Virtual coworking has the potential to be a huge boost on your productivity. That’s what Focus Sessions are all about. A dedicated time block with accountability gives you space to do big visioning and planning, dive into deep work on a project, or sometimes just clear the decks so you can get distracting tasks out of the way.

Whatever you want to get done, being strategic helps you get even more done. Try these Focus Session productivity tips to make virtual coworking even more effective.

Plan Your Time

At the beginning of each Focus Session, your host will ask you to choose your bucket—deep work, planning, or clearing the deck—and then write your task on a Post-it. Knowing what you aim to accomplish in the time you have available helps keep you focused on what you want to get done.

Focus Finder Laura Shapiro says, “When I plan my week, I plan what I will do with my focus time, and I always get so much done when I show up.”

Focus Session Productivity Tip: Before you show up for you Focus Sessions know what you plan to do. Gather any materials or files you need so you are ready to dive right in.

Stay Out of Your Inbox

How many times do you sit down ready to be productive only to find yourself putting out fires or answering messages? Messages in your inbox, voicemail, Slack, Voxer, or however else you get them are likely to pull you away from what you really want to get done. Avoid checking messages during your Focus Session.

We’d go so far as to say you should avoid checking messages right before your virtual coworking time. Why? If you’ve just read or listened to a message, you’re going to want to respond instead of doing the work you came to do.

Focus Session Productivity Tip: Set an autoresponder saying you’re focusing for 90 minutes and won’t be responding immediately to any messages. Schedule a block of time after your Focus Session to read or listen to and respond to messages.

Come Virtually Cowork with us! Join Focus Sessions (90-minute Virtual Coworking up to 3 times a day)

Turn Off Notifications.

Notifications pull us away from what we are doing and break our concentration. Before you start a virtual coworking session, turn on Do Not Disturb mode on your computer and put your phone into airplane mode. Close out all computer tabs except the one thing you are working on. Put on your noise cancelling headphones and get ready to work.

Focus Session Productivity Tip: Use blocking apps or other tools to help you focus if you are having trouble avoiding distractions.

Assess Your Focused Time

At the end of your virtual coworking session assess how it went. Ask: Did I accomplish what I wanted to do?

If yes, think about what worked. Did having your task planned out help you stay focused? Did a meditation before starting clear your head for deep work? Did you delay checking messages?

If you didn’t accomplish your task, what got in the way? Were you overly ambitious about what you could get done in 90 minutes or unclear on what you planned to do? Were you preoccupied with somebody else’s project? Did hunger get in the way of focusing?

Knowing what worked and what got in your way can help you plan to make your next virtual coworking session more productive.

Focus Session Productivity Tip: At the end of your Focus Session, write a reminder to yourself. For my next Focus Session I will ____. Fill in with something that worked for you or a strategy around what got in your way.

Block Out Time for More Virtual CoWorking

Scheduling virtual coworking time does a few things. It keeps a solid block of time open on your calendar for you to get focused and productive. Start scheduling virtual coworking every week. When you create your plan for the week, go ahead block time in your planner and reserve your Focus Session seats.

Plus, if you know when you are going to focus, you can tell somebody else when you are going to do it for some accountability. You can even schedule your session with a friend or colleague so you show up to work together!

Focus Session Productivity Tip: Create a time blocking schedule to improve your workflow. When you set it up, include 90-minute blocks for virtual coworking every week (the more the better—we can all use more focus!)

Get the free Focus Workflow Printable Time Blocking Template here