The Female Version of Deep Work
What is Deep Work?
“Deep work” is a term coined by Cal Newport, an author, and Computer Science professor. Let’s start with his definition of deep work:
“Professional activity performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that pushes your cognitive capabilities to their limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skill, and are hard to replicate.”
“Deep Work” is also the title of Newport’s best seller. The book revolves around understanding how deep work can help you be truly exceptional at what you do, by adopting the methodology.
I am not going to go over the concepts of Deep Work in-depth (bad pun, leaving it to make my dad proud). If you are interested in learning more, I recommend either reading Newport’s book or checking out this excellent Guide to Deep Work.
What I love in the book
Like for many self-help/business books, the theory is easy to understand and to summarize. To me, the value lies in the stories of accomplished individuals shared by the author.
Why this article?
It feels good to read about examples you can identify with. In this article, I am talking about four outstanding women that inspire me. They are all writers, I am not one myself, but I can relate to their ways of working that require deep focus.
I would love to hear from you if you wish to share your inspirations in the comments section!
Four deep work philosophies
There are four deep work philosophies. I will describe them briefly, and I will share an example of a famous writer who practices (or practiced) this philosophy.
The Monastic Philosophy
- The most dedicated approach: spend all of your working hours on a singular high-level focus.
- It is unrealistic for most people nowadays, as most of us are required to perform more than one kind of work in our roles.
An adept of the Monastic Philosophy: Emily Dickinson
Now I know, this is not a very contemporary example, but doesn’t it tell something about today’s society? Being a recluse has never really been en vogue, nowadays even less…
At the age of 28, Dickinson moved back home to take care of her mother. She ended up living the second half of her life as a recluse. She was mostly corresponding with her few friends, and later in life was even reluctant to leave her bedroom.
This extreme seclusion is not a happy example: it is believed she might have suffered from afflictions caused by mental illness, such as agoraphobia or epilepsy.
The first years of her seclusion were the most prolific. In seven years, she created forty fascicules that held nearly eight hundred poems…
The Bimodal Philosophy
- Putting in a high amount of deep work during a long stretch of time (weeks, months, a year), while enabling you to maintain other activities in your life that you find valuable.
- It requires having the flexibility to arrange your schedule as you see fit into larger chunks of deep work.
An adept of the Bimodal Philosophy: Isabel Allende
Isabel Allende is a prolific author: she published 24 books in 40 years of career. This would be the equivalent of one book every year and a half.
She always starts a new book on January 8th, the anniversary of the day in 1981 when she started writing a letter to her grandfather that turned into her first novel, “The House of Spirits.” This is her describing her process:
“It’s a superstition, but it’s also discipline. I really need to organize my life around the writing, so during the first months of the year, I don’t travel, I don’t have any social life, I don’t lecture anywhere. I just write.”
The Rhythmic Philosophy of Deep Work Scheduling
- Ideal for individuals with a fairly static schedule.
- If you know what most of your days will look like, you can block off hours for deep work every day, and build up a daily routine.
- It still leaves you some time for what Cal Newport calls “shallow work”: emails, meetings, daily tasks.
An adept of the Rythmic Philosophy: Ursula K Le Guin
She is an American author, best known for her works of science fiction and speculative fiction.
I have just got into her works, and I am currently reading “The Left Hand of Darkness”. I highly recommend it if you are interested in exploring the idea of a gender-fluid society. Given our current topic of conversation, a schedule is worth a thousand words…
This was Ursula K Le Guin’s typical day, pretty much every day:
The Journalistic Philosophy
- For people who are constantly on the move, with a schedule that always changes.
- Not recommended for deep work beginners: you need to have a clear goal to dedicate to identifying small chunks of time during your day to dedicate to deep work.
- It requires a high capacity of concentration, as you need to get focused the moment you start working (because you have less time).
An adept of the Journalistic Philosophy Toni Morrison
She is an American novelist, essayist, book editor, and college professor. Nobel Prize for Literature, Pulitzer-price recipient.
Toni Morisson wanted to embrace the bimodal philosophy. But she had a nine-to-five job. This is something relatable for many of us!
“I have an ideal writing routine that I’ve never experienced, which is to have, say, nine uninterrupted days when I wouldn’t have to leave the house or take phone calls. I am not able to write regularly. I have never been able to do that — mostly because I have always had a nine-to-five job. I had to write either in between those hours, hurriedly, or spend a lot of weekend and predawn time…”
I loved writing this article and learning about these impressive women. Who inspires YOU to produce more focused work?
Getting inspired is the first step. Now, when it comes to choosing a deep work philosophy that works for you, it is a process! If you are interested in the topic, I recommend checking out this The Complete Guide to Deep Work, by Doist.
