Best Results Organizing

Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay 

Last week, in Count on Accountability: 5 Productivity Support Solutions, I presented five methods for getting accountability:

• accountability partners, like friends, colleagues, or people you can meet through apps like Supporti or Focusmate 
• accountability groups, like mastermind groups, in-person study groups, virtual study groups like Hours, and professional groups
• professionals, including professional organizers, life coaches, and fitness trainers
• apps and gadgets, including StickK, Beeminder, the saucily-named (and partially redacted) Go F***ing Do It, and Pavlok
• events, whether DIYed, sponsored by a specific entity (like Deb Lee’s periodic Action Days), or “work gyms” like Caveday or Ultraworking

Across the various social networks, this post garnered quite a bit of conversation about what accountability methods worked for different people and for different activities.

Then, from Thursday through Saturday, I participated in the Task Management & Time Blocking Virtual Summit 2021, with so many of my all-star colleagues from NAPO and the productivity world, as well as big names and some surprising up-and-comers. (In an forthcoming post, you’ll be hearing about a group of talented young people surpassing all expectations in developing a task management solution. Spoilers!) 

At the summit, during the online networking, a conversation among attendees sprung up regarding an accountability concern I hadn’t considered. While some mentioned that they were introverts, even the extroverts shared similar thoughts: they were intrigued by the accountability options I’d mentioned, but at least sometimes, they didn’t want to deal with other people!

WE’RE ZOOM-WEARY

I suspect the pandemic has simultaneously made us wary of other humans and weary of digital communication. After all, Zoom Fatigue (and Meet Fatigue, and Facetime Fatigue) is real:

Four Causes of Zoom Fatigue and Their Solutions (Stanford University)

Zoom Fatigue Isn’t Just a Buzzy Term: 4 Common Causes and Fixes (MindBodyGreen)

Four Reasons You’re Tired of Zoom Calls and What To Do About It (Washington Post)

Zoom Fatigue Cartoon (Marketoonist)

Zoom-weary lawyer via GIPHY

 To all the common causes mentioned, I’ll add that our voices and our lungs are doing unrealized extra effort. When you’re in a conference room or office with someone, you have a sense of the room’s acoustics; you know when you’re being too loud or too quiet, and other people’s reactions will alert you to that fact. (Fear you’re too loud on your phone at your desk? Look around the room – if people are looking at you and then their eyes dart away, then shush! We don’t treat overheard conversations like radio, but like TV, and turn toward it.) On the phone, we also have a sense of how to modulate our voices properly.

But virtually? With people using computer microphones, ear buds, headsets, Bluetooth podcasting mics, and more, volume varies. We’re all self-conscious, uncertain about how we sound. When we get excited, we lift our voices (and may breathe heavier and more deeply) because the chasm between ourselves and the faces on the “black mirrors” in front of us make us feel like we’re shouting across miles.

“But Paper Doll,” you ask, “what does Zoom Fatigue have to do with productivity?”

ACCOUNTABILITY’S DISTRACTIBILITY PROBLEM

Right. Yes. Back at the virtual summit, what these people really liked about the idea of accountability events was feeling like they were working among others. But even though they wanted that feeling of being back in the office again, having some camaraderie, they were vocal about what they did NOT want: 

• to feel observed while they were working
• to feel the need to be social (even though accountability events, work gyms, and even virtual co-working partnerships are supposed to limit the chitchat)
• to have to do their hair or makeup or put on semi-grownup clothes
• to feel judged
• to be distracted by the other people’s homes or offices, better hair, or virtual backgrounds (One woman said that if she ended up with a virtual accountability partner who was too attractive, she’d be too self-conscious to focus, recalling memories of 10th grade study hall.)

My response in these conversations developed over a few days. At first, I joked that maybe setting up children’s stuffed animals across the table, as if for a tea party, might approximate the body doubling phenomenon we discussed last week.

But then I realized that the problem with that solution (even once you get past the suspension of disbelief) is that there’s no apparent feeling of humanity. Body doubling and most actual accountability methods involve at least some minimal interaction, even if it’s just a virtual handshake preceding getting down to business.

But maybe it doesn’t always have to be the ability to SEE someone doing something. Maybe hearing somebody doing something might be enough to help us focus and concentrate?

SIDEBAR ON FLOW AND THE UNPRONOUNCEABLE MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI 

You’ve probably heard about flow, a state of concentration or complete absorption with the activity at hand and the situation. You know – when you’re in the zone. The concept was popularized by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, in his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.

The key idea of flow underpins everything we attempt in the productivity realm, from Cal Newport’s “deep work” to our Pomodoro Technique efforts. When we’re distracted by our own thoughts and worries, or the neighbor’s leaf blower, or an office-mate who chews his gum with his mouth open, it’s hard to get into flow. However, flow is what we need most. Hear about in the man’s own words:

 

If you had any trouble getting into flow with that talk, check out Fight Mediocrity’s animated book review of Flow and PositivePsychology.com’s deep dive into 8 Ways to Create Flow According to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

Oh, and that unpronounceable name? If you can say this: “Me? Hi! Chick sent me. Hi!” then you can say his name. (You’re welcome.)

FAUX ACCOUNTABILITY FOR FLOW

So, if seeing other people in an unnatural co-working or accountability setting will be distracting, what about only hearing other people? And in particular, hearing them but having them not being able to hear you? And NOT having the kind of distractibility that comes from unintentional eavesdropping?

These summit discussions kept reminding me of my blog post, 11 Ways To Organize Your Focus With Ambient Noise. After six and a half years, this has proven to be one of my most popular posts. People really embraced the ideas of white (and brown, and pink) noise, and how soothing sounds enable you to get into flow.

Most of the neuroscience-approved solutions I provided were either nature sounds, like babbling brooks, rain, wind, etc., or similarly non-human sounds, like crackling fireplaces, showers, or washing machines. But a few of my suggestions had included background sounds that were not found in nature, but in the public realm, and in the past year, as people have missed going to coffee houses, bars, and yes, even the office, auditory “virtual happy places” have grown in popularity.

This is why I call it “faux” accountability. There’s none of that key accountability where you tell someone else what you need to work on and honor that externalized obligation to yourself; this is more like the general sense that when you’ve taken your work to a coffee shop, you’re counting on generating that flow state, getting yourself into the zone, and working. Out in the real world (of yore), you counted on a more implied sense of accountability.

You don’t tell the barista or the guy at the next table that you’re a serious person doing serious work writing a serious blog. But you buy your coffee to get the WiFi code, you sit at the table nearest the outlet so you can keep your laptop charged, and you get to work knowing that all those strangers (who really aren’t thinking about you at all, unless you’re hogging the outlet) are expecting you to GET. STUFF. DONE!

So, I posit, what if you could get that same feeling virtually?

Coffitivity

Coffitivity was the first browser-based site of its kind to hit the mainstream. Based on research by Ravi Mehta, Rui (Juliet) Zhu and Amar Cheema in Is Noise Always Bad? Exploring the Effects of Ambient Noise on Creative Cognition, and published in the Journal of Consumer Research, Coffitivity took the idea that “a moderate level of ambient noise is conducive to creative cognition” and ran with it. There are three free soundtracks in the cafe library:

• Morning Murmur – “a gentle hum gets the day going”
• Lunchtime Lounge – “busting chatter of the lunchtime rush”
• University Undertones – “the scholarly sounds of a campus cafe”

For $9/month, you can upgrade to premium level and access:

• Paris Paradise – “energizing ambiance from the City of Light”
• Brazil Bistro – “the musical chatter of a Brazilian coffeehouse”
• Texas Teahouse – “hefty sounds from a big state” 

Coffitivity also has a friendly blog written with cognitive, financial, and social needs of freelancers, solopreneurs, and remote workers in mind.

Although Coffitivity is browser-based, there’s a MacOS desktop app if you want to run it when you’re offline.

HipsterSound

HipsterSound’s Cafe Vibes has three public audio tracks: the buzz of a busy Texas cafe, Les Charmants Cafés de Paris, and the gentle hum of a quiet restaurant. In addition, at the premium level, there’s the gentle chatter of a Danish restaurant, the bustling vibe of a Rio de Janiero restaurant, the animated buzz of a cafeteria, a lively library ambiance, and an advanced rain simulator.

In addition, you can toggle on/off a variety of other sounds, including a desk fan, a co-worker’s typing, nature sounds, and different venue noises (a jazz club, an open-air bistro) and listen to any combination of those sounds on their own OR combined with the cafe and restaurant audio tracks. 

Because I didn’t pony up the $2/month (though you can pay less if you get a one-year subscription), I couldn’t listen in on the foreign language options. In general, though, none of the voices on these kinds of apps can be discerned enough to be distracting. After a year of lockdown, it might be a relief to do your work in Copenhagen or Rio!

Use HipsterSounds in your browser or via the Android app.

Cafe Restaurant, Calm Office and myNoise Development

Cafe Restaurant, from myNoise, which I included in my original post about ambient noise, looks much the same but has expanded its offerings. It still lets you use the sliders to adjust audio element styles that include the “levels” of Rumble, Restaurant, Chatter, two separate levels for Babble, Mess, Cafeteria, Cafe, Table, and Kitchen. You can now increase or decrease the speed of the soundtracks, and they’ve added both a meditation bell and a timer, useful for those who wish to implement the Pomodoro Technique.

One of the newer sibling ambient soundtracks that might be perfect for remote workers looking to simulate that soothing office hum is Calm Office.

The adjustable sliders in this app include room tone, air conditioning (which, like in a real office, seems to lean toward the overpowering, (unintelligible) chatty colleagues, copy machine, printer and scanner, blended generic office noises, keyboard and mouse clicks, pen on paper, and a loudly ticking “office clock” noise.

myNoise has added a number of other related ambient environments you might want to add to your productivity arsenal:

• Catholic Church – adjustable levels are available for rain and thunder, two kinds of bells, an organ, two kinds of whispers, footsteps, random people noises, and the hushed voice of a priest. In college, I would sometimes do homework in the vestibule of a church while my friend attended Saturday evening Mass, and I can attest to the fact that (for this Jewish girl, at least), it made for a very calming background noise. I can imagine, however, that many other religious services might have a bit too much energetic verve to (sacrilegiously?) use as background noise.
• Mexico City – as part of a developing series of global cities, this option includes busy streets and traffic noises, the Mercado Coyoacan (market), mariachis, trompetistas, protests and police sirens, and birds. While it seems like it would be hard to get into flow with this atmosphere, to each one’s own.
• Night Commute – for those who miss the creative inspiration or flow state of their nightly drive or ride, this option does not offer up traffic noises, subway doors closing, or anything similar. Rather, it’s a mix of jazzy music that reminds me more of a movie montage of a commute than an actual commute. 

The myNoise mixable soundtracks are available for the browser and in an iOS app; there’s an Android version, as well, but in the past seven years, myNoise has remained dissatisfied with ongoing Android problems and recommends Android users listen via mobile browsers.

Magical Tearoom

For something really simple, look no further than the Magical Tearoom. There are no pre-sets, no toggles, no sliders. There are no options at all. It’s just an eight-hour YouTube video with the cozy sounds of an old-fashioned tearoom, paired with a vaguely Eastern setting. The hot water periodically gets replenished, the tea leaves float, the steam rises, and other satisfied visitors burble unintelligibly, creating a calming, peaceful space for focusing on your work.

While one is left to assume that the “magic” comes from the sparkly bits flecked across the screen like so much pixie dust, I’ve found something else. In general, I need my white/pink/brown noise to be devoid of human sounds, so what’s magical to me here is that the atmosphere feels the most natural and the easiest to settle into. I’ve written much of this post “in” the Magical Tearoom.

I’d encourage you to check out the many other sound collections from this creator, Miracle Forest. Those tend to be shorter, about two hours in length (suitable for four Pomodoros, with breaks), and have themes, like a Hogwarts-inspired rainy Castle Reading Nook or Study Session at Night.

Sounds of Colleagues

Sounds of Colleagues is the result of a creative collaboration between Familjen STHLM, a Swedish advertising agency, and Red Pipe Studios, an audio branding agency. When Sweden locked down and offices closed, employees at both really missed their peeps, giving rise to this simple page. 

Use the sliders to raise or lower the levels of sounds of the general room tone, the coffee machine (likely nicer than what you had in your office), co-workers, printer, rain on the window, keyboards, sounds outside the open office window (including car horns and traffic). There’s also an alternatingly barky and whimpering office dog (and an occasional, whispered “good boy!”) and a ringing telephone. I urge you to turn the telephone sound down all the way, as the virtual phone is as annoyingly distracting as it is in real life.

If you miss your office, and maybe even the people in it, this is the most pleasantly realistic. For deep work, I suggest using the browser version works as I’ve described. However, if you prefer variety, on Spotify, you can listen to a playlist of short 2-5 minute tracks, with titles like “Corporate Office in the Middle of the City,” “90s Office With Landlines Ringing” (don’t – just don’t), and “Cocktails and Typewriters Anno 1960.” (There’s that Mad Men theme again!)

I Miss My Bar

Maybe you’re more of a Hemingway (“Write drunk. Edit sober.”) person, and you’d get more flow and accountability and less distraction in a bar than a coffee house or office?

Maybe you're more of a Hemingway ('Write drunk. Edit sober.') person, and you'd get more flow and accountability and less distraction in a bar than a coffee house or office? Click To Tweet

Viral sensation I Miss My Bar has you covered. Maverick, a jazzy bar/restaurant in Monterrey, Mexico, had to close during the pandemic, but created this platform, leaving the following message:

We all miss our bar.

Hanging out with friends, deep conversations over Gin & Tonics, meeting great new people, the atmosphere.

Even though these things will never be replaced, at Maverick we’ve made this modern digital artifact to keep you company while this awful pandemic, which profoundly affects our industry throughout the world, finally passes and we can meet again safely.

Plug your device to a decent speaker set and use it as a background sound for your zoom parties, or just for your daily wind down cocktail at home.

As every hospitality professional in the world we, too, miss you as well. If you are feeling generous, try to find a way to support your favourite local bar staff today. You can support ours here.

Get into your work groove while listening to the weekly music playlist; use the sliders to adjust the sounds of a bartender mixing drinks, a full-room crowd, rain on the window, night ambiance (in case you’re on the bar’s back deck), street noises, and drinks being served. 

To get a sense of the Maverick bar’s actual ambience and menu, here’s a translated version of their website. I suspect, when the world tips back enough toward the old ways, Maverick will have a lot of real-world visitors.

AN ENCOURAGING WORD

If one of these “faux” accountability methods helps you achieve flow, hunker down, and do your best work, there’s still one aspect of the traditional accountability experience you might still feel like you’re missing: the “Atta Girl!” or “Atta Boy!” at the end of a work session. And for this, the late and much-loved Alex Trebek has provided for us all, via an homage page created by Rex Sorgatz.

Visit the Trebek Affirmation Page, click on any (or all) of the dollar values, and let the dulcet tones of the eternal host of Jeopardy! give you whatever positive external feedback you need.

 

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Finally, much of this post was inspired by the experience at this past week’s Task Management & Time Blocking Virtual Summit 2021, which I told you about in the Playing With Blocks: Success Strategies for Time Blocking Productivity. While the summit is over, you can still enjoy the educational experience at your own convenience if you purchase an All Access Pass.