some have extra features, like saving some
additional data – it creates charts and you can see which part of day is your
most productive one. Really cool!
http://handbookofawesome.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Pomodoro-v1-cats.png
You
can read more at the official website http://pomodorotechnique.com/ and if you want to
try to work using this technique you can start anytime, here is a random timer
that might be helpful http://tomato-timer.com/
There
are some useful tips that are totally working for me as well.
That
might sound crazy, but to boost my
productivity I need to… get dressed :D I mean no sweatpants or anything like
this, but jeans and some nice shirt. I guess my brain thinks “hey, you’re at
work” :D
I
really like to start working after doing one thing – tidying up my desk. I
always put lots of weird stuff on my desk during the whole day, but when I am
about to start working I spend 3 minutes
cleaning it, and I can start my
productive time with the clear desk and clear
mind ;) And once my desk is clean, I know that there are no more excuses.
The
last but not least is to find balance. When you have plenty things to do, you
still deserve a break. I try not to work on Saturday, it’s my day off. Of
course, it happens that I need to do something on Saturday to get everything
done and meet the deadline, but I know I shouldn’t :) Try to find at least one
day that you can spend on what you like, without any pangs of conscious :D
And
how do you organize your work? Do you have any useful tips? Do you like working
from home or do you prefer an office, a cafe or some other place?
Comments
I don't know if that is a useful tip because I don't use it myself but there are a few programs that you can get for your computer or phone that won't allow you to open certain programs (computer games etc.) or websites (facebook etc.) for a certain amount of time. You can choose what programs should be closed and for how long and that for example: for an hour you just can't access your favorite computer game or a thing that is distracting you the most and even resting your computer won't help, you are kind of forced to work.
http://www.cnet.com/how-to/blocking-app-helps-you-focus-on-work/
I have tried programs like this, for example once I had a little owl that was google extension, and once you have visited webpage from the "forbidden list" (that you had to set) it flied and then was closing the tab with the forbidden webpage :D Hahah AWFUL REALLY I uninstall it after one day! :D My "tip" for this is to have another account, especially for work. And it might be computer account, it might be another computer (the one that you got from the company you're working) or even using other web browser where you are logout from facebook, pinterest, private e-mail etc :D
And remembering about breakes is crucial :) Especially this one-day break, for me it works so cool, after this one day off I have my mind cleared and ideas comes to my mind "just like that" :D
And how do you deal with the distractions? There are always things that take too much attention :D
Regarding self-discipline, I do not have problems about it. During a day I try to choose the moment in which I feel the most comfortable with to start. Because when working in home I do not have strict time when to work, I can either start early and finish early, or start early, then leave some stuff for the evening, and do something else in the meantime or start with everything in the evening!
My biggest distraction is my dog that wants to play all the time. I guess I just get used to that one hand I work on computer and the other hand throw a ball :)
I have never heard about Scrivener, can you say something more about it? Is it a tool for programmers only? What do you mean by "writing process"?
However, I also noticed the thing you wrote about - getting dressed up is really important! I even think it may be an subconscious effect - your brain may link being in pyjamas with leisure and sleep, and being dressed with working, studying etc. (I'm clearly not a psychologist, so it's just my theory :D)
I really like working from the office as well as from home. I'm working remotely at least one day of each week and it's a great deal.
Do you like to work at libraries?
I have no special method to organize my work routine. I make to-do lists, I use post-it notes and put them all around my work desk and computer to highlight the most important tasks. I'm also HabitRPG user (http://habitrpg.com/). It's a site that turns your life into a rpg game, you get experience points for doing everyday stuff – like cleaning your place, throwing out garbage or whatever you choose to include into your list because you set the requirements yourself. You can put your projects and work there too. I do that, and it helps me a bit. The points you get aren't really important, but they somehow motivate me. I won't complain.
I dont have a problem with working, but i preffer to work in an office. Why? Because i like to be surrounded by people, talking to them and be part of a community. About some special techniques - i dont need any! if i have to do sth i just do it. Simple as that
Working from home has many advantages: work at any time, own fridge, own desk, not wasting time on commuting. For me sometimes this kind of work makes loss of many hours of unnecessary things.
we choose task to accomplish and estimate then. After that I have my own to-do list and I know what should be done by next round. It helps me to organize my time at work and one more thing,
even more important, sometimes I can work from home, cafe or from other place. Generally I prefer working at office, my brain switch to mode 'work' what is impossible at home. I don't have any special tips,
IMO self-discipline, timetable and some kind of pomodoro work technique will let you accomplish your goals.
The other thing is my family. Their favourite thing to say is that I "niby-pracuję" as my favourite (and most productive) place to work is in bed. Don't worry, I try to work on my work/sleep hygene (it is bad for your psychics to work or hang out in the same place as the one where you sleep - the bed is supposed to be used for sleep only) and when I sleep - my head faces the window and when I work - my feet point towards it. It sounds funny/silly, I know, but it really helps me to be creative and focused. However my family doesn't understand that -they subconciously think that you work only when you're physically tired after it - and they distract me all the time. They ask me to check something for them, to come and hang out with them, cook for them etc. It annoys me and I find it the biggest disadvantage of freelance work.
Another disadvantage is that the people who you work for often think that you will dedicate ALL your time for their comission and they keep forgetting that you're a student, you have personal life and other comissions to work at.
But the advantages are that you may work in your most comfortable outfit, in the time that suits you best (I am unable to do anything creative before 10 a.m. and I prefer to work late in the evening), in a place that you feel good at and that you decide on the work that you will do. It is really worth it, despite the disadvantages.
I prefer to work in an office.
Mostly because I have a direct contact with my co-workers, which in my opinion is much better than communicating via email or Skype for example.
Also, I feel much more focused on work when I'm working at the office, there are less distractions than at home and the atmosphere of a workplace gives me motivation to work.
Of course in less team driven projects working from home might be preferable.
The one thing that is a clear advantage of home-office over going to a workplace is the time and effort it takes to actually get to the office.
Especially if you have to travel about an hour and a half just to get there.
At home at least you can get some more sleep!
Sometimes people don't believe me when I tell them about how much you can earn by taking paid surveys from home...
So I show them a video of myself actually getting paid over $500 for participating in paid surveys.