My Ritual for Deep Work
In a society obsessed with social media, multi-tasking, and constantly being on the go, accomplishing high quality work has become increasingly difficult. Distractions such as text messages and Facebook notifications can make it difficult to achieve a state of intense concentration, therefore affecting the quality of our work. In Deep Work, Cal Newport argues we need to limit distractions to produce our best work.
Newport defines deep work as challenging professional activities performed in a state of intense, distraction-free concentration. However, prior to reading Newport’s book, I struggled with reaching a state of intense concentration. Within the first hour of working on a task, I sometimes checked my phone three or four times. One simple notification could encourage me to aimlessly scroll through Facebook and other social media sites. These off-task activities not only took up time, but also broke my concentration and made it hard to get back to work.
As a freelance graphic designer, it is important for me both to meet deadlines and to produce high quality work. After reading Newport’s book, I knew distractions were making both those goals harder. Therefore, I have now adopted a ritual that helps reduce my time social media. Before I start any type of work, I turn off my notifications and put my phone out of sight, for example, in my backpack or across the room. This ritual has helped me create a space that is conducive to deep work. Tasks that used to take an hour now take 20 minutes, and my designs are more eye-catching and polished. By increasing both the speed and quality of my work, reducing distractions has helped my business flourish.
Reference
Newport, C. (2016). Deep work: Rules for focused success in a distracted world. Grand Central Publishing.
Rosalba graduated in 2015 with a B.A. in Psychology from North Carolina State University. She joined the Interactive Measurement Group in the summer of 2020 and took on the role of lab manager in the summer of 2021. As lab manager, Rosalba oversees the recruitment and onboarding of new lab members, organizes and chairs weekly lab meetings, manages workshop trainers, and takes on various projects to ensure the lab functions successfully. She hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and aspires to open a private practice in the future.