I started writing articles at 2 PM today. I had a few ideas, and I know that if I don't write them down as fast as possible, in a few hours I'll forget everything. I'd rather spend some time writing and getting things done, than realize later that I didn't do anything and I need to work a few extra hours.
A few months ago I downloaded an audiobook about deep work, even if I didn't really know what that is. I started listening to it for a while, and it was really educational. It made me realize how much time I'm actually wasting when I stop working all the time to check my Facebook or to check my e-mail.
I followed a few of the advices in that book and I started working for different amounts of time, without stopping at all. I started with 30 minutes, then 45 minutes and finally, with an hour. I didn't want to do more than that, at least not when it comes to writing, because I feel like after an hour I need to take a break and let my brain refresh itself a little bit.
However, that one hour of hard work and constantly writing is more productive than 3 hours of work while stopping to check your social media, e-mails, calls, etc. The main reason is that you waste more energy trying to switch from one task to another than when you actually work. It takes a while for your brain to get used to doing one thing, so if you do multiple things at once, or if you do multiple things for very short periods of time, you will actually waste more energy than if you would working for a few hours on one thing alone.
Let's take writing as an example. If you start writing right now, and if you spend one hour writing without stopping, you can imagine your brain getting in the "writing" mood little by little. You start with nothing, and as you go, your brain starts thinking about the subjects you want to talk about more and more, it starts to think about new ideas, and even your fingers start to type faster than usual.
That's because your brain needs a little bit of time to actually get in that perfect zone of being able to write. For example, right now, after finishing this article, I'm gonna finish my hour of writing. I started writing at 2 PM and right now it's around 2:50 PM. In approximately one hour I managed to write four articles that will be posted today and tomorrow on Steemit.
So, basically, in only one hour I wrote enough articles to not have to work for the rest of the day and for tomorrow. That's one of the things deep work can do for you. You just start doing something now, and you don't do anything else for a certain amount of time. You focus only on one thing. It's incredible how much progress you can make using this technique and not trying to focus on too many things at once.
If you are working on something right now, or if you're writing articles daily, like I do, try to eliminate any kind of distraction and do your best to work for at least 30 - 60 minutes without stopping, on only one thing. When you finish, take a 10 minutes break and then start working for another 30 - 60 minutes on another thing, and so on.
You will see how much more progress you can make if you allow your brain to focus and remain focused on one single thing, instead of forcing it to switch between multiple tasks.
Thanks for writing this. I shall now follow you.
This is something I am already aware of but sadly find difficult to do. My mind is constantly thinking of the next thing I want to to...and the next.... and the next. The 'pull' to leave what I am doing and do something else is almost physical. It's not just tasks like writing: after a day in the garden, I will note 2 dozen half-finished jobs.
I shall make more of an effort from now on - fingers crossed I will succeed and actually complete a task!
Thank you very much for your comment and for the follow!
I had the same problem a while ago. The thing about deep work is that in our days it's not something we are born with any more, because society tells us we need to multitask in order to work better. We have to learn how deep work works, and we need to practice in order to get better.
I'm sure if you try harder and if you focus on working on one thing only, for longer periods of time, regularly, you will be able to do it!
Thanks again for the comment and for the follow! :)