Are you struggling to get all of your work done before calling it quits each night? Does it feel like you’re stuck spinning a hamster wheel and can never get ahead?
There are only so many hours in the day, so what are you doing to make the most of them? Through the power of deep work, you can transform the few minutes you have in the office into your most productive time of the day. More importantly, you can boost your organization’s productivity, profitability, and efficiency by training your employees on deep work.
Instead of wasting your time on distractions, you can get in the zone and complete tasks at a higher level. Besides being more productive, deep work can improve your organization’s profitability. Plus, being in the zone has enormous benefits for your personal happiness and well-being.
What is Deep Work?
Deep work is the kind of work you do when you’re in the zone and able to work without distractions. While it sounds simple in principle, it’s much harder to ignore emails, colleagues, co-workers, and other distractions in real life.
The Deep Work book was originally written by Cal Newport in 2016. In the book, Newport says you have to achieve a flow state to get your best work done. This kind of mental flow is similar to the feeling of being in the zone that many high-level athletes feel.
When you’re in this state, you can lose track of time because you are so immersed in what you are doing. It is the state where you get your best work done. Unfortunately, this state is hard to achieve in the modern workplace.
To reach this state, you need to be in a calm, focused state of mind without any distractions. You also need to be doing a task you have the skillset for but still feels challenging.
Part of these qualities can be achieved through better scheduling and eliminating distractions. You also have to learn how to engage in a task using active attention. This is the kind of conscious attention you use to achieve a meaningful goal.
Benefits of Deep Work
Because deep work is essentially engaging in a flow state and being in the zone, there are already many studies about the benefits of this kind of working strategy. For instance, flow states are connected to better emotional regulation, increased happiness, improved creativity, and better concentration. There are a number of benefits to deep work.
Improve Your Productivity
While fewer people are practicing deep work today, it is more important than ever before. Because this working strategy helps people focus better and complete more in the same amount of time, your team members become better workers. According to a summary of deep work, these qualities help to boost your organization’s productivity.
Boost Job Satisfaction
Although you may want to improve your team’s productivity, deep work can also improve your job satisfaction and happiness. When your employees achieve a flow state, time goes faster. This kind of work state can also increase their sense of purpose.
Increase Efficiency
Who doesn’t want more time in their day? When you are more productive and better at focusing, you get more stuff done in less time.
Be More Successful
If your employees are more efficient and productive, you can go after more of your organization’s goals. Plus, the mind becomes more motivated when it feels like a goal is closer. Thanks to all of these factors, you can enjoy a snowball effect when it comes to your personal and organizational goals.
How to Make Deep Work More Efficient
Whether you are testing out deep work sessions for yourself or for your workers, there are a few key things you can do to improve your organization’s deep work strategy. The following tips can help you get the most out of your team.
1. Choose Your Working Style
If you didn’t have a chance to read the book, a quick deep work summary should cover the depth philosophies. These philosophies are basic approaches to life and work. Most people use the rhythmic philosophy, but each person is unique.
The rhythmic philosophy involves making deep work a habit for several hours each day. While the journalistic philosophy means you use deep work only when you have an opportunity, the monastic philosophy entails getting rid of all distractions and communication devices permanently. Finally, the bimodal philosophy is where you have stretches of deep and shallow work for periods of days or weeks.
2. Get Rid of Distractions
If you don’t get rid of distractions, it’ll be almost impossible to get any deep work done. Focusing is the main skill you need for doing deep work, which means you have to stop multitasking.
As an employer, you should encourage employees to only answer emails and other communications at certain times of the day. Otherwise, each distraction will exponentially increase the amount of time it takes to get something done. You may even want to create isolation rooms or special “do not disturb” signs for employees to use when they are working on major projects.
3. Plan Your Time Accordingly
It isn’t always possible to get rid of every distraction. You can make deep work easier by scheduling it into your work day in blocks.
For example, you can use time tracking software to set aside blocks of time for deep working. During this time, you should never agree to meetings or conference calls. Additionally, these time blocks should occur at your most productive point in the day.
4. Create a Routine
Most likely, you get ready for work the same way each day. Many of our daily activities are automatic parts of our routine because we don’t have the willpower or cognitive energy to analyze each interaction or task. If you had to decide whether to brush your teeth before or after getting dressed each morning, you’d be wasting your energy unnecessarily.
You and your team members can make deep work easier by turning activities into routines. For example, you could set aside a special day a month for major projects. You could also use software, like voice-activated time trackers, to reduce the amount of work you have to do.
Become More Productive as an Organization
Through deep work, you and your organization can become more efficient, successful, and profitable. As you transition to this new working style, eBillity can help. Sign up for our free 14-day Time Tracker trial to see how time trackers can boost your productivity.
