Run your day...or your day runs you!

The clock strikes 5pm, colleagues or client personnel around you start packing up and heading home, while you’re staring at your screen wondering where the day just went. Bouncing between meetings and responding to “urgent” emails, it feels like you haven’t done anything of real value yet today.

Sounds familiar?

Back in my Accenture days, depending on the client and phase of the project, this was certainly not uncommon for me. The problem (aforementioned meetings and emails, colleagues asking for “just a minute” here and there and a host of other focus-interrupting elements) often meant a whole day could pass without the chance to get into the sort of concentrated mindspace necessary to tackle challenging tasks and important work.
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It might feel like all of these things reside outside of your control, and you are resigned to doing your focused work in the evenings and nights. And while I won’t promise that I can eliminate all overtime needs for you, there are some things you can do to guard your mindspace and set yourself up to ensure you can actually do some real, deep work in your working hours, and don’t always have to go beyond them.

Schedule fixed chunks of no-internet time
The power of always being connected to a world wide web of information and people is great, and a lot of what you do and how you do it wouldn’t be possible without it, but when it comes to trying to focus on ONE THING, it’s a terrifying hurricane of distractions.

Ideally, you can disconnect fully (e.g. turn off your wifi) and concentrate only on the task at hand, such as writing that report or presentation, reading that white paper, etc. But if that’s not possible, at least disable all chat and email notifications and/or use site blocking apps like Freedom to limit what can distract you.

Plan out and schedule your deep work tasks first
Planning what you need/want to work on and attacking these tasks proactively, instead of reactively letting your inbox run your schedule, should sound like a good idea to everyone. Start by making a list of your main targets and tasks, and estimating the complexity and need for deep concentration for each one. Deliberately schedule tasks that require deep concentration first (e.g. in the morning) when your mental energy is still high.

You’ve probably seen this advice before and might be doing it already, but the next part is equally important: at the end of the day, reflect on how well you were able to execute on your plan. Were your estimated task durations accurate? Did you over (or under) estimate the complexity of any task?

Use these insights as you plan the next day, and gradually devise a system that works for you. The duration of a time block can be very individual, so figure out what allows you to concentrate best. Over time, you’ll also get better at estimating how much time you will need for a certain type of task, and this enables you to more accurately schedule your deep work sessions. Completing a task as planned gives you a natural good feeling - hello dopamine! - so your deep work doesn’t only allow you to get stuff done, it also feels great!

A bit of pressure can be helpful
This may seem a little counterintuitive at first, but setting yourself a (slightly aggressive) deadline can be helpful for focus. Let’s say that the sales report is due at the end of the month, but instead you pretend you’ve only got until the end of the week to complete it.
As the saying goes, “pressure makes diamonds”, and sometimes putting a bit of artificial pressure on yourself - rather than postponing the work until the real deadline is looming! - can be beneficial to unlocking your best work.

(Note: this may not work for everyone and in every situation, but give it a try and see if it can help you get into a flow state of deep concentration, or whether it just makes you sweat profusely and bite your nails!)

Set up your environment for success
This is an absolutely critical yet often overlooked piece of the deep work puzzle. I’ve talked about environmental cues and their relevance for habit creation before, and it’s equally essential for facilitating deep work.

Just as chat notifications and certain websites can be total focus breakers, so can cluttered desks and messy work environments. If you’re working in an open plan office where colleagues are talking, laughing and passing by all the time, and your desk is buried under notes, printouts and other things that constantly pull your mind away from the task you are trying trying to work on, it’s hardly a wonder that you can’t get into a deep work mindspace, is it?

So, grab your laptop, a notebook and a pen and find a quiet, undisturbed space. Put the phone on silent and close all apps and tabs that are not relevant in the moment. I bet it will make a world of difference!
What’s the notebook for? Whenever something pops up in your mind that is not relevant to the task at hand, make a very quick note as a reminder for later, but don’t allow your mind to start “working on it” right now.