Tips for Scheduling Deep Work Sessions

At the end of 2023, I hated my calendar…. So I ripped it apart, and started fresh. Here's what I did to make my calendar work for me, not the other way around. 1) Map out your dreams - created a new calendar in gcal - literally called it my "Calendar Map" - and planned out what my dream week would look like. Thought about what I wanted in a great week (for me that was time for deep work in the afternoons, a couple mornings where I don't have calls before 10am, stacking my 1:1's next to each other, etc). Everything went in there, from workouts, to networking calls/coffee chats, to recurring team meetings and 1:1s. If it's not on your calendar, you're not prioritizing it. 2) The Purge - In January, Stacker went through a Calendar Purge. Inspired by Shopify, we deleted ALL meetings on everyone's calendar, and then 24 hours later allowed people to repopulate, but it gave everyone a chance to rethink each meeting, and equally importantly gave me a chance to reorganize things according to my calendar map. 3) Refresh - There were 2 really important things when it came to repopulating my calendar    a) question everything - does that 1:1 need to be weekly, or could it be bi-weekly? is that recurring meeting we set up 6 months ago still necessary?      b) use the map - 1:1s used to be sporadic throughout my week, now I have a block of them, which allows me to better prep and mentally show up for people. My calendar used to look like a zebra with random 30 minute free blocks interspersed between meetings. Now I have blocks for calls, and blocks for creative/deep work. I can't stick to this 100% of the time, but it has made scheduling things a lot easier, and acts as a good reminder/reinforcement of what I aspire for each week to look like, versus just succumbing to whatever gets thrown my way. Would highly (HIGHLY) recommend this to anyone who feels like their calendar runs them, and not the other way around. Inertia is strong, and a refresh can help shock the system.

Do you feel like meetings interfere with your ability to get work done? You're not alone. In fact, if you haven't seen a post on this subject, whether as a joke or more serious post, I'd be surprised. But what do we do about it? At Maven, we implemented a program called 'Deep Work', and I have been loving it. The concept of deep work came to us from Cal Newport, an author and computer scientist, and his book, 'Deep Work'. It is worth a read, but the major point is that there is a disconnect between a manager's schedule, who spend most of their time in meetings moving work along and resolving road blocks, and programmers (or creators), who need long blocks of time to get into their flow state and get meaningful work done. "A single meeting can blow a whole afternoon, by breaking it into two pieces each too small to do anything hard in". As content creators and analysts, this hit us hard. So early last year, we implemented a deep work calendar. Company wide, we have "deep work" periods that are off limits for meetings (with rare exceptions), and we are not expected to be super responsive on Slack or email. These time blocks make up 60% of our work week, while the other 40% is "collab time", where we are expected to be more plugged in and responsive. This has made it much easier for me to plan and execute my work, without losing critical touchpoints with the team. Our setup is as below, but this can be configured based on the needs of your team -- do you think this would work for your team? #deepwork #productivity #meetings

🚀💡 As a product manager navigating the landscape of product development, marketing, UXR, and design I've embraced 3 pivotal habits that save me hours every week. Here's how: Focused Work Blocks 🎥: Like immersing in a cinema without breaks, I schedule deep work sessions. For example, I dedicate uninterrupted mornings (6:30 am to 9 am) to deep work, ensuring no meetings/texts can distract me during these critical thinking hours. Efficient Task Bundling 📊: Group similar activities together to streamline workflows and reduce context switching. For example, I consolidate similar tasks, such as reviewing all product feedback every Friday, which streamlines my workflow and significantly reduces the mental load of constantly switching contexts. (You need to reduce context switching as much as possible) Integrated Brain-Body Multitasking 🧠+💪: Combine physical activities with mental tasks, like listening to audiobooks while exercising, to double your efficiency. While walking to work, I listen to industry podcasts, turning commute time into a learning session. Similarly, standing meetings encourage active discussions and keep the team energized. Incorporating these habits has not only skyrocketed my productivity but also fostered a more efficient and engaged product team. What strategies do you use to maximize your efficiency in product management? #ProductManagement #TimeManagement #Efficiency

You don’t need more hours in the day. You need to protect the ones you already have. Here’s how HR pros can get more of the 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 work done, without staying late or dropping the ball. Let’s be real. Working in HR can feel like being on call 24/7. Emails. Slack messages. Drop-ins. Emergencies. You want to help, but your real work gets sidelined. Sound familiar? These five habits help you take back control: 1️⃣ 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲 “𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸” 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘀 → Put time on your calendar where you're unavailable. → Even two 45-minute blocks a day can move the needle. 2️⃣ 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝘆: “𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄” → You don’t need to drop everything for every request. → A short, kind delay protects your priorities. 3️⃣ 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗳𝗳 → Checking email all day kills your focus. → Set two or three times to do quick replies. Then stop. 4️⃣ 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗮 ‘𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘅’ → Not everything is urgent. → But if you don't sort it, everything feels urgent. → Sort tasks into: Do It, Schedule It, Delegate It, Drop It. 5️⃣ 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗯 → Because it is. → Delegating isn’t giving up control, it's clearing space to lead. Early in my HR career, I said yes to everyone, and ended up doing 𝘮𝘺 work on the weekends. You don’t have to do it all. You just have to protect time for what matters most. What helps you stay focused on high-impact HR work? ♻️ I appreciate 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 repost. 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗛𝗥 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀? Click the "𝗩𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗺𝘆 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿" link below my name for weekly tips to elevate your career! #Adamshr #Hrprofessionals #humanresources #HR #theinsider   #hrcommunity Adams HR Consulting Stephanie Adams, SPHR

3 steps to master productivity: There's a limit on what you can do in a single day. At least competently. Throughout my career as a lawyer I've noticed a clear correlation. The more I try to do in a shorter period of time, the more the quality of my work product suffers. Small mistakes emerge. The polish on my final product loses its shine and becomes smudged. Here's what to do instead: 1. Used focused blocks. Limit your work to 2 or 3 hour blocks on a single task. This practice stops your brain from wasting energy on constant task transitions. Each switch incurs a cognitive penalty, and you have to reboot your brain to download the context surrounding the task. Focused blocks avoid frequent mental transitions and promote deep work. They enhance your concentration, and improve the quality of your end work product. 2. Reduce daily priorities If you can, set a maximum of 3 priorities each day. This approach prevents you from overloading your schedule and stepping into counterproductive territory. Stop saying yes to every assignment. Don't be afraid to turn away potential clients. With fewer priorities, your focus sharpens, and you give each task the attention it deserves. 3. Segment your day Dedicate specific parts of your day to distinct activities, often called "chunking". In the context of productivity, "chunking" refers to the practice of breaking up the workday into distinct, manageable segments or chunks of time dedicated to specific tasks or types of work. For example, you can dedicate the first two hours of your workday solely to deep work, then chunking email responses and meetings into later, more fragmented parts of the day. Try just one of these strategies and see what kind of difference it makes with your productivity and quality of your work. Follow me, James Kamanski, for more insights on personal growth! ♻ if you found value 🙏

Want to get your focus back at work? Read on! We live in an era of shortened attention spans and overstimulation by the multiple screens and platforms we work across. This leads to context switching -The switching from one activity to another, like switching from email to google docs, which is a focus killer. It takes a person who switches from one task to another 9.5 minutes to get their productivity flow back. We do this hundreds of times a day! And while we are only just beginning to understand how that impacts our effectiveness at work, this is our brain on context switching: Our focus shifts from one task to the other, the attention residue effect makes us still think of the previous task while performing the current one. The mind gets overwhelmed with multiple pieces of information, and it leads to drain of mental and physical energy. If you can relate to this, follow the tips below to get your focus back. ✅ Be intentional about planning your day. ✅ Group similar activities to reduce the context switching. ✅ Time block deep focus sessions with short sprints in between. For example, at Creative Business, we use the 4-1-2 method! 4- Time block a 4-hour deep work session during your most productive time of day. (Are you a morning or an afternoon warrior?) 1 - Power Hour of storming through a batch quick-to-do tasks. (high context switching here). 2 - Two-hour time block for meetings, planning, reviews and deliveries. The less intense but important work scheduled during your less productive time. Meaning this is when you're gearing up for or down from your deep work session. Following your natural energy, batching tasks that require deeper focus, and pushing the quick tasks together is less tasking on your brain and energy. How do you take back your focus at work? Share it in the comments, so that everyone on LinkedIn learns from your approach.

Not enough hours in the day to start or grow your business?  That’s B.S. and here’s why… You’re wasting time. You’re bogged down by pointless meetings when you could be doing deep work. You’re replying to emails that have nothing to do with your KPIs.  You doom scroll social media when you could be building your dream. It’s not about having more hours. It’s about making the hours you have count. If you’re serious about taking control and driving your business forward, it’s time to change your approach. Stop letting time slip through your fingers. Here’s how to take control: 1. Make an “important things” list: Write down the 3-5 key tasks that push you closer to your goals. Schedule them. Prioritize them. Get them done. No excuses. 2. Answer only emails that serve your goals: Don’t start your day reacting to others. Focus on what YOU need to achieve. 3. Tackle hard tasks first: Attack cognitively demanding tasks when your mind is sharpest. 4. Dedicate two days a week to “Deep Work”: Give your brain time to create, not just react. Intense focus wins. 5. Allow yourself 4 hours of work before you take any meetings. Limit last-minute meetings to urgent matters only. 6. Optimize meetings: - State the goal. - Make decisions with concrete next steps. - Assign tasks to specific people. - End the meeting quickly. Your success depends on how you use your time. Stop making excuses. Create an “important things” list. Answer only goal-aligned emails. Tackle hard tasks first. Dedicate time for deep work. Work 4 hours before meetings. Optimize meetings with clear goals. Follow these steps to get “more" hours in your day. Own your time. Control your schedule. Get it done. Which rule are you going to start using right now? Tell me below to make it stick.

10 steps to protect your focus (Matt Gray's deep work routine): 1. Eliminate Distractions Close social media, silence notifications, and keep your phone out of sight. It’s impossible to produce quality work if your attention is being pulled in a million different directions. Block off 4 hours every day to be completely free of distraction. 2. Reduce Multitasking We often feel productive by juggling multiple tasks. But the opposite is true. Multitasking is a recipe for: • Poor focus • Bad concentration • Reduced productivity Multitasking means screwing up several things at once. Focus on one task at a time. 3. Practice Mindfulness and Meditate Set aside 5 minutes a day to sit with your eyes closed. When you get distracted by a thought, practice bringing your attention back to your breath. Stillness is a superpower. 4. Get More Sleep Being awake for 20 hours is similar to being drunk. You wouldn't expect yourself to focus while hammered. Entrepreneurs are athletes. You need solid rest to be at peak performance. Set a bedtime and get 8 hours of sleep. 5. Choose to Focus on the Moment It’s impossible to concentrate when your mind is: • In the past • Worrying about the future To produce quality work, you must be present and focused on the task. The point of power is always in the present moment. 6. Learn to Take Breaks When you begin to feel stuck, take a brief step away. Our brains can't handle constant stimulation. Take a walk, have a coffee, or call a friend. When you return, deep work will come naturally. 7. Connect With Nature Nature is the greatest mentor. Humans were not meant to sit inside staring at a screen all day. • Get sunlight in your eyes • Observe plants in a garden • Go on walks without technology Find time to connect with nature. 8. Train Your Brain Instead of mindlessly scrolling social media, take time to play brain training games. • Solve a puzzle • Play chess or sudoku • Figure out a Rubik's Cube Games enhance your short-term memory, which will improve concentration and focus. 9. Exercise Fluid intelligence starts decreasing at the age of 25 for the rest of your life. The only way to stave this off: Exercise. Do 3 rounds of ~30 minutes of cardio a week for enhanced blood flow and circulation to your brain. 10. Eat Well Avoid carbs in the morning while doing your most focused work. Consuming carbs raises serotonin, which will put you into a drowsy state. Instead, eat protein and fats throughout the day, and save carbs for the evening. Uplevel your concentration and focus. ______________________ Original Content Creator: Matt Gray (give him a follow)

I take a lot of meetings for work. By 3 PM, I was hyper-caffeinated and crashing. Not anymore ✌️ Here are a few tricks to finish the day with brain‑power (and patience) still intact:  1.  𝗦𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝟮𝟱 𝗼𝗿 𝟱𝟬 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀. Outlook & GCal have the toggle. Built‑in buffers = built‑in oxygen.       2.  𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼‑𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮. If it can’t state a purpose in the invite, it probably shouldn’t exist.       3.  𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝟭:𝟯𝟬 - 𝟯 𝗣𝗠 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 “𝗻𝗼‑𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘇𝗼𝗻𝗲.” That’s the natural circadian dip - use it for deep work or a walk.       4.  𝗖𝗮𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘀. More than that and half the Zoom tiles are passengers.       5. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽. After 2 back‑to‑back calls, schedule a 10‑minute outside walk. Movement > more caffeine.       6.  𝗥𝘂𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗲 “𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱‑𝘂𝗽” 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴. A standing or walking call each hour keeps posture fatigue away.       7.  𝗦𝘄𝗮𝗽 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗺/𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Async updates free entire afternoons for real problem‑solving.       8.  𝗛𝘆𝗱𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗺. 16 oz every hour - trade for espresso #4.       9.  𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝟯𝟬 𝘀𝗲𝗰 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗽. Clears mental cache, prevents repetition.      10.  𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲. Delete anything recurrent that hasn’t produced value in 90 days.           𝗣𝗿𝗼‑𝘁𝗶𝗽: I let Sybill capture live notes & action items so I can stay fully present. Fewer keystrokes, zero context‑switching. Your 4 PM self will thank your 9 AM self for protecting its energy. Bookmark this list, test it for a week, and tell me how it feels. Anything you’d add? 👇