Thinking up a strategy, coding, writing new content from scratch, or designing a logo are all examples of deep work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the contrary, there is also shallow work<\/b>. It can be defined as non cognitively demanding, logistical-style tasks, often performed while distracted. These efforts tend to not create much new value in the world and are easy to replicate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Responding to a bunch of emails, attending update meetings or texting do not require a lot of effort, so they are perfect examples of shallow work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why is deep work important?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
According to Newport: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n“…deep work is becoming increasingly rare at exactly the same time it is becoming increasingly valuable in our economy. As a consequence, the few who cultivate this skill, and then make it the core of their working life, will thrive.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
If you are able to master hard things and produce at an elite level in terms of both quality and speed, you will be very hard to replace because that\u2019s rare. Consequently, you will be able to land the best jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many find meaning and significance through deep work, as they are challenging themselves to their intellectual limits. According to Hungarian psychologist Csikszentmihalyi: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cThe best moments usually occur when a person\u2019s body or mind is stretched to its limit in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.<\/em>\u201d <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Deep work gives a lot of personal satisfaction.
But how to do deep work?
Short answer: High-Quality Work Produced = (Time Spent) x (Intensity of Focus)<\/strong>
The long answer is, well, the rest of the article.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFour deep work strategies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There are four ways to incorporate deep work into your schedule. You can choose either:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
- the monastic philosophy of deep work scheduling,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- the bimodal philosophy of deep work scheduling,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- the rhythmic philosophy of deep work scheduling, or<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- the journalistic philosophy of deep work scheduling.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
When deciding which one will work best for you, keep in mind that not every philosophy is suited for every job; each one requires a certain lifestyle and work schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The monastic philosophy of deep work scheduling<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Your whole workday consists of deep work, while shallow work is minimized. Those who practice monastic philosophy are pursuing a well-defined and highly valued professional goal and the majority of their professional success comes from doing that one thing exceptionally well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An example would be a writer who spends the whole workday alone in a room, working on their book and very rarely responding to calls or emails. According to fictional writer Neal Stephenson, there are two mutually exclusive options (for him, at least): writing good novels regularly or answering a lot of emails and attending conferences, and, as a result, producing lower quality novels less often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, it also means you have to say \u201cno\u201d to new opportunities that may arise while you\u2019re working on your main task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How does the monastic philosophy work? <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
If you are up for a challenge, then the monastic philosophy of deep work scheduling is great for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pick a time frame (a month, for example) when you will be deeply engaged in deep work. This means that every task that doesn\u2019t require a lot of mental effort, such as texting or social media, is out of the question. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You become unavailable for everything unrelated to your major project because shallow work is strictly banned when practicing the monastic philosophy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Who is the monastic philosophy for?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Although the results of the monastic philosophy of deep work scheduling are highly rewarding, most professions are not exactly aligned with it. If you are a social media manager, being completely MIA from social media or responding to an email after a month could probably cost you your job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, if you are a scientist or a writer trying to complete a novel, the monastic philosophy is your best choice. This type of scheduling helps entirely remove distractions and allows for long stretches of uninterrupted, focused work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bimodal philosophy of deep work scheduling<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Being a combination of the monastics\u2019 productivity and shallow work, the bimodal philosophy allows you to dedicate a chunk of your time to deep work while it leaves you with the rest of the time for everything else. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The blocks of your deep work session can be as long or as short as you prefer, from days to an entire year. However, an optimal minimum is one full day, because a few hours are not enough to get into the deep work mode. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After you\u2019re done with your deep work chunk, you can give your attention to other tasks. At least that\u2019s what Carl Jung did. He used to spend a block of his time alone, writing. For the rest of the time, he ran a clinical practice, had a social life, went to coffeehouses, and attended university lectures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you want to go a step further, you can opt for dedicating an entire season to one project and leaving the rest of the year for minor tasks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Who is the bimodal philosophy for?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Most people cannot afford the luxury of tuning out completely for a longer period. However, if you are a teacher pursuing a Master\u2019s degree or you\u2019re trying to learn a new skill that requires serious focus, bimodal scheduling could be an option for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You could try to fit in your deep work blocks outside of your teaching hours, such as during the summer break. In the meantime, you can devote your attention to the lesson plans, administrative tasks and teaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The rhythmic philosophy of deep work scheduling<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
If your day-to-day schedule rarely changes, you can adopt rhythmic philosophy: devoting a few hours of your day to deep work and doing the shallow work the rest of the day. For a lot of people, disappearing for a few days a week is not realistic nor doable, but dropping out of sight for a couple of hours is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, although the rhythmic philosophy allows for flexible scheduling, it\u2019s still necessary to follow the same routine every day, without skipping a day. By blocking a couple of hours a day<\/a> for deep work every day you get used to a certain rhythm of focus and it becomes much easier to switch from shallow to deep work throughout the day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
How does the rhythmic philosophy work? <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
If you are thinking about adopting rhythmic philosophy to work on a project unrelated to your regular job, you could wake up a few hours earlier and give your full attention to it. After this period is over, you get to move on with your day and give in to the distractions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In case you want to implement the rhythmic philosophy into your workflow, you can choose a couple of hours throughout the day to focus on the most important tasks that require your full attention (e.g., from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.). Use the rest of the day (e.g., from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.) to respond to emails, schedule meetings, and catch up with all the low-value work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Who is the rhythmic philosophy for?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Since rhythmic philosophy is more adaptable than other deep work strategies, it\u2019s a method that can work for almost everyone. Whether you are a university professor, a lawyer, or a designer, you can probably set aside a few hours for deep work without your coworkers frantically looking for you everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The journalistic philosophy of deep work scheduling<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The journalist approach consists of fitting deep work whenever you can into your schedule. It may seem the most doable, but it\u2019s not for beginners; switching from shallow work to deep work mode so quickly takes practice. It also requires a lot of confidence that what you\u2019re doing is important and will succeed.
Deep work can take as short as 20 minutes, or however long you manage to squeeze between other tasks. It usually means taking advantage of canceled meetings and other openings in your schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow does the journalistic philosophy work? <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s say your workday is so unpredictable that you chose the journalistic philosophy as your deep work strategy. Since it\u2019s almost impossible to plan your deep work session ahead, you dive into responding to emails as soon as you log in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, an update meeting just got canceled so you decided to give all your attention to the blog article you need to finish. Just as you have finished writing your introduction, a coworker scheduled a last-minute meeting regarding a rebranding project, and you hopped right into the call. You\u2019ve decided to postpone your writing until the next opening shows up in your schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Who is the journalistic philosophy for?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
As the very name of the strategy suggests, journalism is perhaps the only profession that requires constant switching between deep and shallow work. Journalists are, therefore, perhaps the most skillful representatives of this philosophy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For all the rest of us, it takes years of practice to squeeze deep work in between other shallow tasks. If you feel your schedule is already hectic as it is, (even without trying to switch from responding to DMs to deep work in an instant), go for another strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tips for engaging in deep work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Brushing aside all the time wasters and giving full attention to one meaningful task seems quite simple. However, if you have ever tried really disconnecting, you know that it\u2019s much easier said than done. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet, with proper planning, engaging in deep work can become your daily routine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although you are allowed to experiment and figure out your deep work routine by yourself, here are some tips to help you get started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Build a ritual<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Before you get to work, you should build a ritual that will help you get into deep work mode faster and easier. Determine location, duration, structure, and requirements. Where will you work and how long? How<\/i> will you work once you start to work? How will you support your work?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While location and duration don\u2019t need further explanation, here are some additional questions to determine structure and requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For structure:<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Will the internet be on or off? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Can you go to the kitchen to get a snack or do you need to sit at the desk the whole time? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
How do you measure the success of a session? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Requirements<\/strong> are what you need to get into deep work mode – any specific music, beverage, or software. You may not know it right away; after a few deep work sessions, it will become clearer what works for you and what requirements you need.
Building a perfect ritual for you may take some time and experimentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\ud83d\udca1 Clockify Pro tip<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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- If you need help with building a ritual that will maximize your productivity, check our Personal productivity guide<\/a> and Analysis paralysis<\/a>, why it kills productivity and how to overcome it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
An example of a deep work ritual<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
While doing my research for this blog post, I decided it would be only fair if I tried engaging in deep work myself. Unaware of the time I wasted during my day, I didn\u2019t set any rules nor follow any particular ritual to help me get started. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Little did I know that failure was waiting just around the corner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since I work from home, I was sometimes interrupted by my chatty roommates. Other times, I simply interrupted myself by leaving my desk to grab a quick snack. Whenever I tried to go back to my work, I found it extremely hard to regain my focus and it took me longer than I expected to complete simple tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a couple of failed attempts, I learned from my mistakes and decided to start over. This time I played by the rules and decided to build my own ritual. This is what my deep work routine looked like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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