What is deep work? why too much concerned about it?
Well, to understand what exactly is the deep work philosophies we first need to understand what exactly is deep work.
Deep work is the ability to focus on a specific project/skill/research without any internal/external distractions. Deep work will make you better at what you do on a cognitively demanding task.
So once we understand that deep work is important, can’t we do that directly? the answer is No. why?
Everyone is different and has different ways of working deep. Therefore it is important to understand the philosophies required to integrate deep work into our habits.
1: The Monastic Philosophy
According to this philosophy, deep work is done by completely eliminating or minimizing shallow work(The kind of work done with distractions) from their professional lives, such as no work emails, calls, or meetings for certain weeks or even months.
This philosophy demands long hours of studying(deep thinking) & uninterruptible concentration. Such as writing a book, or building a rocket.
The Practitioners of the monastic philosophy tend to have a well-defined & highly valued professional goal, & their professional success comes from doing one thing exceptionally well.
Examples: Space scientists, Tech wizards, Business leaders
2: The Bimodal Philosophy
This philosophy describes deep work by eliminating distractions only during certain periods.
The philosophy asks that you divide your time in such a way that, deep work is done monastically — seeking intense & focused concentration. And doing shallow work on low priority. On the scale of a week, dedicate four days monastically & rest on the shallow time. such as replying to emails.
Those who deploy the bimodal philosophy of deep work admire the productivity & also respect the value of shallow work.
NOTE: Even if an hour away from your inbox makes you feel uncomfortable or your organization doesn't like it, then certainly the idea of disappearing for a day or more will seem impossible.
Examples: Software Developer working on a high-quality application, Automation Engineer who is trying to automate most of the things.
3: Rhythmic Philosophy
In this philosophy, the deep work is done only during a certain time frame of the day.
This philosophy targets most of the office workers in tech companies, where only during a specific time frame the deep work is carried on. Such as using Pomodoro Technique or Ninety minute focused attention.
The Rhythmic philosophy doesn’t value as much as monastic or Bimodal philosophy, but it conceptualizes the value of depth-focused concentration.
Examples: Software developer working with the team for a sprint.
4: Journalistic Philosophy
This philosophy describes the value of deep work at different intervals of time in a day.
It implies if you are working on a certain task such as working on some logic of software application or writing a novel. The ideas will generate at different intervals or at different situations. Hence, you switch back to deep work.
NOTE: This type of deep work is best described for highly experienced persons since it requires switching from one task to another. For less experienced or beginners it would decrease the willpower for the day.
Examples: Writing a novel, Software developer trying to solve/find logic for the problem.
