Overwhelmed by Deep Work? Do This Instead
Reality Check: Deep Work is a myth
Finding that 1-2 hour uninterrupted morning block sounds nice…
But it’s not always feasible. There are days when I start my morning shift of work at 6am before classes. And I worked with a coaching client who was a nurse with 2 toddlers and a small business on the side.
Interruptions and imperfections aren’t an excuse to procrastinate. But you also don’t need to force yourself to long deep work sessions.
Meet yourself where you’re at.
More Progress in Less Time: Interleaving
Instead, try interleaving : start an idea and let it incubate. By alternating between different topics and tasks, you boost your knowledge and memory because you’re giving your brain’s synapses more time to connect and think.
Steal my Interleaving Routine for Busy Creators
Try it out! Here are the steps I’ve followed for over 3 years.
- the night before, brainstorm/ outline
- in the morning, write essays
- use daytime pockets of time to read, think about new ideas
Each of these chunks takes between 15-25 minutes, and I will think about the content while walking/ commuting.
Nuance and Encouragement
This isn’t an either or. Embrace the “Yes and” perspective from design thinking. We can aspire to have more deep work sessions eventually, but you don’t need to feel like you’re missing out if you can only work in interleaving sprints.
Remember: start small, start messy, start today. Your ideas might be the inspiration somebody needs. But they’ll never see it if you don’t share them 🙂
