What is deep work?
Deep work is a term popularised by Cal Newport in his 2016 book Deep Work. It means working with full concentration, free of distractions, on tasks that stretch your abilities, such as writing, analysis, design, coding or studying. Its opposite, “shallow work”, covers tasks like most email, scheduling and quick replies, which can be done while distracted.
Why it matters
Section titled “Why it matters”Demanding work needs long stretches of attention. Every switch to email or chat leaves part of your mind behind on the previous task, which researchers call attention residue (Leroy, 2009). A day made only of short gaps between meetings leaves little room for deep work, even when there are hours of “free time” in total.
How to make room for it
Section titled “How to make room for it”- Schedule it. Put 90-minute deep-work blocks on your calendar before the week fills up.
- Choose the task in advance. Decide what the block is for, and write the first step.
- Remove distractions. Close email and chat, silence your phone, and use full-screen mode.
- Batch shallow work. Handle email and messages in set windows, not continuously.
- Start smaller if needed. If 90 minutes feels impossible, begin with 25-minute rounds and build up.
Read more in How to protect focus time when your calendar is full of meetings.
In Thendoo: use Block time on Today for deep-work blocks, start a focus session on one task with a visible countdown, and park stray thoughts in the Inbox without leaving the session. Focus time counts toward the task, so you can see how much deep work you actually did.