We are constantly surrounded by things that demand our full attention. Work tasks, emails, messages, social media, news- everything demands our time. All we need to do is prioritize what matters to us to achieve our goals. Deep work can help us reach the same goal. These deep work tips will help you implement deep work in your daily life as you touch greater heights.
The most effective 10 deep work tips
At the first glance, deep work can sound intimidating. But with these simple and easy to use deep work tips, achieve your work goals and more:
- Get rid of distractions:
Deep work is set upon creating a distraction-free environment during deep 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 work method as a tool for productivity. - Stop the noise:
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. Using deep work tips and a schedule can greatly increase time efficiency.
But what about urgent emails that you might miss? The batched delivery feature in Mailman will be your saviour. That is one of the reasons why Mailman is the best email management app. - It’s all about practice:
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 deep work sessions to get used to the idea of deep focus is one of the many important deep work tips. - Routines and rituals:
Routines can work 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. The types of routines one chooses are limited only to the imagination. A few examples of such routines for deep work tips 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 - Sideline the emails:
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?
Email management apps like Mailman 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 the deep work tips. - 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 deep work for. 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 — see chain method, daily schedule.)
– The journalistic (finding short depth periods during a fluctuating schedule — best for those already confident in their abilities - Surprise yourself:
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. Thus deep work tips can also be used as a tip for productivity.
Changes as simple as changing the room in which you practice deep focus or changing the time of your sessions can work wonders too. Or even huge changes like shifting your deep work 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 the deep work tips. - 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. Relaxing by walking through nature or listening to your favorite music or meditation, can help replenish your energy levels. This much-needed rest will prepare you for your further deep work sessions as you use these deep work tips. - 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. Setting a schedule for when we can use our devices and deciding to not use them otherwise, can help us put this to practice. Thus deep work tips also help us achieve better time efficiency. - 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 deep work methods.
Let the best deep work tips help you succeed
Focus and concentration are the main pillars of deep work. But deep work is achievable only with constant practice and dedication. Using the above deep work tips will help you on this deep work journey to achieve better results. With deep work tips by your side, get ready to witness your best productivity and time efficiency levels.
1. Get rid of distractions
2. Turn off notifications
3. Practice focused work often
4. Form routines and rituals
5. Avoid checking email inbox
6. Find your form of deep work
7. Rest better to focus better
8. Prioritize deep work over shallow work.
1. Schedule deep work at the same time everyday.
2. Choose the same place only for deep work.
3. Set rituals to trigger deeper focus.
4. Meditate to calm your mind before deep work.
Deep work is the practice of focusing on one task for a preset period of time without any distractions.
Deep work allows us to produce better quality and more focused work. this in turn increases productivity and time efficiency. Thus deep work enables us to have an upper hand in this competitive world.
