Day 340: Adjusting my task schedule for deep work
I listened to the Deep Work audiobook again. He submitted the theory that more successful/higher performing people tend to do intensely focused periods of work on only one project at a time. They will end up spending less overall time on something with higher quality than their peers.
He also talked about the different types of philosophies when it comes to Deep Work. Different people do Deep Work in different ways depending on their personality, it seems, and the necessities of their family and job.
The monastic philosophy is what I’d ideally like to do. He gives examples of other authors who have done that. However since I’m self-publishing, I don’t know if I can do that.
I think my method right now is a bimodal philosophy, because for a typical week, I write for 5 days a week and then do email and social media on Saturdays. However, I’ve also been trying to do a little bit of non-deep work each day, and now I wonder if I should instead shunt those to weekends so that I can focus more on Deep Work on weekdays. I haven’t finished the book yet, so he might address things like that later.
The rhythmic and journalist philosophies actually made me think of Elena Johnson, a successful indie author whose writing books I really love. In Writing and Releasing Rapidly (or maybe it was Writing and Marketing Systems ), she talks about her writing routine. Her writing routine is a bit unusual, but most of the time she writes in long chunks of time, whether in the morning or the evening. However, she can also write in short chunks when she’s waiting to pick up her kids. In all her writing sessions, it seems she’s very intensely focused. I think that might be similar to what the author of Deep Work is talking about.
Apparently the key is intense focus on the task at hand, and he also mentions that most (although not all) people need a certain amount of time to get into that mode of intense focus. Also, for the monastic and bimodal philosophies, they are able to get into a mode of maximum focus because they are able to devote the entire day to their task.
I need to practice periods of intense focus so that I can do it for longer, because yesterday’s 2 hour session kind of wiped me out. However, the author also talks about setting set periods of time for your sessions of Deep Work so that they’re not open-ended, so maybe that was my problem yesterday.
I also need to rethink how I do some of my tasks. There are some things I need to do a little each day, such as my Japanese flashcards. But maybe other things should be relegated to the weekends, namely my editing the Japanese The Spinster’s Christmas and probably my Regency nonfiction reading.
The editing of the Japanese The Spinster’s Christmas is a very large task which doesn’t require intense focus. In fact, it’s extremely tedious and boring because a significant amount of time is spent waiting on Microsoft Word to spin its wheels. So I don’t think I need to do that all in a large chunk of time, especially because that could potentially take weeks.
While the nonfiction reading would benefit from periods of Deep Work, I have tons of books to read, so it’s not like it’s a defined project with a measurable end. I could probably do an hour or so each weekend on my nonfiction reading.
But what about my self-editing of the Regency? It would benefit from Deep Work, assuming I could focus and not get sloppy at it. Since I’m editing a book that I had written quickly and done only a quick pass of self-editing, I have to look closely at each sentence to see if it should be edited. I have found that it’s more difficult than editing the sentences as I’m writing them, like I’m doing now for the Hawaii book. So I worry that after a while, I’ll start to skim the sentences rather than really looking at each one. If I’m really focused on the task, will I be able to do it without getting sloppy? I probably should try doing it after I finish the editing on the Hawaii book and seeing if I am able to do the self-editing well for longer periods of Deep Work, or if I start to slack off the longer I do it.
I started also thinking about how I can eliminate more distractions during my work day so that maybe I can do Deep Work and get into that mode of intense concentration. I started eliminating some of my alarms, which were mostly for house chores and personal health, and switching them to reminders that can be silenced when I put my phone and computer on Do Not Disturb.
So today, I’ll try to do longer periods and try to really focus and concentrate on my task. I’ll also do only the editing on the Hawaii book.
I’m a little worried that I won’t be able to focus for long. But I suppose the best I can do is try. And the more practice I get, the better at it I’ll get. I have to remember that I won’t be super at it right away.
***
I got a good 90 minutes of work done and I was able to focus pretty well. However, the editing was also rather light because I had been editing as I go with this book already.
I took a long break and did some gardening. After concentrating for so long, it felt good to be outside to clear my head.
But now my IBS is flaring again. It’s not terribly painful, and the discomfort comes in waves so it’s not constant, but it does make it hard to focus.
I’m going to try for another 90 minutes.
***
I was able to focus for another 90 (ish) minutes, but had to get up because of my back. Since I was also feeling low in energy, I decided to go for a second walk.
It ended up being a really good thing. I listened to the Deep Work audiobook again, and he talked about, ironically, taking walks out in nature or some other method of detaching from the work. You place yourself in an environment with a little stimuli but not a lot of decision-making demands, in order to replenish willpower or energy so that you can do another stint of Deep Work.
That made me realize that a couple of the examples he cites are people who intersperse their periods of Deep Work with walks or bouts of meditative thinking. Basically, there seems to be a need to take deliberate breaks of not just the body but also the mind in order to continue to focus intently.
I suppose I never really understood the point of breaks aside from the chance to go to the bathroom. But those few examples in the book would do about 90 minutes of work and an hour or 90 minutes for a break, then another 90 minutes of work. The break/work cycle could be repeated two or three times.
I had been wondering how long a Deep Work session should be. The book mentions some people who take a few days to complete a project, but do they work straight through with only breaks for eating and sleeping, or do they also take other types of breaks during the day? Basically, what would enable me to be maximally productive?
I also haven’t finished listening to the book, so he might address this later.
I feel refreshed after my walk so I’ll do another 90 minute session.
***
Wow that walk worked really well! I feel much better today even after finishing a 3rd 90 minute session, and I was able to really focus and concentrate on the editing. I’m a little mentally tired now, but nowhere near as tired as I was yesterday.
Also, the editing for the first two scenes took quite a bit of time, but the scenes after that were much easier. I hope it’s not that I’m getting sloppy—I don’t think so, because I was really trying hard to keep focused. I looked up when I started this slower, more thoughtful writing style where I’m editing-as-I-go, and it was around the middle of the second scene, so the scenes after that were all written the slow, edited method. So maybe the faster self-editing now is just that the scenes are a bit cleaner.
I considered going for another walk and then doing another Deep Work session, but I decided against it. I’m a bit tired and I don’t want to overdo it. I did 3 hours yesterday, and I did almost 4.5 hours today. I’ll try a little more tomorrow. I wonder if I could do 2 hour Deep Work sessions instead of 90 minutes? I’ll try it and see how I do.
I feel really excited that I was able to focus for such a long time and not get distracted. Was I not distracted because I entered into a focused flow state? I’m kind of amazed I was able to stay focused for such long stretches. Maybe it was also because of the walk refreshing me. Usually focused editing like that is really difficult for me to do.
I’m pretty excited to keep listening to that audiobook and learn more about Deep Work.
Outlining: time spent: 0
Blocking: time spent: 0
Editing: Time spent: 4 hours, 14 minutes
Writing: Time spent: 0
Writing: Total number of words: n/a
Writing: Overall writing speed: n/a
Time spent doing other writing-related business: 45 minutes
My takeaway for today: Try relegating the editing of the Japanese The Spinster’s Christmas and the Regency nonfiction reading to the weekends so I can focus only on the writing during the week and see how that works.
My second takeaway for today: Try doing the Regency self-editing after finishing the Hawaii book and seeing if I am able to do the self-editing well for longer periods of Deep Work, or if I start to slack off the longer I do it.
My third takeaway for today: To eliminate as many distractions as possible, switch alarms for personal and house chores to reminders that can be silenced on my phone and computer on Do Not Disturb.
My fourth takeaway for today: Walks or methods of stepping completely away from the work help recharge my energy for more Deep Work sessions.
My fifth takeaway for today: Try a 2 hour Deep Work session to see how that works for me.
He also talked about the different types of philosophies when it comes to Deep Work. Different people do Deep Work in different ways depending on their personality, it seems, and the necessities of their family and job.
The monastic philosophy is what I’d ideally like to do. He gives examples of other authors who have done that. However since I’m self-publishing, I don’t know if I can do that.
I think my method right now is a bimodal philosophy, because for a typical week, I write for 5 days a week and then do email and social media on Saturdays. However, I’ve also been trying to do a little bit of non-deep work each day, and now I wonder if I should instead shunt those to weekends so that I can focus more on Deep Work on weekdays. I haven’t finished the book yet, so he might address things like that later.
The rhythmic and journalist philosophies actually made me think of Elena Johnson, a successful indie author whose writing books I really love. In Writing and Releasing Rapidly (or maybe it was Writing and Marketing Systems ), she talks about her writing routine. Her writing routine is a bit unusual, but most of the time she writes in long chunks of time, whether in the morning or the evening. However, she can also write in short chunks when she’s waiting to pick up her kids. In all her writing sessions, it seems she’s very intensely focused. I think that might be similar to what the author of Deep Work is talking about.
Apparently the key is intense focus on the task at hand, and he also mentions that most (although not all) people need a certain amount of time to get into that mode of intense focus. Also, for the monastic and bimodal philosophies, they are able to get into a mode of maximum focus because they are able to devote the entire day to their task.
I need to practice periods of intense focus so that I can do it for longer, because yesterday’s 2 hour session kind of wiped me out. However, the author also talks about setting set periods of time for your sessions of Deep Work so that they’re not open-ended, so maybe that was my problem yesterday.
I also need to rethink how I do some of my tasks. There are some things I need to do a little each day, such as my Japanese flashcards. But maybe other things should be relegated to the weekends, namely my editing the Japanese The Spinster’s Christmas and probably my Regency nonfiction reading.
The editing of the Japanese The Spinster’s Christmas is a very large task which doesn’t require intense focus. In fact, it’s extremely tedious and boring because a significant amount of time is spent waiting on Microsoft Word to spin its wheels. So I don’t think I need to do that all in a large chunk of time, especially because that could potentially take weeks.
While the nonfiction reading would benefit from periods of Deep Work, I have tons of books to read, so it’s not like it’s a defined project with a measurable end. I could probably do an hour or so each weekend on my nonfiction reading.
But what about my self-editing of the Regency? It would benefit from Deep Work, assuming I could focus and not get sloppy at it. Since I’m editing a book that I had written quickly and done only a quick pass of self-editing, I have to look closely at each sentence to see if it should be edited. I have found that it’s more difficult than editing the sentences as I’m writing them, like I’m doing now for the Hawaii book. So I worry that after a while, I’ll start to skim the sentences rather than really looking at each one. If I’m really focused on the task, will I be able to do it without getting sloppy? I probably should try doing it after I finish the editing on the Hawaii book and seeing if I am able to do the self-editing well for longer periods of Deep Work, or if I start to slack off the longer I do it.
I started also thinking about how I can eliminate more distractions during my work day so that maybe I can do Deep Work and get into that mode of intense concentration. I started eliminating some of my alarms, which were mostly for house chores and personal health, and switching them to reminders that can be silenced when I put my phone and computer on Do Not Disturb.
So today, I’ll try to do longer periods and try to really focus and concentrate on my task. I’ll also do only the editing on the Hawaii book.
I’m a little worried that I won’t be able to focus for long. But I suppose the best I can do is try. And the more practice I get, the better at it I’ll get. I have to remember that I won’t be super at it right away.
***
I got a good 90 minutes of work done and I was able to focus pretty well. However, the editing was also rather light because I had been editing as I go with this book already.
I took a long break and did some gardening. After concentrating for so long, it felt good to be outside to clear my head.
But now my IBS is flaring again. It’s not terribly painful, and the discomfort comes in waves so it’s not constant, but it does make it hard to focus.
I’m going to try for another 90 minutes.
***
I was able to focus for another 90 (ish) minutes, but had to get up because of my back. Since I was also feeling low in energy, I decided to go for a second walk.
It ended up being a really good thing. I listened to the Deep Work audiobook again, and he talked about, ironically, taking walks out in nature or some other method of detaching from the work. You place yourself in an environment with a little stimuli but not a lot of decision-making demands, in order to replenish willpower or energy so that you can do another stint of Deep Work.
That made me realize that a couple of the examples he cites are people who intersperse their periods of Deep Work with walks or bouts of meditative thinking. Basically, there seems to be a need to take deliberate breaks of not just the body but also the mind in order to continue to focus intently.
I suppose I never really understood the point of breaks aside from the chance to go to the bathroom. But those few examples in the book would do about 90 minutes of work and an hour or 90 minutes for a break, then another 90 minutes of work. The break/work cycle could be repeated two or three times.
I had been wondering how long a Deep Work session should be. The book mentions some people who take a few days to complete a project, but do they work straight through with only breaks for eating and sleeping, or do they also take other types of breaks during the day? Basically, what would enable me to be maximally productive?
I also haven’t finished listening to the book, so he might address this later.
I feel refreshed after my walk so I’ll do another 90 minute session.
***
Wow that walk worked really well! I feel much better today even after finishing a 3rd 90 minute session, and I was able to really focus and concentrate on the editing. I’m a little mentally tired now, but nowhere near as tired as I was yesterday.
Also, the editing for the first two scenes took quite a bit of time, but the scenes after that were much easier. I hope it’s not that I’m getting sloppy—I don’t think so, because I was really trying hard to keep focused. I looked up when I started this slower, more thoughtful writing style where I’m editing-as-I-go, and it was around the middle of the second scene, so the scenes after that were all written the slow, edited method. So maybe the faster self-editing now is just that the scenes are a bit cleaner.
I considered going for another walk and then doing another Deep Work session, but I decided against it. I’m a bit tired and I don’t want to overdo it. I did 3 hours yesterday, and I did almost 4.5 hours today. I’ll try a little more tomorrow. I wonder if I could do 2 hour Deep Work sessions instead of 90 minutes? I’ll try it and see how I do.
I feel really excited that I was able to focus for such a long time and not get distracted. Was I not distracted because I entered into a focused flow state? I’m kind of amazed I was able to stay focused for such long stretches. Maybe it was also because of the walk refreshing me. Usually focused editing like that is really difficult for me to do.
I’m pretty excited to keep listening to that audiobook and learn more about Deep Work.
Outlining: time spent: 0
Blocking: time spent: 0
Editing: Time spent: 4 hours, 14 minutes
Writing: Time spent: 0
Writing: Total number of words: n/a
Writing: Overall writing speed: n/a
Time spent doing other writing-related business: 45 minutes
My takeaway for today: Try relegating the editing of the Japanese The Spinster’s Christmas and the Regency nonfiction reading to the weekends so I can focus only on the writing during the week and see how that works.
My second takeaway for today: Try doing the Regency self-editing after finishing the Hawaii book and seeing if I am able to do the self-editing well for longer periods of Deep Work, or if I start to slack off the longer I do it.
My third takeaway for today: To eliminate as many distractions as possible, switch alarms for personal and house chores to reminders that can be silenced on my phone and computer on Do Not Disturb.
My fourth takeaway for today: Walks or methods of stepping completely away from the work help recharge my energy for more Deep Work sessions.
My fifth takeaway for today: Try a 2 hour Deep Work session to see how that works for me.
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