Hi there, Remote Work Tribe, and welcome back to another Weekly Roundup! If this is your first time checking out our site, the Weekly Roundup is a collection of the latest remote work news and relatable tweets. We cover everything—from terrible career advice to predictions for the future of remote work. Today, we want to dive into something many find crucial while working from home: Deep work!
Deep work was first introduced by author and professor Cal Newport in his book, Deep Work (Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World). Newport defines “deep work” as “the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task.” For those working remotely, deep work is a skill that allows you to better absorb and apply complicated information, and produce higher-quality results, all in less time.
Newport suggests an equation for deep work, which looks something like this:
High-Quality Work Produced = (Time Spent) x (Intensity of Focus)
By this formula, it stands to reason that if you increase your intensity of focus, you can decrease the amount of time spent to produce high-quality work. In other words, if you double your focus, you can cut the time spent in half.
Is Deep Work Effective?
Of course, every remote employee has their own working style. However, the above logic is hard to argue. After all, don’t we all want to pump out our best work in less time?
If you want deep work to help boost your productivity, it’s important to hone in on what’s limiting your focus in the first place. Identify and eliminate the distractions that interrupt your focus, from common apps and websites to procrastination habits like watching the clock. If you find that a myriad of meetings are constricting your workflow, consider blocking out times when you won’t be available for calls.
Like we mentioned in an earlier roundup, some remote employees are even calling for “no meeting days.” In theory, these days would purely revolve around focused work, without the interruption of meetings. Without the pressure of preparing for and conducting meetings, you can funnel that energy back into deep work.
Take it from founder Amanda Goetz, who phrased her approach to deep work the best:
In Amanda’s method, context switching is especially key. Deep work can be easily thrown off track if you continue to hop between tasks. Mute those notifications, limit the number of browsers you have open, and get to work—without those pesky distractions!
But before you go, check out what else the Remote Work Tribe was up to this week!
The Tribe’s Weekly Vibes
1. This special edition Zoom call with a little ✨ pizzazz. ✨
2. This not-so-crazy idea we should all consider.
3. This fantastic reason to be pro-remote work.
4. This comparison to B2B product launches that deserved a good chuckle (no offense to our B2B friends!).
5. This incredibly relatable GIF.
6. This April Fool’s lesson for brands.
7. This reminder that “work when you want” can go one of two ways.
8. This distant memory of life before the remote work era.
9. This emoji we should all keep in the recently used.
10. This reminder to know your worth and the environment you deserve.
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What’s happening in your remote world this week? Tag us over on Instagram, @TheRemoteWorkTribe, or on Twitter, @RemoteWorkTribe, for a chance to be featured on our next weekly thread!
