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With TBTS co-working sessions, you intersperse doing work (usually for 15 minutes or 20 minutes at a time) with taking turns doing Teddy Bear Talk Support (usually for 3 minutes each).
With TBTS co-working sessions, you intersperse doing work (usually for 15 minutes or 20 minutes at a time) with taking turns doing Teddy Bear Talk Support (usually for 3 minutes each).


"We have to do this every day!!!" was what a co-working partner said to me after our first session of co-working. All we had done was interspersed three 20 minute work sessions with 2 minute meditation breaks.  She was  working on finishing a book she was writing, and now she saw that she didn't have to do it alone.
Quote from my co-working writing partner: "It's amazing how I know what to say when someone is listening."


For me, sometimes I use these sessions to work on things that I might otherwise have a hard time getting myself to do.  Or, sometimes it's just nice to have some company while you take breaks, and it gets you to be good about taking scheduled breaks.
Quote from a co-working partner said to me after our first session of co-working:  "We have to do this every day!!!"  All we had done was interspersed three 20 minute work sessions with 2 minute meditation breaks.  She was working on finishing a book she was writing, and she immediately saw how magically powerful co-working could be.


Quote from my co-working writing partner:  "It's amazing how I know what to say when someone is listening."
One way to easily be able to benefit from co-working is to try it out using [https://www.focusmate.com FocusMate] where you can do three free sessions a week with co-working partners that FocusMate pairs you with that match the times you want to work.
 
Currently, FocusMate doesn't have an option for doing Teddy Bear Tech Support co-working sessions.  If you are interested in that possibility, email Leeann at teddybear@umich.edu and we can look into creating a private group on FocusMate.
 
A workaround for doing TBTS with FocusMate is to use your own voice recorder or the TBTS 3-minute Vanishing Voicemail number: (734) 531-9597.  Talk to your voice recording teddy bear before and/or after your FocusMate session to benefit from working through your ideas out loud.
 
==What are some benefits of doing co-working sessions?==
For me, sometimes I use these sessions to work on things that I might otherwise have a hard time getting myself to do. Or, sometimes it's just nice to have some company.  Co-working can also get me to be good about taking scheduled breaks.  With taking scheduled breaks, you can come to have a better sense for time and how long things take and how long of a session you tend to benefit more from.  For taking scheduled breaks whether you're doing co-working or not, try using the timers in the next section.


Co-working is something I started doing when I was an undergrad.  I was an electrical engineering student, and my chemical engineering student friends were the ones who were permanent fixtures at the library. I could always just find them there without ever having to arrange to study with them.  So, I did my work alongside them as they did theirs.
==Audio files for timers for tracking time and/or taking regular 2 minute breaks==
Taking 2 minute breaks either every 10 minutes or every 20 minutes has totally changed my life for the better. It's helpful to me that the breaks are contained, and 2 minute time periods have been a great container for taking a meditation break, or get up and stretch break, etc.


'''To download the mp3s on this page, click on the button in the upper left hand corner of the screen after you click on the links below.'''


- '''The quickest and simplest way to give taking regular 2 minute breaks a try''' is to use this combined-into-one mp3. It is for taking 2 minute breaks every 20 minutes. It is just over an hour long, with three 20 minute time periods and two 2 minute breaks.


When I was working on writing my dissertation, there was a group of us that would do this together at the library. We called it "Writing Camp" and it involved timed sessions of writing with timed breaks in between them.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fu5dgaa5xp5agw0/StructuredTime20min-2min.mp3?dl=0


My partner and I had come up with the structure of Writing Camp when we took a vacation with a friend who we were helping with writing a book. So, again, each person can be working on very different things while everyone is working together.
- I particularly like finding out when I'm at the halfway point in the 20 minute time periods. So, here's an alternative combined-into-one mp3 that's the same as the previous one except that, at the 10 minute mark, there is an announcement that 10 minutes have passed, and there are 10 minutes left.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ddhkmu9a7hkqh6v/StructuredTime20-2-10minAnnounced.mp3?dl=0


Then there was a period of time that I called "The Death of Writing Camp" where I sorely missed the support of Writing Camp.  One benefit of Writing Camp is that you come to have a better sense for time and how long things take and how long of a session you tend to benefit more from.  I need sessions that are 20 minutes or less. My partner needs sessions that are 40 minutes or more.  So, doing Writing Camp together no longer worked for us, and I often bemoaned The Death of Writing Camp.
'''If you want to make playlists for more than an hour long, or for taking 2 min breaks every 10 minutes instead of 20, you can use the following mp3s.''' My playlists have multiple copies of the mp3s, but you can also just set your playlist on repeat.


By happenstance, Writing Camp was revived when my friend who is a professor and I started working together when she was finishing a book.  Shortly after that, a different friend asked me to be her writing coach to help her with finishing a graduation paper for professional certification. So, I was meeting with both of these friends during the same time period.  It was interesting how differently we went about things in the two cases.  
- This mp3 simply begins with an announcement that this is the beginning of a 2 minute time period and ends with '''1 bell''' after 2 minutes of silence have elapsed.


https://www.dropbox.com/s/d9ldecdh4xs7uqk/2min.mp3?dl=0


==Abbreviations you can use when proposing calls on the Teddy Bear Signup for these sessions==
- This mp3 simply begins with an announcement that this is the beginning of a 10 minute time period and ends with '''3 bells''' after 10 minutes of silence have elapsed.


https://www.dropbox.com/s/29lizkitoaocwvu/10min.mp3?dl=0


'''Co-workingInPairs'''
- This mp3 is the same as the 10 minute one except it is for a 20 minute time period.


Calls where you intersperse doing work independently (usually for 15 minutes or 20 minutes at a time) with taking turns serving as teddy bears (usually for 3 minutes each).
https://www.dropbox.com/s/i7373f0rut6gin1/20min.mp3?dl=0


'''Co-workingInBreakoutRooms'''
- This mp3 is also for a 20 minute time period. But for this one, at the 10 minute mark, there is an announcement that 10 minutes have passed, and there are 10 minutes left.


Co-working session where you will be putting pairs and triples in breakout rooms
https://www.dropbox.com/s/jvrw8kv42wbw2pj/20-10minAnnounced.mp3?dl=0

Revision as of 12:58, 2 January 2022

Co-working sessions are work sessions in which people get together to work independently on their own separate projects.

With TBTS co-working sessions, you intersperse doing work (usually for 15 minutes or 20 minutes at a time) with taking turns doing Teddy Bear Talk Support (usually for 3 minutes each).

Quote from my co-working writing partner: "It's amazing how I know what to say when someone is listening."

Quote from a co-working partner said to me after our first session of co-working: "We have to do this every day!!!" All we had done was interspersed three 20 minute work sessions with 2 minute meditation breaks. She was working on finishing a book she was writing, and she immediately saw how magically powerful co-working could be.

One way to easily be able to benefit from co-working is to try it out using FocusMate where you can do three free sessions a week with co-working partners that FocusMate pairs you with that match the times you want to work.

Currently, FocusMate doesn't have an option for doing Teddy Bear Tech Support co-working sessions. If you are interested in that possibility, email Leeann at teddybear@umich.edu and we can look into creating a private group on FocusMate.

A workaround for doing TBTS with FocusMate is to use your own voice recorder or the TBTS 3-minute Vanishing Voicemail number: (734) 531-9597. Talk to your voice recording teddy bear before and/or after your FocusMate session to benefit from working through your ideas out loud.

What are some benefits of doing co-working sessions?

For me, sometimes I use these sessions to work on things that I might otherwise have a hard time getting myself to do. Or, sometimes it's just nice to have some company. Co-working can also get me to be good about taking scheduled breaks. With taking scheduled breaks, you can come to have a better sense for time and how long things take and how long of a session you tend to benefit more from. For taking scheduled breaks whether you're doing co-working or not, try using the timers in the next section.

Audio files for timers for tracking time and/or taking regular 2 minute breaks

Taking 2 minute breaks either every 10 minutes or every 20 minutes has totally changed my life for the better. It's helpful to me that the breaks are contained, and 2 minute time periods have been a great container for taking a meditation break, or get up and stretch break, etc.

To download the mp3s on this page, click on the button in the upper left hand corner of the screen after you click on the links below.

- The quickest and simplest way to give taking regular 2 minute breaks a try is to use this combined-into-one mp3. It is for taking 2 minute breaks every 20 minutes. It is just over an hour long, with three 20 minute time periods and two 2 minute breaks.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fu5dgaa5xp5agw0/StructuredTime20min-2min.mp3?dl=0

- I particularly like finding out when I'm at the halfway point in the 20 minute time periods. So, here's an alternative combined-into-one mp3 that's the same as the previous one except that, at the 10 minute mark, there is an announcement that 10 minutes have passed, and there are 10 minutes left. https://www.dropbox.com/s/ddhkmu9a7hkqh6v/StructuredTime20-2-10minAnnounced.mp3?dl=0

If you want to make playlists for more than an hour long, or for taking 2 min breaks every 10 minutes instead of 20, you can use the following mp3s. My playlists have multiple copies of the mp3s, but you can also just set your playlist on repeat.

- This mp3 simply begins with an announcement that this is the beginning of a 2 minute time period and ends with 1 bell after 2 minutes of silence have elapsed.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/d9ldecdh4xs7uqk/2min.mp3?dl=0

- This mp3 simply begins with an announcement that this is the beginning of a 10 minute time period and ends with 3 bells after 10 minutes of silence have elapsed.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/29lizkitoaocwvu/10min.mp3?dl=0

- This mp3 is the same as the 10 minute one except it is for a 20 minute time period.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/i7373f0rut6gin1/20min.mp3?dl=0

- This mp3 is also for a 20 minute time period. But for this one, at the 10 minute mark, there is an announcement that 10 minutes have passed, and there are 10 minutes left.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jvrw8kv42wbw2pj/20-10minAnnounced.mp3?dl=0

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