THE IMPORTANCE OF DEEP WORK WHILE SHELTERING IN PLACE

Chicago and illinois are issuing a “shelter in place” order today at 3 pm.

So we’re going to be working form home for a bit now.

But I believe this crisis deserves more than superficial working from home “tips”.

Because we are not working from home.

We are in an unprecedented social isolation and quarantine. From which we are all trying to work from and through.

Like you, I am balancing health safety practices with keeping my business running.

While I will leave the health suggestions to the pros, I put forth here a practice that certainly has helped me while working from home, but now has become even more applicable since we’re all operating from isolation.

 THE FLOAT STUDY

As I wrote about in my previous post, Float recently released their Global Agency Productivity Report 2020 which has (inadvertently) become even more relevant in our current situation.

One of the most astonishing findings is that 59% of ad agency workers struggle to only accomplish two hours of “deep work” per day. Deep Work being defined as the ability to focus uninterrupted on the most valuable tasks.

Deep Work is where the ideas come from. Deep Work is where we find the solutions to problems, big and small. The ideas and solutions that our clients desperately need. And, ostensibly, what they are paying for. While other tasks are necessary, this is, without a doubt, how and where we add the most value.

The other hyper relevant finding is that in order to mitigate the unavoidable interruptions and distractions caused by open office plans and meeting culture, 82% of agencies provide a “remote” working policy.

 And now, due to the pandemic, it’s 100%.

 However, as we are all discovering, just because you work remote or at home doesn’t mean you can automatically get to the deep, important work. Unfortunately, distraction and interruption doesn’t discriminate by location. Deep Work doesn’t just happen.

HOW I PRACTICE DEEP WORK

 In my experience from working in both big agency departments and offices, to consulting out of my home office, there are two critical components to this.

 1.    Blocking out Deep Work Sessions

2.    Having a clear purpose for every session

I BLOCK OUT DEEP WORK SESSIONS

Apologies for being Captain Obvious here, but this is what specifically works for me.

First, I block out time and space. If I don’t do this, it does not happen.

I chart out all my time every day, blocking out Deep Work sessions on my calendar.

I have found that 20 minute increments work best for me. So I schedule multiple 20 minute Deep Work sessions where I attack the most important and valuable work I have on my plate.

An hour can work like this: 20 minutes of uninterrupted Deep Work. Then 10 minutes to do other stuff. Another 20 minutes of Deep Work. Followed by another 10 minutes of whatever. Or, 20 minutes of Deep Work, 30 minutes of calls and meetings, 10 minutes for bio break, etc.

 During a session, I use my Enso meditation timer so I can forget about time. Any timer can work. I just like the simplicity of the design. It’s reliable. And it works in airplane mode.

 And here’s the thing. Physical space must be made. Doors must close (yes, we still have doors at home). Phones must turn off. Notifications must mute. Fingers must type (I’m a writer!).

 Yes, sometimes Deep Work sessions will go longer than 20 minutes. That’s ok, I don’t feel bad when Deep Work bleeds over my calendar. After all, it’s the most valuable work on my plate.

The point being, I schedule meetings. I schedule phone calls. And I schedule time for the most valuable work I can do.

I HAVE A PURPOSE FOR THE SESSION

 I always have a purpose for a Deep Work session. The purpose for the session that produced this piece started as “organize the thoughts you are having about working from home versus working from isolation”. Very specific.

Obviously, this is personal to you. I use these sessions to attack work that I believe will most benefit my clients and my creative business.

And if I don’t have a very specific client task at hand, I give myself assignments. I explore proactive actions for their business. I meditate. I write and record music. I write morning pages. I brainstorm ways to be useful and of service to others.

Again, this goes back to what Deep Work is – uninterrupted focus on the most valuable tasks.

Sometimes, for me, that task is focusing on identifying what actually is most valuable right now.

But that’s another session.

Anyway, I hope this helps in some way. Understand I share this with humility and empathy. I know we are in the midst of an experience we haven’t been through before, with both health and economic ramifications beyond our imagination. I just thought we could use some perspective on working from home and isolation with a little more insight than just “make sure to take a lunch break”. As evidenced by the empty shelves in my grocery store, it seems people know to make time to eat.

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