Deep work has been touted as the world’s ultimate job skill and I'm going to show you how to do it.
Shallow work reduces our ability to perform at our cognitive peak.
You want to be among the top 1%, you have to deep work - that's what the 1% do.
Add deep work with the pareto principle and boom - watch out for growth.
It’s a method for reclaiming productive focus, for being present on the work that matters, and for working with impact.
Benefits of Deep work
- competitive advantage
- Improve your focus
- Deep work = good living
Things to do before Deep Working
1. Gathering everything you need for your work ahead of a session
2. Creating a process for ending deep work — including structuring the next session
3. Establishing where you will do deep work and for how long
4. Distraction-proofing your space
How to Deep work
1. Choose a Depth Strategy
a. Monastic - This is the hardcore approach. Here you basically become a monk- That means no social media, meetings, phone time, internet browsing or email.
I can't imagine a life like that. While there’s no set timeframe for this approach, the minimum unit for doing it tends to be at least one full day.
b. Bimodal
Here, you divide your day between shallow work and deep work.Finally something I can work with. Imagine if you had to stick with just the monastic.
Who would be posting on the TL lol
But again, the minimum too is at least one full day.
c. Rhythmic
This is something you can work with. Here you are just going to schedule deep work into your daily routine.
This method allows you to maintain progress. As it becomes part of your daily routine.
Imagine having 4 hrs for deep work to create content everyday. That would be something.
d. Journalistic
As the name implies - you switch to deep work mode whenever free time presents itself – mimicking the way journalists often work.
If you are someone with really busy schedules, you could adopt this method
2. Have a routine for deep work
It's important you block time for deep work. If you don't consciously block time, time may not present itself to you.
To have an effective deep work, here are 4 factors to put into consideration
Location
Having a designated, quiet location for deep work is essential as it’ll help you minimize distractions
Duration
Before you start deep working. You have to ensure you choose the day, time and amount of hours you’d want to spend deep working.
Planning prior to deep working will get you more committed to actually deep working
The minimum time you should deep work as a beginner should be 1 hr - That way you can enter the flow state and be more productive
If you are just starting out deep working, start with just an hour
Resource
You need to have everything you are going to be needing such as food water, books and other things during your deep work at your disposal. This will limit the amount of distraction too
Imagine having to get up every now and then to get something
Structure
Here you determine which task come after which. This will keep your deep work session really organized. You don’t wan to jump into deep work carelessly and bee confused later.
For example i want to write a thread during my deep work, i could focus on maybe the images or the breakdown
3. Start small
Deep work is a skill and like every other skill, it needs practice.
You have to develop the skill of deep work. As a beginner, you don't just jump into 4hrs of deep work.
You could start with at least an hour then you scale it up to 2,3,4.... especially if you experience consistent success
This option however requires you to be sensitive to your schedule so as to seize any opportunity that presents itself to you.
4. Pick a goal for each session
Don’t just jump on deep work because everyone says you should do deep work.
Instead pick a goal you want to achieve before every deep work session
Besides the best way to keep the brain focus is to pick one task at a time and commit to it
You can maximize your deep work session by using any of these methods;
Eisenhower matrix80/20 rule
Eat the Frog
Step 5: Set time limit
Setting a time limit causes you to have a deadline. As such forces you to maximize the timeframe you allocated for yourself and increases your focus too
Step 6: Remove Distractions
If you really want to do deep work, you have to be razor focused as though your life depends on it.
You don’t want to allow any form of distractions. If possible put your phone on airplane mode or Do Not Disturb state, delete your social media.
Step 7: Evaluate Yourself
At this point you have to be honest with yourself. Did you achieve your goal? You have to put yourself on a scale.It is advisable to track your time during the deep work session.
Step 8: Take deep Breaks
Yes you are allowed to take breaks during deep work. Try scheduling downtime by blocking off certain segments of time in your calendar.
After long hours of deep work, it is advisable to take deep breaks. There are many ways to take a break - it could include going on a sleep, walk, reading a book, or something fun.
The only rule is that it shouldn’t take more than 15mins
