For people who want regular personal or professional development advice from a qualified executive coach.
How to Do Deep Work
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Do you ever get frustrated with yourself that you just bounce from task to task, email to email, and meeting to meeting without ever doing anything substantial? If so, you are not alone. How to do Deep Work is the topic for my group session today for people in my coaching program. I'll be teaching the group how anyone can get better at doing work that really matters. Cal Newport defines deep work as: “Professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive abilities to their limit.” It feels wonderful to do that doesn't it? To get into that state of flow where you are writing that report, reading properly and making decisions, or learning and applying something new. Really using your intention and attention together on something important. As part of my talk today I'll be sharing the best 8 tips I have discovered for getting into this state. Repeatedly. I don't have space to share all of that here, but this is one of the best tips I know: Use fixed-length sessions Open-ended time invites drift and a lack of focus. So, set a defined window. Having a clear boundary between deep work and other kinds of work will increase your intensity of attention and commitment to the task. So rather than saying you'll do some deep work "this afternoon", say you will do 120-minutes of deep work from 2pm to 4pm. I promise, it'll make a big difference. Have a great day, Stephen -- If you’re curious whether coaching could help you find more clarity or direction, book a free 15-minute Clarity Call and we’ll explore it together. For anything else, hit reply. I answer every email personally. |
HeRO Chronicles
For people who want regular personal or professional development advice from a qualified executive coach.
The most common frustration I hear from highly capable leaders is expressed in a variety of ways, but it can be summarised as: I can't seem to get anything done anymore! The frustration might be with themselves, for not being able to do the things they need to do. Or it might be frustration with their team, for not finishing things or getting them done right. When this frustration shows up, it is rarely about skill, confidence or motivation. More likely it is because people are being...
When things start to get harder for leaders, it isn't usually because of a lack of skill or effort. It is usually because the system around them has changed. Now systems are always changing and often they balance out, but, at some point they get out of balance and we don't know why. Decisions get harder. Deadlines get missed. Meetings lose their purpose. And the instinct is to wonder, "who is to blame?" But if leaders can take a step back and look at what's changing in the circumstances they...
The word retreat has been on my mind a lot over the last few days, and for two different reasons. There’s retreat in the sense of withdrawing from the day-to-day. Stepping back to reset, recharge or escape circumstances we don’t like. This is the kind of retreat you hear about a lot in the personal development world. Creating calm spaces for people who are tired, stretched or overwhelmed. I have a lot of respect for that work. But it isn’t really how I’m wired. My default response to...