Assess how feeling career stuck is impacting you across ten areas of life - in 30 minutes. Then, decide what you want to do about it.

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I read the book Deep Work by Cal Newport some years ago and it hit me like a brick. It connected a few dots of thoughts that had been floating around my mind for years and it changed the way I structured my work week forever.  It felt like I'd found a magic wand that had been missing in my work life forever. 

Deep Work is the antidote to the kind of shallow, time frittering, needle stuck in place work that many professionals drown in daily.  Deep work is focused, distraction free, and high impact. It's the kind of work that shifts the needle on your biggest priorities and unlocks creative, innovative problem-solving. 

So, if you're someone who's ever glanced at a clock or at your watch at 5pm and thought Wait, what the heck did I actually do today? This Joy at Work experiment is for you. 

[00:00] Making Time for Deep Work - A Joy At Work Experiment

[00:29] The Concept of Deep Work by Cal Newport

[01:50] The Three Enemies of Deep Work

[02:51] Implementing Deep Work - A Joy At Work Experiment

[04:32 ]Personal Success and Encouragement to Try Deep Work

You're busy, yeah?

There's never enough time to focus on your future work happiness.

But if you don't focus on it, things just stay the same, don't they?

In these short episodes, I wanna give you some tiny ideas, some mini experiments

to try out this week to either dial down a pain point for you at work or

dial up your potential for joy at work.

Let's dive in.

I read a book by Cal Newport some years ago and it hit me like a brick.

It connected a few dots of thoughts that had been floating around my

mind for years and it changed the way I structured my work week forever.

Since implementing his ideas, I've achieved levels of progress in important

projects that occasionally leave me, honestly, feeling astounded with myself.

And believe me, that's not something I'm used to feeling about myself or my work.

The concept that blew my mind is what Newport calls deep work.

It's the antidote to the kind of shallow, time frittering, needle

stuck in place work that many professionals drown in daily.

Deep work is focused, distraction free, and high impact.

It's the kind of work that shifts the needle on your biggest

priorities and unlocks creative, innovative problem solving.

But most of us, we get stuck in shallow work, don't we?

Answering emails, attending low value meetings, and chasing our tails in

a fog of constant task switching.

Newport identifies the three arch enemies of deep work that keep us trapped.

Number one, distractions.

We know this well.

Hello, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and endless doom scrolling on X or

Twitter or whatever it's called today.

Two, constant task switching.

Every time you switch tasks, every time your brain loses momentum.

Multiply that by 20 and suddenly boom, your day has gone.

Three, time sucking email and low level admin tasks.

You know, the ones they feel super urgent and they add little or no

value to the day, but they do give us a tiny free zone of achievement

from ticking off the to do list.

So, if you're someone who's ever glanced at a clock or at your

watch at 5pm and thought Wait, what the heck did I actually do today?

This Joy at Work experiment is for you.

What I want you to do this week is choose one specific work problem, maybe one

that's been bugging you, or something that if you made meaningful progress

on it, you would really be pleased.

Got it?

Great.

Now, jot down a few of the critical tasks that would allow you to

move the needle on that problem.

These should be actionable, tangible, and significant.

Now, rejig your diary so that you can block out two or three, ideally, hours

when you can work on this problem alone.

I know, I know, you're busy.

You don't have hours to spare.

Nobody does.

And that's why you have to make them.

Take a hard look at your schedule and deliberately delete, delegate,

or postpone something less important.

Be ruthless.

Low stakes meeting, you're dreading?

Decline it.

The shallow task clogging your to do list?

Delete it.

Remember to put your phone on focus mode, or if you don't have that set

up, just put it in a different room.

Tell your colleagues you're not to be disturbed, unless there is a real fire.

Shut your door, or wear those noise cancelling headphones that one of my

teenagers seems to wear all the time.

Here's some personal proof that this works, but check out Cal

Newport's book if you want more.

In 2018, I started scheduling a three hour deep work session every Wednesday.

At some point every Tuesday, I'd decide which project to tackle and outline

a few of the steps that I wanted to complete within the three hours.

I honestly will never forget my first session.

Three blissful hours uninterrupted except for a quick trip to the kettle.

By the end I had made so much progress I was flabbergasted.

It felt like I'd found a magic wand that had been missing in my work life forever.

Since then, deep work has become my secret weapon.

I've used it to create new programs, masterclasses, books,

TEDx talks, and podcasts.

And these are projects that might never have seen the light of day otherwise.

Here's the annoying truth.

If you're to taste success in this deep work experiment, something has to give.

You can't do everything and still find time for the kind of deep thinking

and deep action that matters most.

But just imagine how good it will feel to finally get

cracking on that tricky problem.

Picture coming home after a workday, knowing you've made meaningful

progress on something super important.

Imagine how much better you'd sleep that night, knowing you're moving

forward on work that truly matters.

It's not easy at first, but once you've tasted the success of deep

work, you'll never look at your calendar or your shallow task list.

In the same way again.

So what's your big problem this week?

And when are you booking in your first deep work session?

Your needle shifting success awaits.

If you enjoyed this, you might also enjoy my Life Satisfaction Assessment.

It's a 30 minute program where I guide you through a deep dive into 10 areas

of your life to assess what's bringing you joy and what's bringing you down.

I call it D Railed.

It's a fabulous place to begin a joy at work redesign.