In 2021, we are constantly surrounded by all forms of distractions. Be it social media notifications, or email pings, or even meeting requests. Finding the space for some quiet focus has become impossible. What this leads to is a dip in productivity and work quality. The concept of deep work was developed to combat this problem. In this article, we see what it is and how to do deep work for accurate results.
What is deep work?
In corporate workplaces, even in the most silent ones, distractions still tend to come through. These distractions could be in the form of social media or emails or yet another task for you to complete. This leads to a drop in productivity. Moreover, as each task we perform now takes longer due to the distractions, time efficiency too takes a hit.
Deep work recognizes this issue and strives to eliminate all distractions as we get to work. This setting helps us push our “cognitive capabilities’’, mainly our ability to focus and fulfill a task to the best of our abilities. With no distraction insight, it helps us push our abilities to their utmost limit. What we get as a result is quality work done in the most time-efficient manner.
How to do deep work?
Now that we understand what exactly is deep work, let us see how to do it. These tips can form the first stepping stone for you to begin your focused journey as you understand how to do deep work regularly.
1. Get rid of distractions
Knowing how to do deep work involves understanding the one main foundation. It is set upon creating a distraction-free environment during work. Distractions like social media notifications, emails, etc deter our productivity like nothing else. This in turn ruins time efficiency too. With the distraction-free environment created during deep work, one can use this method as a tool for productivity.
Actionable tip to help you do deep work
Choose the right time and place for your deep work sessions. Early morning or late nights are usually the best time to find peace and quiet for some work, especially now in the settings of remote work. If you’re amongst the ones who work from office, booking the conference room for a session could be exactly what you need to know how to do deep work.
2. Unplug for better deep work
A text, a call, an email is all it needs for our brains to get interrupted and distracted from work. Putting our notifications off and focusing on the task at hand is an important productivity tool. Since interruptions also increase the amount of time taken to complete a task, they form a major obstacle. Knowing how to do deep work and creating the right schedule can greatly increase time efficiency.
Actionable tip to help you do deep work
Unplugging is easy but what about urgent emails that you might miss? The VIP list feature in Mailman will be your savior. Using email management apps like Mailman can help you unplug without feeling any guilt of knowing how to do deep work.
3. Make it a habit to know how to do deep work
We are all creatures of habit. No task is difficult if we form a habit out of it. Deep work can sound impossible because of the amount of focus one needs to put into it. But it becomes all too easy with practice and dedication. Allowing yourself to try out a few sessions to get used to the idea of focus is one of the many ways to see how to do deep work.
Actionable tip to help you do deep work
Try to keep a track of the number of sessions you do. Begin with a 10-15 minute session for 2-3 days and work your way up as days pass. Soon enough understanding how to do deep work will become a part of your habits.
4. Routines and rituals
Routines can act like magic when setting out on one’s deep work journey. With certain routines and rituals set up, one can motivate their brain to feel more focused and rewarded with increased productivity.
Actionable tip to help you do deep work
The types of routines one chooses are limited only to the imagination. A few examples of such routines are:
- Choosing a specific place for deep work
- Setting a particular time of the day for all your deep work sessions
- Reciting the goal of the session out loud before the session begins
- Writing down goals of the session
- Using stationary dedicated to deep work
5. Shut the email inbox
Emails are an important means of communication in the corporate world. But these tend to distract us over and over from our tasks at hand. Thus they form a huge obstacle during our deep work sessions. Putting the notifications off is an easy way of warding off emails but what does one do if we miss an urgent email?
Actionable tip to help you do it
Email management apps like Mailmanhq can help us in this. This app has a feature called VIP list which makes sure that only urgent emails ask for our attention. Thus it helps us maintain our focus and is hence an important part of knowing how to do deep work.
6. Find your form
Newport introduced us to four basic approaches to deep work to choose from. These forms are based on the amount of time and frequency one can practice. These forms are designed to fit the schedules of different people for better time efficiency.
One can identify the form appropriate for them by understanding their own schedule in comparison to these 4 forms:
- The monastic (long uninterrupted periods of working, i.e. a week, a month)
- The bimodal (multi-day depth binges, say from Friday-Sunday)
- The rhythmic (habit-based approach that creates daily routines)
- The journalistic (finding short depth periods during a fluctuating schedule — best for those already confident in their abilities).
7. Change up the routine to get a better understanding of how to do deep work
Our daily routines and habits can benefit us greatly in the form of allowing discipline to our daily life and tasks. But this routine also sets us up for stagnation of focus and creativity. Surprising ourselves and our attention by doing something out of our routines can help us get out of this rut. This can also be used as a tip for productivity.
Actionable tip to help you do it
Changes as simple as changing the room in which you practice focus or changing the time of your sessions can work wonders too. Or even huge changes like shifting your sessions to a secluded place or a scenic place or even a hotel room can give you the change you desire. These changes are an important inclusion in your understanding of how to do deep work.
8. Rest to replenish
The focus demanded by deep work might not require physical energy, but it does need mental strength. This demand can be very exhausting on our energy levels and hence rest is essential. This much-needed rest will prepare you for your further sessions as you use these tips.
Actionable tip to help you do it
Relaxing by walking through nature or listening to your favorite music or meditation, can help replenish your energy levels to better understand how to do deep work.
9. Prioritize your focus
With the trend of digital detox in our midst, we have now started to take breaks from our constant distractions. As opposed to that we must strive to make focus our constant state of mind, and take breaks from it instead. Newport suggests that we must “take breaks from focus, not from distraction.” This basically means that instead of blocking all distractions, we must try to control them instead to better understand how to do deep work.
Actionable tip to help you do it
Setting a schedule for when we can use our devices and deciding to not use them otherwise, can help us put this to practice. This also helps us achieve better time efficiency.
10. Embrace the challenge of deep work
Deep work IS challenging. Focusing entirely on one task without paying attention to any distractions can be very difficult. But the result of improved quality of work is worth all the efforts. Embracing these deep work tips with resilience is what determines the success of your understanding of how to do deep work.
Deep work helps you increase productivity
Better focus and increased productivity are two main benefits of knowing how to do deep work. But another important effect of this is improved work life balance. As one enjoys a better quality of focus, one also finds content and satisfaction in their life and thus better mental health.
FAQs
Deep work helps us push our “cognitive capabilities’’, mainly our ability to focus and fulfill a task to the best of our abilities. With no distraction insight, it helps us push our abilities to their utmost limit. What we get as a result is quality work done in the most time-efficient manner.
1. Choosing a specific place for deep work
2. Setting a particular time of the day for all your sessions
3. Reciting the goal of the session out loud before the session begins
4. Writing down goals of the session
5. Using stationary dedicated to a session
One can deep work for as long as 4 hours in a day with full focus.
Choose the right time and place for your sessions. Early morning or late nights are usually the best time to find peace and quiet for some work, especially now in the settings of remote work. If you’re amongst the ones who work from office, booking the conference room for a session could be exactly what you need to know how to do deep work.
