🏁 Productivity

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Sep 12, 2024

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3 min read

What is Deep Work?

What is Deep Work? Uncover how mastering Deep Work, a method introduced by Cal Newport, can enhance your productivity by overcoming phone addiction and FOMO.

You heard about the concept of Deep Work, and it piqued your interest. Maybe you've read other articles that seemed abstract or lacked concrete actions. How frustrating! This article was written to remedy that and share with you the secrets of Deep Work.

The concept of Deep Work was developed by Cal Newport, a professor and author, in his book "Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World," published in 2016. Deep Work refers to a state of intense concentration where you accomplish complex tasks without distraction, enabling you to produce high-quality work while improving your skills.

In this context, there are two key concepts:

Deep Work: Professional activities performed in a distraction-free state that push your cognitive abilities to their limits. These efforts create value, improve your skills, and are hard to replicate.
Shallow Work: Logistical tasks that aren't cognitively demanding and are often done while distracted. These efforts don't create much value and are easy to replicate.

But you probably know, most of the time, we are more in Shallow Work than Deep. So the question is: how do we reverse the trend?

The Rules of Deep Work

According to Cal Newport, Deep Work is based on four major pillars (we've simplified them a bit to encourage you to read the full book):

📍 Plan Deep Work sessions

It's important to plan and learn to block your time. Reserve specific periods in your schedule dedicated solely to Deep Work and set a duration for each session (e.g., 90 minutes).

🪴 Create a distraction-free environment

It's crucial to create a dedicated workspace. Find a quiet place where you can work without being disturbed. Eliminate distractions: turn off notifications, put your phone on silent, and close non-essential applications.

🎯 Set clear goals

Take the time to set specific goals, clearly defining what you want to accomplish during each session. Don't hesitate to break down your tasks. Divide large tasks into smaller, manageable subtasks.

🕰️ Use time management techniques

You can use the Pomodoro method (if you're interested, we explain its history and how it works in detail in this article) or batching: group similar tasks together to handle them simultaneously, reducing transitions between different activities.

We understand it might seem difficult at first. But after testing it ourselves, we found it really interesting, especially when we saw all the positive points it could bring.

You heard about the concept of Deep Work, and it piqued your interest. Maybe you've read other articles that seemed abstract or lacked concrete actions. How frustrating! This article was written to remedy that and share with you the secrets of Deep Work.

In this context, there are two key concepts:

Deep Work: Professional activities performed in a distraction-free state that push your cognitive abilities to their limits. These efforts create value, improve your skills, and are hard to replicate.
Shallow Work: Logistical tasks that aren't cognitively demanding and are often done while distracted. These efforts don't create much value and are easy to replicate.

But you probably know, most of the time, we are more in Shallow Work than Deep. So the question is: how do we reverse the trend?

The Rules of Deep Work

According to Cal Newport, Deep Work is based on four major pillars (we've simplified them a bit to encourage you to read the full book):

📍 Plan Deep Work sessions

It's important to plan and learn to block your time. Reserve specific periods in your schedule dedicated solely to Deep Work and set a duration for each session (e.g., 90 minutes).

🪴 Create a distraction-free environment

🎯 Set clear goals

Take the time to set specific goals, clearly defining what you want to accomplish during each session. Don't hesitate to break down your tasks. Divide large tasks into smaller, manageable subtasks.

🕰️ Use time management techniques

We understand it might seem difficult at first. But after testing it ourselves, we found it really interesting, especially when we saw all the positive points it could bring.

You heard about the concept of Deep Work, and it piqued your interest. Maybe you've read other articles that seemed abstract or lacked concrete actions. How frustrating! This article was written to remedy that and share with you the secrets of Deep Work.

In this context, there are two key concepts:

Deep Work: Professional activities performed in a distraction-free state that push your cognitive abilities to their limits. These efforts create value, improve your skills, and are hard to replicate.
Shallow Work: Logistical tasks that aren't cognitively demanding and are often done while distracted. These efforts don't create much value and are easy to replicate.

But you probably know, most of the time, we are more in Shallow Work than Deep. So the question is: how do we reverse the trend?

The Rules of Deep Work

According to Cal Newport, Deep Work is based on four major pillars (we've simplified them a bit to encourage you to read the full book):

📍 Plan Deep Work sessions

It's important to plan and learn to block your time. Reserve specific periods in your schedule dedicated solely to Deep Work and set a duration for each session (e.g., 90 minutes).

🪴 Create a distraction-free environment

🎯 Set clear goals

Take the time to set specific goals, clearly defining what you want to accomplish during each session. Don't hesitate to break down your tasks. Divide large tasks into smaller, manageable subtasks.

🕰️ Use time management techniques

We understand it might seem difficult at first. But after testing it ourselves, we found it really interesting, especially when we saw all the positive points it could bring.

You heard about the concept of Deep Work, and it piqued your interest. Maybe you've read other articles that seemed abstract or lacked concrete actions. How frustrating! This article was written to remedy that and share with you the secrets of Deep Work.

In this context, there are two key concepts:

Deep Work: Professional activities performed in a distraction-free state that push your cognitive abilities to their limits. These efforts create value, improve your skills, and are hard to replicate.
Shallow Work: Logistical tasks that aren't cognitively demanding and are often done while distracted. These efforts don't create much value and are easy to replicate.

But you probably know, most of the time, we are more in Shallow Work than Deep. So the question is: how do we reverse the trend?

The Rules of Deep Work

According to Cal Newport, Deep Work is based on four major pillars (we've simplified them a bit to encourage you to read the full book):

📍 Plan Deep Work sessions

It's important to plan and learn to block your time. Reserve specific periods in your schedule dedicated solely to Deep Work and set a duration for each session (e.g., 90 minutes).

🪴 Create a distraction-free environment

🎯 Set clear goals

Take the time to set specific goals, clearly defining what you want to accomplish during each session. Don't hesitate to break down your tasks. Divide large tasks into smaller, manageable subtasks.

🕰️ Use time management techniques

We understand it might seem difficult at first. But after testing it ourselves, we found it really interesting, especially when we saw all the positive points it could bring.

You heard about the concept of Deep Work, and it piqued your interest. Maybe you've read other articles that seemed abstract or lacked concrete actions. How frustrating! This article was written to remedy that and share with you the secrets of Deep Work.

In this context, there are two key concepts:

Deep Work: Professional activities performed in a distraction-free state that push your cognitive abilities to their limits. These efforts create value, improve your skills, and are hard to replicate.
Shallow Work: Logistical tasks that aren't cognitively demanding and are often done while distracted. These efforts don't create much value and are easy to replicate.

But you probably know, most of the time, we are more in Shallow Work than Deep. So the question is: how do we reverse the trend?

The Rules of Deep Work

According to Cal Newport, Deep Work is based on four major pillars (we've simplified them a bit to encourage you to read the full book):

📍 Plan Deep Work sessions

It's important to plan and learn to block your time. Reserve specific periods in your schedule dedicated solely to Deep Work and set a duration for each session (e.g., 90 minutes).

🪴 Create a distraction-free environment

🎯 Set clear goals

Take the time to set specific goals, clearly defining what you want to accomplish during each session. Don't hesitate to break down your tasks. Divide large tasks into smaller, manageable subtasks.

🕰️ Use time management techniques

We understand it might seem difficult at first. But after testing it ourselves, we found it really interesting, especially when we saw all the positive points it could bring.

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If you liked this article, feel free to share it with your loved ones, talk about it on social media, or let us know (by tapping the little chat bubble at the bottom right). And of course, all credits go to Cal Newport for his book Deep Work.

© Credits

Photographies by Unsplash

[1] Cal Newport, Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, 2016.

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What is Deep Work?

What is Deep Work?

You heard about the concept of Deep Work, and it piqued your interest. Maybe you've read other articles that seemed abstract or lacked concrete actions. How frustrating! This article was written to remedy that and share with you the secrets of Deep Work.

The Rules of Deep Work

📍 Plan Deep Work sessions

🪴 Create a distraction-free environment

🎯 Set clear goals

🕰️ Use time management techniques

You heard about the concept of Deep Work, and it piqued your interest. Maybe you've read other articles that seemed abstract or lacked concrete actions. How frustrating! This article was written to remedy that and share with you the secrets of Deep Work.

The Rules of Deep Work

📍 Plan Deep Work sessions

🪴 Create a distraction-free environment

🎯 Set clear goals

🕰️ Use time management techniques

You heard about the concept of Deep Work, and it piqued your interest. Maybe you've read other articles that seemed abstract or lacked concrete actions. How frustrating! This article was written to remedy that and share with you the secrets of Deep Work.

The Rules of Deep Work

📍 Plan Deep Work sessions

🪴 Create a distraction-free environment

🎯 Set clear goals

🕰️ Use time management techniques

You heard about the concept of Deep Work, and it piqued your interest. Maybe you've read other articles that seemed abstract or lacked concrete actions. How frustrating! This article was written to remedy that and share with you the secrets of Deep Work.

The Rules of Deep Work

📍 Plan Deep Work sessions

🪴 Create a distraction-free environment

🎯 Set clear goals

🕰️ Use time management techniques

You heard about the concept of Deep Work, and it piqued your interest. Maybe you've read other articles that seemed abstract or lacked concrete actions. How frustrating! This article was written to remedy that and share with you the secrets of Deep Work.

The Rules of Deep Work

📍 Plan Deep Work sessions

🪴 Create a distraction-free environment

🎯 Set clear goals

🕰️ Use time management techniques

Benefits of Deep Work

The Digital Life According to Cal Newport

| "Use your smartphone only for the following activities: calls, text messages, photos, maps, and audio (songs/podcasts/books)." — Cal Newport

© Credits

Photographies by Unsplash

[1] Cal Newport, Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, 2016.

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