Summary This book argues that to achieve a great level of quality (or possibly the greatest quality of outcome by self) there needs to be an environment free from distractions. Extended period for time needs to be devoted to one single and one single activity. There is a lot of productivity lost by being always “connected” and switching between tasks. Of course in today’s connected world we all know that very well.
Let’s look at a few rules/pointers to help us attain the deep work state.
Ritualized Make a deep work part of a routine - something you do on regular basis. Consider
How long will you work - have a schedule for the specific topic. How you will work once you start the work : Each one of us has a specific way to handle the problem at hand. Have a vision into how you will go about getting things done How you will support the work : Any aids, supporting systems that you need to keep going at it. Make a grand ( or extreme ) gestures - Do not hesitate from taking an extreme step if you think it’s going to aid your deep work. For modern worker setting up an out of office and not looking at emails or pings could be one such action.
Don’t work alone A collaborative but not disturbing work environment specifically away from regular disturbances but along with like mind individuals could prove to be useful
Deep work - Run it like a business
- Rule 1 : Focus on what is widely important
- Rule 2 : Use leading measures
- Rule 3 : Keep a compelling scoreboard
- Rule 4 : Create credence and accountability
Be Lazy - now that’s not what I expected to be in this book …
- Rule 1 : Downtime aid insights
- Rule 2 : Downtime allows you to recharge and again attain state of deep work.
- Rule 3 : Work that replaces evening downtime is usually not important. Quit social media - much has been discussed about this. blogs and social media sites are probably the biggest productivity killers when not used in moderation.
DRAIN THE SHALLOWS - make specific attempts to go away from non-deep work
Schedule every minute of the day. This I found to be most useful. Every waking hour should have a activity assigned to it and deliverable associated with it. It could be as simple as “read this book” or “play with your kids” but there has to be a plan for it ahead of time.
Qualify depth of every activity - A simple analysis done with pen and pencil can provide us insights on what is a deep work and how much of it do we do every day.
Ask for Shallow work budget - Your organization may need you to do some “chores” like shadow work. It’s a necessary at times to keep the organizational machine functional. Why not then ask for a separate budget to do such work so you don’t have to dip into your time allocation for deep work.
Finish your work by Five thirty - Many studies have found that most of the work productive people do after evening neither deep-work nor it is important.
Become hard to reach - Do you at times feel that the non-deep work item somehow land on your lap? How about becoming hard to reach?
Overall, I feel this book raises some important points. I also think that many of remediations suggested would require you to have flexibility at your work and hence may be difficult for an average worker to implement.