Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Guide to Deep Work

doist.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 70 posts

Re: Guide to Deep Work

#51

Post by spraak »

thomk wrote: post #18

Does anyone else find the term "Deep Work" to be pretentious? Most people who say they were busy doing 'deep work' makes me feel like they are a bit self important. Why not just say you need to focus?

It's in the same group of eye rolling phrases for me such as "heads down" e.g. "I'm going to be heads down working on X tomorrow so I won't be available on Slack". Something seems off with your priorities and expected responsibilities if you need to declare this. For me, just take the time you need to focus. I always see colleagues say this right before the end of a sprint when trying to get a feature finished or something.

Re: Guide to Deep Work

#52

Post by vertline3 »

vinay427 wrote: post #49
vertline3 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that the idea of prioritizing work that is adding significant value is not so new, to be fair. Professors would go on sabbaticals to finish their book for instance.

Right, but that's somewhat different from any "work" that existed before electronics arrived. However, there was arguably less of a disconnect between "deep work" and "work" before electronics, compared to default "work" today.

I don't think it is different from a work of high craftsmanship such as Chinese Jade carving. But maybe from a kind of labor that is non-skilled.

Re: Guide to Deep Work

#53

Post by jogjayr »

sound1 wrote: post #48
ssivark wrote: post #6

The real challenge is attention management. Switching gears from an execution orientation (knocking off tasks) to a careful thinking orientation is hard. The hardest aspect of deep work (for people used to a structured form of productivity) is immersion in the task/topic without a concrete plan of "how" to tackle it. (The necessary immersion is what makes "deep" a good metaphor) Every such session is a risky investme…

Beautifully articulated! On a tangent, I always seem to have issues with my superiors because of the way I work. Most of the initial part of a project I do nothing but think about how to approach it, best ways to solve some of the problems and what pitfalls to avoid. During this period they don't get much of the status updates or progress and they get mad. Then in a short burst I finish off everything when they think…

It may help to document ideas and pitfalls as you think of them. If you're trying out things in code, leave that work on your own branches, and link from the doc. It gives managers a tangible artifact to see you're making progress. It's also valuable documentation for others after the task is done. Extra plus: come performance review time, you have a paper trail of everything you've done, everything you tried that didn't work out, everything you can take credit for.

Re: Guide to Deep Work

#54

Post by sound1 »

jogjayr wrote: post #53
sound1 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Beautifully articulated! On a tangent, I always seem to have issues with my superiors because of the way I work. Most of the initial part of a project I do nothing but think about how to approach it, best ways to solve some of the problems and what pitfalls to avoid. During this period they don't get much of the status updates or progress and they get mad. Then in a short burst I finish off everything when they think…

It may help to document ideas and pitfalls as you think of them. If you're trying out things in code, leave that work on your own branches, and link from the doc. It gives managers a tangible artifact to see you're making progress. It's also valuable documentation for others after the task is done. Extra plus: come performance review time, you have a paper trail of everything you've done, everything you tried that di…

Great advice, thank you!

Re: Guide to Deep Work

#55

Post by Denzel »

jogjayr wrote: post #53
sound1 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Beautifully articulated! On a tangent, I always seem to have issues with my superiors because of the way I work. Most of the initial part of a project I do nothing but think about how to approach it, best ways to solve some of the problems and what pitfalls to avoid. During this period they don't get much of the status updates or progress and they get mad. Then in a short burst I finish off everything when they think…

It may help to document ideas and pitfalls as you think of them. If you're trying out things in code, leave that work on your own branches, and link from the doc. It gives managers a tangible artifact to see you're making progress. It's also valuable documentation for others after the task is done. Extra plus: come performance review time, you have a paper trail of everything you've done, everything you tried that di…

Yes, this is fantastic advice. The most effective senior engineers on my team almost always create what’s called a “start doc”. Written at a high level, the doc discusses background context, enumerates possible solutions with a pro/con list for each, and records open questions and out-of-scope issues. They’re usually only 1-3 page gdocs.

The most important part is that it opens up discussion to the team. Everyone is able to read, comment, and offer up improvements or get clarity on questions they have. After a few rounds a feedback and revision — usually 2-3 days — a decision is made and the engineer goes off to break out a few tickets and start the work.

It’s async, collaborative, efficient, visible, and just a generally pleasurable process as both an individual and teammate.

Re: Guide to Deep Work

#56

Post by PeterisP »

afarrell wrote: post #30

One thing I wish Cal Newport's book had done better was to explain ways to be better at managing Shallow Work. Deep Work competes for time with Shallow Work. Therefore, if you want to have time for Deep Work, you need to either A) Do less shallow work. B) Do shallow work more effectively. Or schedule it more effectively. ------- How possible is option A? Well, what is Shallow Work and why does it matter. Some example…

Cal Newport's work is essentially a reaction to the fact that all the literature on time/task management succeeds mostly at shallow work but isn't optimal for deep work.

So if shallow work is your weak spot where you'd like some improvements, then all the classics like David Allen's Getting Things Done or perhaps Covey's 7 Habits of highly effective people would be relevant.

Re: Guide to Deep Work

#57

Post by HNLurker2 »

iandanforth wrote: post #4

If you're struggling with scheduling work time and getting things done I'd like to recommend https://www.focusmate.com/ You book 50 minute video sessions and are paired with a random other person who wants to get work done. You start by saying what you intend to work on, and you finish by saying what you accomplished. That's it, other discussion is strongly discouraged. I work from home and have nearly unlimited leew…

I am not 16 yet so I guess

Re: Guide to Deep Work

#58

Post by HNLurker2 »

enraged_camel wrote: post #27
sneakernets wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately this is a no-go for so many people that do not have concept of "respecting the zone". People get angry at me for not being available at the drop of a pin these days, and when I cut off my email clients I miss important impromptu meetings, and so much more! What we need is a messaging service that can only do preset phrases that comprise 99% of the distractions: Impromptu Meeting. Catering. Potential Hir…

I don't think it's possible to achieve Deep Work reliably unless you have full control over your work environment and schedule and can shut off distractions without getting reprimanded or suffering from FOMO. This is a non-negotiable term for me when I interview. Another thing I noticed about myself: I have "moods". Sometimes I feel like dicking around (like right now!), and in those situations I don't even try to ge…

>suffering from FOMO.

What kind? HN, normal news, politics?

Re: Guide to Deep Work

#59

Post by HNLurker2 »

mendelbot wrote: post #17

Maybe the real problem here is capitalism and productivity porn.

>productivity porn.

Guilty of that. I've seen friends who are young (14-15) and they talk about work smart not hard, 80/20 and deliberate practice to break through the plateu. Can't tell if I should find it kinda funny or just sad. Business books do ruin social life and makes you very critical of yourself

Re: Guide to Deep Work

#60

Post by yifanl »

sl1ck731 wrote: post #44
iandanforth wrote: post #4

If you're struggling with scheduling work time and getting things done I'd like to recommend https://www.focusmate.com/ You book 50 minute video sessions and are paired with a random other person who wants to get work done. You start by saying what you intend to work on, and you finish by saying what you accomplished. That's it, other discussion is strongly discouraged. I work from home and have nearly unlimited leew…

I wonder if there would be any merit in replicating the experience on a fully remote team. Maybe something like everyone schedules Slack video calls once a day with a random team member. Or a quick Flask app to output a schedule for the day.

I think you'd lose a lot of the benefits if this isn't opt-in. If you make it just another ritual, then I imagine by the month's end, it stops giving any type of accountability.
Post reply on HN