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Deep work in practice: reimagining my workflow for radically less distraction

alexdenning.com

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Re: Deep work in practice: reimagining my workflow for radically less distraction

#51

Post by TeMPOraL »

anotheryou wrote: post #29
hsitz wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I think self-control should be valued higher than self-restriction." Well, I wish it could be that way. But it's not. Or, at least, it's not even an issuing of valuing one more than the other. Using self-restriction strategies is based on understanding and acknowledging that our self-control is not as strong as we want it to be, our level of self-control varies over time and may not be as strong in the future as it…

Your reply makes sense and triggered some further thoughts: We need to push ourselves to do things with no immediate reward (because our instincts are a bit short-sighted). I however still fear that (2) might cause some detachment from your "inner self". If you force your mood, your feelings, your body to step back to make the high-level goal possible you might burn out quicker. The high-level goal being something yo…

> I think there is power for self-regulation, even on a subconscious level, but it might need some more freedom to keep that. In this case it needed a whole 2 weeks to waste on games before it made me feel empty and longing for something else.

Interesting thought. I know the feeling, actually, as someone who tends to binge on computer games and TV series (and novels). It's sadly true though, that adult life is usually clocked even stronger than teenage years. I often feel that if I could only get one week away from work and people, I'd feel much better overall. Alas, it's hard to get a week off from being an adult.

Re: Deep work in practice: reimagining my workflow for radically less distraction

#52

Post by TeMPOraL »

wodenokoto wrote: post #21
anotheryou wrote: post #6

I think self-control should be valued higher than self-restriction. With self-restriction I mean blocking bookmarks (hindering you), not muting the phone (removing outside distractions). To me this self-improvement through shedding responsibility is scary. It's the same for fitness tracker that tell you when to do. (I have to admit there is some grey area in between though. Some habit forming can be beneficial ((e.g.…

Do people really have a problem just riding the flow and not heading off to hackernews mid-task (honest question)? Yes, lots of people have problems staying focused. I have on more than one occasion even caught myself thinking "now I'm really in the zone, maybe I should check reddit"... But why would that help anything?

Indeed. The "ALT+TAB, CTRL+T, n " combo is something I execute before my conscious brain notices it. However, I'm increasingly better at following it immediately with "CTRL+F4" and thinking "not now; after I finish this".

Re: Deep work in practice: reimagining my workflow for radically less distraction

#53

Post by ChrisLTD »

mitul_45 wrote: post #35

Recently, I have been working on something exactly similar - An app to schedule your day: https://github.com/mitul45/ta-calendar Check it out and let me know what you guys think!

Looks good! I built a similar free app for iOS: http://longdayapp.com

Re: Deep work in practice: reimagining my workflow for radically less distraction

#54

Post by anotheryou »

freshhawk wrote: post #45
anotheryou wrote: post #6

I think self-control should be valued higher than self-restriction. With self-restriction I mean blocking bookmarks (hindering you), not muting the phone (removing outside distractions). To me this self-improvement through shedding responsibility is scary. It's the same for fitness tracker that tell you when to do. (I have to admit there is some grey area in between though. Some habit forming can be beneficial ((e.g.…

To me both the valuing of self-restriction rather than self-control and Pomodoro have similar reasoning behind them. Self-control requires you to continuously spend willpower to resist, while self-restriction removes that continuous drain on willpower (a finite resource). Similarly Pomodoro tells you when to take a break and when to concentrate, no decisions required. I'm not sure how valid this model of willpower is…

Certainly a valid model. I can't find it now, but there even was a study on how you would eat unhealthy after demanding tasks, so additionally cognitive load drains from the same pool, too.

edit: http://seriouspony.com/blog/2013/7/24/your-app-makes-me-fat (certainly that was a hn-post)

Re: Deep work in practice: reimagining my workflow for radically less distraction

#55

Post by anexprogrammer »

anotheryou wrote: post #6

I think self-control should be valued higher than self-restriction. With self-restriction I mean blocking bookmarks (hindering you), not muting the phone (removing outside distractions). To me this self-improvement through shedding responsibility is scary. It's the same for fitness tracker that tell you when to do. (I have to admit there is some grey area in between though. Some habit forming can be beneficial ((e.g.…

(Disclosure: I have ADHD, I've been using pretty much all the ideas in this article, and some others, for ages to supplement my meds.)

Perhaps you're of the minority who has discipline and self-control to resist all the modern world has to offer. Chasing dopamine hits, from net and phone distractions, is habit forming. As it has become a habit most people aren't realising how often they're doing it.

It's easier for me. I know I don't have self-control or sense of time. I set myself up to manage accordingly. I see it as setting up for success. Do you think the many who use headphones and music in office are self-restricting and should use some self-control too?

When I was working on fitness I had a personal trainer. I could have done it alone, but the extra accountability meant I tried harder and didn't skip sessions. I think everyone gets the same benefit.

Pomodoro just constrains the time. You only have to do 25 minutes of thing before you get a break. Taking breaks improves focus. Every 2 I stretch, walk away from the desk maybe grab a drink.

Re: Deep work in practice: reimagining my workflow for radically less distraction

#56

Post by greendragon »

kareemsabri wrote: post #8
anotheryou wrote: post #6

I think self-control should be valued higher than self-restriction. With self-restriction I mean blocking bookmarks (hindering you), not muting the phone (removing outside distractions). To me this self-improvement through shedding responsibility is scary. It's the same for fitness tracker that tell you when to do. (I have to admit there is some grey area in between though. Some habit forming can be beneficial ((e.g.…

It's a nice sentiment, but the products/sites/apps that aim to suck our attention are designed to exploit human weaknesses via dopamine release, variable reward etc. (see the book Hooked), making it exceedingly difficult and potentially expending your finite store of willpower on things you could much more easily avoid altogether. Personally, cultivating the self-control to avoid checking facebook.com is less interes…

Just a comment, the research on willpower as a finite resource does not replicate well. The latest I've heard is that it seems that willpower is like a finite resource if you believe it is, it is not like a finite resource if you don't believe so.

Re: Deep work in practice: reimagining my workflow for radically less distraction

#57

Post by freshhawk »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #50
freshhawk wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To me both the valuing of self-restriction rather than self-control and Pomodoro have similar reasoning behind them. Self-control requires you to continuously spend willpower to resist, while self-restriction removes that continuous drain on willpower (a finite resource). Similarly Pomodoro tells you when to take a break and when to concentrate, no decisions required. I'm not sure how valid this model of willpower is…

I too find Pomodoro breaks to be too frequent when I'm in the flow (and I often would skip them then), but when trying to make myself work on a difficult task, having the perspective that "it's just 25 minutes" was helping me to feel less stressed.

Yes, I'm in exactly the same boat but it felt like skipping breaks for hours at a time wasn't really the way the system was supposed to work and I wasn't sure if it helped when used in that way. Although perhaps just being "allowed" to take a break is enough of a benefit, that does make sense to me as I write it.

Re: Deep work in practice: reimagining my workflow for radically less distraction

#58

Post by freshhawk »

anotheryou wrote: post #54
freshhawk wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To me both the valuing of self-restriction rather than self-control and Pomodoro have similar reasoning behind them. Self-control requires you to continuously spend willpower to resist, while self-restriction removes that continuous drain on willpower (a finite resource). Similarly Pomodoro tells you when to take a break and when to concentrate, no decisions required. I'm not sure how valid this model of willpower is…

Certainly a valid model. I can't find it now, but there even was a study on how you would eat unhealthy after demanding tasks, so additionally cognitive load drains from the same pool, too. edit: http://seriouspony.com/blog/2013/7/24/your-app-makes-me-fat (certainly that was a hn-post)

As I understand it, it's a decent pop psych model, and in this context it's valid and I think of willpower this way. But I remember reading some complaints from experts that we've gotten carried away with the "pool of willpower" metaphor and were applying it too broadly so I'm more careful now.

Re: Deep work in practice: reimagining my workflow for radically less distraction

#59

Post by davidvaughan »

amerine wrote: post #2

This is the first I've heard the term "deep work". Is this a more common term or something coined recently?

I think it's a new term for something very old.

People who needed to do serious work went to monasteries or lived in caves.

The biggest distraction for many people is other people. Solitude is the way to get real work done.

There's a lot of interesting stuff here: http://www.hermitary.com/articles/

Re: Deep work in practice: reimagining my workflow for radically less distraction

#60

Post by ALocalMan »

greendragon wrote: post #56
kareemsabri wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a nice sentiment, but the products/sites/apps that aim to suck our attention are designed to exploit human weaknesses via dopamine release, variable reward etc. (see the book Hooked), making it exceedingly difficult and potentially expending your finite store of willpower on things you could much more easily avoid altogether. Personally, cultivating the self-control to avoid checking facebook.com is less interes…

Just a comment, the research on willpower as a finite resource does not replicate well. The latest I've heard is that it seems that willpower is like a finite resource if you believe it is, it is not like a finite resource if you don't believe so.

I think you're half right. Willpower is bolstered by a belief that it is infinite, but in reality, it is finite.

To go even further than that, those who believe they don't have a willpower limit are more likely to continue challenging it and developing it - paradoxically increasing it. Those who believe they have a limit may exercise it less.

The same effect can be seen in sports psychology. Those who believe themselves indomitable can squeeze out extra force/endurance in physical trails, whereas those who believe themselves fragile perform at a weaker state.

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