Deep Work: Mastering Focus and Time Management

Pursuing a new goal, developing a new skill, or improving your athletic performance requires a well-thought-out plan. No matter the goal, you have the potential to achieve it if you put in the work and ensure that what you deliver is of high quality.

In his book Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, Cal Newport describes several useful strategies for achieving peak performance. I have compiled the ones I found most interesting into two blog posts for you.

In this first part, we will describe the concept of deep work, discuss some strategies for creating your perfect workspace, explain why you should avoid multitasking, how to manage your time, and how to create routines and rituals to help you succeed.

If you work from home without a fixed schedule, you have the unique advantage—and sometimes the challenge—of creating your own routine. This is in contrast to those who work in an office or other work settings that require a personal presence. For example, healthcare professionals often face unpredictable schedules, sometimes working until all patients are treated or even enduring 24-hour shifts. Additionally, your time may be divided if you have children, family members, or pets to care for.

It’s important to understand that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to achieving a goal. Therefore, the strategies, rituals, and routines discussed will have to be tailored to your unique situation.

You can find the second article on this topic here.

What is Deep Work?

Deep work refers to professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push cognitive capabilities to their limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skills, and are hard to replicate. Deep work is essential for improving your abilities and requires long periods of uninterrupted thinking.

Why is Deep Work Important?

Engaging in deep work pushes your cognitive boundaries, fosters the creation of new value, and enhances your skills in unique ways.

Deep work enables you to quickly master challenging tasks and produce work of elite quality and speed. By developing these essential skills, you can achieve remarkable results and stand out in your field.

Be Aware of the Power of Your Thoughts

As mentioned in our article, Breaking Bad Habits: Strategies for Lasting Change, our thoughts influence our emotions and, ultimately, our behaviors. Our brains construct our worldview based on what we focus on.

Research shows that what you choose to focus on has a significant impact on your attitude going forward. By skillfully managing your attention, you can improve the quality of your life without changing anything concrete about it. People can have the same experience, but their reaction to it will be influenced by what they choose to pay attention to.

Workspace Setup

By radically changing your normal environment and investing significant effort and/or money to support a deep work task, you increase the perceived importance of the task. This increase in importance reduces your mind’s instinct to procrastinate and provides an injection of motivation and energy.

How to Set Up Your Workspace

Designate a room or area for deep work only

• Avoid using this space for other tasks to maintain its association with productivity.

Keep your office clean and organized

• Keep the space tidy to minimize distractions.
• Remove unnecessary items, such as your phone, from the room.
• Keep only essential items on your desk. Store everything else in a drawer or elsewhere.

Eliminate distractions

• Ensure there is nothing in the room that could divert your attention.
• Turn off notifications on your devices.
• Close the door (if possible) to create a quiet environment and avoid interruptions.

Improve your home office setup

• For more tips on enhancing your home office, check out our article: Home Office Hacks: How to Use Technology to Your Advantage.

Eliminate Digital Distractions

One of the main obstacles to deep work is the urge to turn your attention toward something more superficial. Since we have a finite amount of willpower that becomes depleted as we use it, a way of ensuring deep work sessions without interruption or procrastination is to plan in advance and use technology to your advantage.

If you need your computer for work or study, use an app and website blocker to eliminate unnecessary content such as social media, news, or games. This can significantly reduce your exposure to unwanted distractions. For Mac users, 1Focus can help:

• Block websites and apps during working hours.
• Block all websites except the specific ones you need for work or study to ensure monotasking.
• Block social media and other distracting content such as YouTube, Netflix, email, etc.
• Block the internet by blocking the App Store and installed web browsers.
• Establish a regular work and bedtime routine.

By taking these steps, you can create an environment conducive to deep work and significantly improve your productivity.

Focus on One Thing

Focusing on a single challenging task for an extended period without switching helps you avoid the negative effects of attention residue from other obligations, allowing you to perform at your best.

Attention Residue: When you switch from one task to another, part of your mind remains focused on the first task. This leftover focus, known as “attention residue,” makes it harder to fully concentrate on the new task. The more often you switch tasks, the more your performance can suffer.

Constant distractions can seriously harm your performance. It might seem harmless to quickly check your inbox, WhatsApp, or social media every ten minutes, but each quick check shifts your focus. Even worse, seeing messages you can’t address right away forces you to return to your main task with unfinished business on your mind. This leftover focus, or “attention residue,” from these interruptions reduces your overall performance.

To produce at your peak level, you need to work for extended periods with full concentration on a single task, free from distractions.

Use the Pareto Principle to determine the one thing that, if done right, will produce most of your income or provide you the most satisfaction.

How to Manage Your Time

Break Your Day Into Time Blocks

• Divide your day into specific blocks of time.
• Assign some clearly defined blocks to deep pursuits and leave the rest open for personal obligations and leisure.
• During focused periods, eliminate distractions and concentrate solely on the task at hand. Seek intense and uninterrupted concentration.
• Use the remaining time for other responsibilities: work, household chores, children, pets, answering emails, and WhatsApp messages.

Incorporate Deep Work Sessions Into Your Schedule

• Choose an approach that works best for you and makes sense for your lifestyle.
• If you work from home and have children, plan activities for them to do while you work, such as board games or coloring. If you have a dog, they are usually quiet after their walks.
• Schedule your deep work sessions after walking the dog and playing with your kids, during their nap time, in the evening after they go to bed, or in the morning before everyone wakes up.

Combine Leisure/Household With Beneficial Activities

• Watch TV while walking on the treadmill or doing stretches.
• Clean while watching TV. You might spend an hour cleaning without realizing it because you’re focused on the show. Something I like to do is call a friend or family member during cleaning.

Routines

Developing a deep work habit requires more than just good intentions; it involves incorporating routines and rituals into your daily life. These practices help minimize the willpower needed to transition into and maintain a state of unbroken concentration.

By supporting deep work with solid routines, you ensure that a little bit gets done regularly. This consistent effort often results in logging a larger total number of deep work hours per year.

Outline Your Work Goals

Clearly outline the type of work you will do and what you aim to accomplish during these sessions. This helps keep you accountable, allows you to measure progress, and enables you to make necessary adjustments.

Experiment to Find What Works

Finding the right ritual may require some trial and error. Be willing to experiment and adjust your routine as needed.

Rest and Sleep Routine

Giving your brain regular breaks is critical to maintaining the quality of your deep work sessions.

Incorporating short breaks throughout the day can help prevent burnout and keep your cognitive functions sharp. In addition, establishing a bedtime routine that promotes good sleep hygiene can significantly improve your overall productivity and mental clarity.

For more insights on improving your sleep habits, check out our articles: Mastering Sleep Hygiene: Steps to a Good Night’s Sleep and Sleep Better With 1Focus: Block Out Nighttime Distractions.

Rituals

Pre-Work Ritual

Signal your brain that it’s time for deep work by establishing a pre-work routine. This could include breathing exercises, a short walk, a cup of coffee, a brief meditation or yoga routine.

Capture and Review Your Tasks

Make a to-do list of all your tasks. Review this list daily and make a plan for the next day. This will ensure that no task is forgotten and that each is addressed at the appropriate time.

Shutdown Ritual

At the end of the day, make a conscious effort to stop thinking about work until the next morning. Avoid checking email or thinking about work-related problems.

As with your pre-work ritual, establish specific steps for this shutdown process and complete it in the same way each day. This could include reviewing your to-do list, planning for the next day, or using a mantra or phrase to signal the end of your workday. This ritual will signal to your mind that it’s safe to let go of work-related thoughts.

Create a routine to ensure that any unfinished tasks, goals, or projects are reviewed. For each item, confirm that either:

1. You have a reliable plan to complete it, or
2. It is captured in a place where it will be revisited at the appropriate time.

Spend Time in Nature

Spending time in nature can significantly improve your ability to focus and relax. Spending time outdoors, whether it’s a walk in the park, a hike in the woods, or simply sitting in a garden, has been shown to reduce stress levels and increase mental clarity.

The natural environment provides a refreshing break from the constant stimuli of modern life, allowing the mind to reset and recharge. Exposure to natural light and fresh air can also boost your mood and energy levels, making it easier to focus when you return to your work.

Incorporating regular nature breaks into your routine can lead to improved overall well-being and increased productivity.

Stay Hydrated and Nourished

Ensure you meet your body’s nutritional needs. Working while hungry or during a glucose spike can compromise your concentration and energy levels.

Conclusion

Achieving your personal goals and improving your skills requires determination and a strategic approach to deep work. By creating an optimal workspace, managing your time effectively, and avoiding distractions, you can significantly increase your productivity and performance.

Embrace the power of deep work and watch yourself reach new heights in both your personal and professional life.

Further Reading

You may also like: Deep Work Essentials: How to Fight Boredom and Improve Focus.

The recommendations in this article are based on the book “Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World” by Cal Newport, and have been adapted by the author of this article from her personal experience and opinions. This article is not sponsored and no compensation was received for its creation.