Deep Work

Block at least 90 minutes of deep work in the morning, turn off notifications, close the door and work on ONE important task.

Decide: deep work all day (monastic), alternating days (bimodal), same hours every day (rhythmic) or when it happens (journalistic). Start with rhythmic.

Establish WHERE you work, for HOW LONG, and with what RULES (e.g., phone in another room, only water, no email).

Track daily deep work hours on a visible calendar. Goal: increase by 15 minutes each week up to 4 hours.

Decide in advance WHEN you'll use internet/social media. Outside those times: zero access. Always carry a notebook for "emergencies".

For each app ask: "Does this significantly improve my professional/personal life?" If not, delete it. If yes, use it only at scheduled times.

For each task ask: "How long would it take an intelligent new graduate to do this?" If months/years = deep work. If days/weeks = shallow work.

Ask your boss: "What % of my time should be shallow work?" Use this quota to say NO to useless meetings/emails.

End of workday: check email, plan tomorrow, close everything and say out loud "Shutdown complete". After: zero work.

For critical projects, invest significant resources: rent a beach house to write, go to a special library, eliminate all superfluous for a week.