Tip 1: Create a support group
Why not make your daily coffee break with your colleagues into a support group moment by not only discussing your plans for the weekend, but by also sharing your thoughts on your research.
Jennifer: “Regular contact with your voluntary support group allows you to further your research. Discussing the progress you are making means that you prioritize your research more, which, in turn, increases productivity.”
Tip 2: How to eat a chocolate elephant?
Exactly; one bite at a time.
Jennifer: “The same applies to writing. Writing is a process of one step at a time, but also of starting over and over again – the famous shitty first draft or draft zero. Dividing long pieces into small doable components is an enormous help. Consistently write for twenty-five minutes a day, and you will see that by the end of the month you will have eaten a large portion of your elephant! Another advantage of this way of working is that it is very effective. Because you keep on top of things, you need less warm-up time.”
Tip 3: Increase your clarity of thoughts
One of the pitfalls of working from home is that you easily get distracted by your surroundings. Jennifer: “This is certainly the case when you are completing a difficult and mentally demanding task. Suddenly it seems vital that you tidy your room, clean your bathroom or answer your emails. Yet, don’t do it! What you should do, is write these thoughts down on a notepad, every time you get distracted. You will find that you will have made good progress by the end of the day, and that what you have written down on your notepad no longer seems important.”