Focusmate And How Genius It Is

As a master of procrastination, when I tried Focusmate, I felt like I had never been more productive in my whole life.

No secret there, I need some extra push to get them done when it comes to specific tasks than need some extra care and attention. Mostly when the tasks themselves are for my good, I know right? This is why I love co-working with friends and visiting coffee shops and libraries at least once a month, so I can do what I have been postponing for quite some time. The feeling that someone is doing something similar and the space itself creates that competitive thought, alright now I won't be distracting myself and wasting time will be working on my tasks like all these other people are here.

In coffee shops, those new stimuli are a fresh environment, new sounds, creative people working around, and lower distractions than you have in the office. All of this makes the brain look for new pathways and create new mechanisms to complete tasks. - management30.com

The new environment, this is it! I have noticed the same pattern when winter comes in, and I need to continue my workouts from outdoors to indoors. Here also, the space I am executing the task is so important. Is it Feng shui or something else not sure. But the performance level is different. When in a dedicated space and atmosphere like the gym and at home, where most of us do not have a room only for working out?

Something quite similar happens with working at the same spot every day. Even though you have your associated area with a habit of working, distraction can easily slip into the habit as well. Sometimes I try to avoid checking my phone until noon so I can use the part of the day when I am most productive at its maximum by leaving it in the kitchen, which is six steps away from my table/desk. Never mind that out of sight means out of mind. But there are days when you just get caught up by checking in with friends and family or posting for work on social media, and the next thing you know, you have spent an hour and a half scrolling.

I believe is a pretty similar level of distraction for those working from home like me and those working from the office and being interrupted every 6-12 minutes (people working in healthcare and IT).

And here comes the magic of Focusmate I had the pleasure to try last November. No, I am not affiliated or anything, just sharing a platform that helped me start a task I was procrastinating on for too long.

Distraction-free productivity
Focusmate virtual coworking helps you get things done.

Exactly that! You can create a session of 25 or 50 min duration, or you can join someone else's session.

3 free sessions per week. No credit card is required. Get unlimited for $5 per month.

After you complete your profile you will be matched with a person who probably has a similar type of task you have listed you want to achieve so you can be in the same mindset of productivity. During my sessions, most of my focus mates were doing some presentations and writing papers for work or higher education. But the fun part here is that you can use focus mates as you like to fit your needs.

You know when you need a friend to join you on a running habit so you can get more consistent with it and on the other hand, spend time with them, well that becomes more and more complicated with all the different paces of life we have these days. But with Focusmate, you can start practising yoga from home and finally manage to do that crow pose you wanted to learn three years ago.

The user journey continues after you select the time and choose your session, you start each session by greeting your partner and declaring your goal verbally or in the chat. Then you both start working on it. The last step is called Get your work done and is essentially you and your mate working quietly (most focus mates prefer the mic being on mute) in tandem and experiencing the power of human accountability. When the session is over, you go through a short debrief with your mate on how it went. And you are done! You finished that paper you were supposed to 1 week ago.

Give it a try, and let me know how it is for you!

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