Deep work, coffee, and uni-tasking.

Aug 5

Ever feel like you've worked all day but never really gotten a deep-level project completed? Where work has certainly occurred, but it hasn't felt substantial?

Surface work, as I like to call it, is the kind that is just small tasks—answering emails, replying to texts, etc.

But what about the deeper work? The projects that require uninterrupted attention and focus? When is there actually TIME to get all that done?

Focus and concentration are precious commodities. When one can harness those gifts, great progress can be made. Carl Jung is said to have followed a strict schedule of uninterrupted work time. He would get up at 7 am every day and after a big breakfast, would spend two hours of uninterrupted writing time in his office (the one with a key). His afternoons were spent in long hours of meditation or on walks. Since he chose to live without electricity in his retreat space, called the Tower, he would be in bed by 10 pm. "The feeling of repose and renewal that had in this tower was intense from the start," he said.

Perhaps we can't all create that Tower for ourselves, but how does one get the opportunity to complete deep work and concentration without one? We are constantly bombarded with emails, texts, media, and the like, so where to escape when there we can't go anywhere?

A study done on Microsoft employees claimed that when checking email, the time it takes to get back to the task, even if the email isn't replied to, can take up to 15 minutes!

A conscious effort to avoid these unnecessary, dopamine-inducing distractions takes skill. One way to do so is to set limits on when the email is checked, such as only doing so three times a day, or scheduling it as part of a task group with similar ones. Choosing to turn off all notifications on the phone or computer can also help.

And making a conscious effort to do one thing at a time is a skill that can be learned and strengthened over time. Doing one thing at a time is called uni-tasking. Uni-tasking can be done anywhere and you can try it today.

For example, when driving, just do that. It may sound simple enough but that means not listening to music, eating, drinking, or talking on the phone while driving. Just drive.

Or how about when washing the dishes? Do you listen to a podcast? Talk on the phone or do anything else? Just wash the dishes.

Notice when there is a pull towards multi-tasking and see if you can resist the urge to do so. Maybe even if just for a few minutes, you are building new neural pathways in your brain to create more attention and retention to this patterning.

Of course, yoga and meditation will give you that set and setting too.