Deep Work — A tool for getting stuff done

We live a life of distraction. Today Slack (which we love because it is so much like IRC) invades our lives and drives down our productivity. Our culture of meetings has robbed us of our time (have you ever counted the hours in the day where you actually programmed?), and we have made headphones a mandatory accessory to help us compete with the stifling noise caused by our open office layouts.

What if I told you that amidst all that calamity you can get an order of magnitude more work done then you currently do?

Block off Time

The first step is to block off sacred time. You need to be willing to defend this space of time and defend it with your life. This time period should be between 2–3 hours. You are more creative in the morning so it is better if you can find this block of time before lunch. You can start with once a week if you have an out of control schedule.

Get Rid of Distractions

Now that you have this time set aside it is time to fix the conditions that will transform this ordinary block of time into a Deep Work session. Get plenty of sleep the night before. Stay off the stimulants (coffee, etc). Eat breakfast (I like protein like eggs). Turn off you notifications (phone, computer, watch, etc). If you can’t get out of your office, find some visual cue that you are not to be disturbed (headphones, physical sign, etc). You can do deep work in pairs or mobs, you just have to keep the outside distractions outside.

You probably have some habits which distract you. Maybe you are addicted to checking Slack or email. Maybe you get up and grab snacks throughout your work time. You need to come up with strategies for getting rid of these distractions. Every time you leave your work area you risk having a hallway conversation that will pull you out of your Deep Work session. If you need snacks, stock up before your session starts. Whatever is going to distract you, get rid of it. Ask your boss to exercise some self-control and give you some time to work.

Much of the success of you Deep Work session will come from the work you put into making your session completely distraction free.

Your Session

You should have a goal for your session. Programming isn’t a goal. Simplifying your data access layer and refactoring these three hot messes with your new layer is a goal. Implementing that algorithm that everyone else thinks is so hard is a goal. Getting the devops done that everyone has been putting off is a goal. You get the idea.

The next step is to work on your goal. Work on it in the most single minded way you have every worked on something before. Design your code in the most single minded way. Write your code in the most single minded way. Test your code in the most single minded way. Revel in being completely distraction free.

When your time is up: STOP. You will be exhausted. Extending the session will decrease the quality of your work. Spend a few minutes reflecting on your deep work session.

Here are some good reflection questions:

• Were there any distractions?
• Was there some preparations that would have made your session better?
• How did the work go?
• Were your goals reasonable?
• Did your goals stretch you enough?

Lastly, go take a break. Now is the time to check Slack. Or go to lunch. Or learn something (maybe you have been meaning to learn about Self Contained Systems?) Or take a walk and remember that something exists outside of you workplace.

Conclusion

By setting aside dedicated time and working hard to arrange for optimal conditions during that block of time you can get amazing work done. As with all areas of your life you should retrospect and continue to improve the conditions and the work you do during that block of time.

I was first exposed to these ideas on a podcast I listened to on which Cal Newport was a guest. I don’t remember what podcast I listened to, but the idea intrigued me. Cal Newport wrote a book about this idea, I have not read it but it is on my list to read. This post represents my personal experiences with Deep Work and how I have made it work in my life.