Deep Work happens when I am highly focused and productive on a task to be solved. It usually spans for a long period with no interuption. In contrast, I would describe Shallow Work as distractive and unproductive working condition. It involves a lot of context switching, for example, reading/replying email or messages in the middle of your creative work.
Why Deep Work? Because it allows me to produce high-quality work in a relatively short time and in a peaceful way.
To achieve that, I want to reduce context switching and focus myself on one task at a time:
- Work in a private space.
- Silence my cell phone and put it away.
- Disable system notification popups, unread message counter and annoying red dots on my app icons.
- Close all apps which are not required to complete my work.
- Maximize the app/program that is related to my work.
Once I finished the task, then I go back to check emails and messages that I need to reply to. After that, it's important to take some rest. I usually go out for a 20-minute short walk, if that's not practical, at least keep away from your computer and walk around a bit.