This Book Made Me Dangerously Productive
You’re not lazy. You’re just spending too much time on work that doesn’t matter!
I had the same routine for many years. I would wake up, check my emails, reply to messages and attend meetings, check my phone, and handle hundreds of little things throughout the day.
And before I knew it, it was 9 pm.
Can relate to this? — Working for 10 hours a day but still feeling like you’ve got nothing done?
I was always exhausted. But that ONE THING I actually wanted to work on… the project that could help me move my business forward and help me achieve my yearly goal was still untouched!
This has happened to me countless times!
We are always busy, doing something constantly. But you know what? We never seem to have enough time for the things that truly matter to us.
I have been in that situation for many years.
Before Medium, I never had any routine, actually. As I became more involved in the Medium community, I came to know about scheduling, having my own workstation, keeping some time aside for ME TIME, and even journaling.
Before that, I was a total mess.
I was working hard enough but I wasn’t making any real progress.
But it didn’t happen overnight. I picked up some productivity hacks from the Medium community and learned other things from friends who were super productive and much more organized than I was!
Also, reading some books on productivity helped me change my perspective.
I slowly realized that the problem wasn’t always how many hours I worked but how much focused work I actually got done during THOSE hours.
Why Is It So Difficult to Focus These Days?
A big shift is how we use our attention! Let me explain.
This is what happened to me recently —
I was in the middle of writing an important article. Its the one I published a few days ago; you can read it here — The Buy NOTHING Rebellion: 20 Things I REFUSE to Buy Anymore
Suddenly, my email notification popped up. You know when you are packed up within four walls, even the smallest noises or distractions can catch your attention, right?
I stopped writing and thought I’d check the mail for a while. I returned to my article after 15 minutes, I guess, but my mind was still occupied with that email.
The result?
It actually took me longer to figure out where I left off!
The real problem was that my brain was constantly dealing with interruptions.
Every time I was working on something important, my attention got pulled away by something else on my laptop.
This was the number 1 reason why I wasn’t making any progress during my early writing career. My attention kept jumping between different tasks, and the quality of my work suffered as a result.
Also, having a day job and constantly getting calls from my boss even after I had left the office was the most annoying thing. I eventually learned that I needed to set boundaries and stop answering work calls after office hours!
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My Brain Was Getting Used to Distractions
Have you ever heard of neuroplasticity when someone talks about learning a new skill, developing a habit, or improving their memory?
But I always love to see both sides of the coin.
I have worked in various fields , and there is something about this that I think you need to hear.
When you repeat something over and over again, your brain gradually gets better at doing it.
Now think about this scenario —
- You check your phone in your free time
- You love switching between apps throughout the day
- Open social media apps 10 times a day
- Watch shorts, dumbscrolling as many calls
- Check notifications again
And then, when it’s time to work on something important, you find it difficult to concentrate!
Our attention has been reduced a lot due to constant stimulation.
And it’s something many of us struggle with.
These tiny, seemingly harmless distractions are the real reasons why we aren’t able to complete our most important work on time!
But you know the good part?
We still can train our brain to get on track.
You don’t need to become extremely strictly disciplined overnight. A few simple habits can make a big difference in how you work and live!
How to become Dangerously Productive
So this is what I learned from Cal Newport’s book Deep Work. This was one of the books I mentioned earlier and it’s probably my most favourite productivity book of all time.
I started applying some of its ideas to my daily life.
Here’s what I did.
I picked one important work task and decided to work on this for the first 90 minutes of my day.
So during those 90 minutes, I wouldn’t check emails, Slack, or my dashboards. No breakfast breaks, no housework, and no other distractions. Just work!
Now, housework was a different challenge. Because I was alone, the uncleaned house was a little distraction for me. During the first week, it was difficult to ignore the mess. But I made one rule for myself — no means no!
Eventually, I stopped worrying about household chores during my focused work hours and started giving that time entirely to my work.
After a few weeks, I started seeing some changes. My focus increased. I could actually concentrate on one particular task for a longer period of time without feeling the need to switch to something else.
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The Four-Step Deep Work Blueprint
1. Audit Your Deep Work Ratio —
The first thing Cal Newport suggests is to identify which of your tasks require deep work and which ones fall under shallow work.
Example —
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Deep work —
- Writing articles
- Creating business plans
- Creating a to-do list for the day
- Learning a new skill
- Creating product
- Soleving problem
Shallow work —
- Replying to emails
- Checking updates
- Answering a short call
- Organizing notes
- Updating your sheets
2. Design Your Deep Work Schedule —
This is from the Cal Newport book. He discusses FOUR different approaches to deep work —
- Monastic approach — This is MONK MODE. And my favourite as well. Best results I have seen so far. Just remove many distractions as possible and dedicate most of your working life to deep work.
- Bimodal approach — If the work takes a long time, then break it down. Divide your time into longer periods of deep work. Example — 90 minutes in the morning. 90 minutes before lunch. 40 minutes during tea time. 90 minutes after dinner.
- Rhythmic approach — This is about building a daily routine. A fixed time reserved for deep work every day until it becomes a habit.
- Journalistic approach — Whenever you have a little extra time in your schedule, you switch into deep work.
3. Build an Environment That Supports Deep Work —
Working from home is very distracting.
People are constantly approaching me for little things.
What to cook today?
Where to keep the salt packets you brought yesterday? etc etc..
I know there is a lot of household work that needs my attention, but they often interrupt my work and affect my productivity.
I used to work either in the living area or on the kitchen table because writing is lonely, and I hated working alone for long hours back then!
Here are some of the best approaches I have learned so far —
- Rent a workstation — This option is the best one right now. I never knew about this until recently. Coffee shops are another option too, in case little noises don’t matter to you much.
- Rent a room — This can be expensive sometimes, but a small apartment or even a hotel room can work if you need a quiet place to focus.
- Create one space where nobody enters without your permission —This is still the best option for me! A dedicated corner or room where you can work without interruptions can make a huge difference. :)
4. Learn to Be Comfortable With Boredom —
Boredom is a friend to me now. But before? I was a little scared of it. That empty feeling made me uncomfortable.
I remember always trying to fill that emptiness with one thing or other.
- I’ll check my phone constantly
- Check social media updates
- Or watch short videos
- Or call someone
I’ve always been looking for something to keep me occupied.
And because of this habit, my deep work became even more difficult.
After getting used to these little bursts of stimulation, whenever I returned to work, my brain would crave the same stimulation again.
But now I have started doing something else.
- While waiting in queues, I have stopped checking my phone
- While having my morning tea, I avoid mindlessly scrolling through social media.
- While walking, I no longer keep checking my emails
- I avoid watching videos, especially early in the morning
- Whenever I feel like checking my phone, I go for a little walk instead.
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One More Thing: Every Deep Work Session Should Have a Clear Goal
This is very important.
Like, I’ll give you an example.
I usually write my articles early in the morning.
So whenever my 90-minute session starts, I never say, “I will write an article.”
Instead, I tell myself — “I am going to write the introduction and conclusion part. Then I’ll work on the main section and add the important bullet points. That’s it!”
The same applies when I’m working on a planner or spreadsheets.
I won’t simply say “I’ll create Habit Tracker today”
Instead, I’ll say — “I’ll just design the main dashboard and a few essential graphs before my session ends.”
Having a clear goal makes a huge difference. It’s much easier to stay focused when you know exactly what you want to accomplish.
This is all for now!
Deep Focus + Clear Goals + Dedicated Time
This is what I have understood so far from reading the book.
There is a lot more to learn, of course. But we all know that reading a book just once is rarely enough to absorb everything it has to offer.
A book like Deep Work by Cal Newport is definitely worth reading two or three times. Each time, I discovered something new and understood its ideas a little better!
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