Time blocking is a fantastic way to make sure you get into deep work and accomplish your 20%. One of the big problems many people bump into when they’re first starting is being able to defend those blocks from the demands of life. Phones demand our attention with constant notifications, people swing by our office and the boss can interrupt just as much if not more than others! So if you’re looking for help protecting deep work timeblocks then this article is for you!
Facts
According to research by UC Irvine as reported by Berkley: the average person spends less than 13 minutes on a task before betting interrupted.
Bastin and Ohly at the National Library of Medicine found statistical significant results in improving performance and reducing strain when notifications were blocked.
Dr. Grant from the Wharton School of Business describes work batching in terms of not only during a single day or hour, but months and seasons devoted to certain kinds of work.
Protecting your deep work timeblocks: Stopping notifications
Ding… buzz buzz… ding ding…. The constant alert of notifications can be enough to derail even the strong willed. All the computers around us are packed full of applications trying to get our attention and many of the alerts are set up right in the path where we’re most likely to see them and be pulled into the most recent social media update. Those apps are big business! A study by Business of apps found that in 2023 in just the US, apps generated almost $45 Billion and well over 12 Billion apps were downloaded in the same year! Thats a lot of programs trying to get your attention! So how do we keep all those notifications at bay so we can focus? Here’s some ideas that might help!
System level
One of the easiest ways to limit notifications is from the device settings itself! If you have an app that routinely causes problems that you want to do away with all together then try using the system settings. Depending on your device you eliminate some types of notifications, which apps are allowed to notify you, or a combination!
Do not disturb mode
If you haven’t bumped into “do not disturb” mode on your phone yet, its worth finding out how to activate (and turn off). When activated, the device mutes all notifications, calls, and messages. This way you can focus for a certain amount of time and then have them available when you turn it off. Some devices can be scheduled to go into “do not disturb” mode if you have a routine time block you want to protect. Also you can program in certain phone numbers that can bypass the feature so if an emergency pops up, the message doesn’t have to wait.
Go tech free!
Ok, now for the ultimate notification stopper! If you’re still struggling with protecting deep work timeblocks from the constant alerts, its time to go old school and eliminate the devices all together. Try them and you might be surprised at how much better your deep work session gets!
classic pencil and paper/ whiteboards
Paper and pencil’s aren’t likely to have a notification alert for a facebook post, at least as of this writing. If you’re looking to outline the next project, draft a letter, or just want to focus on the next meeting try using a pad of paper! Once you’ve got it drafted out, you can quickly transfer it to a digital file later.
Try tech free meetings
Tired of all the sides and screen sharing? Try having a meeting with no screens at all. If you’ve used some of the tips from our article Productivity Blocker: meetings without agendas, then you know about the pre-brief. Print out the pre-briefs and leave the computers and phones outside the door. Without everyone keeping the teams chats going or looking up data to make their point, each person can focus more in the moment. Just make sure you bring some extra paper and a pencil to take notes!
Protecting your deep work timeblocks: Stop distraction at the door
If you’re constantly being interrupted by people coming and going through your office door, then its time to use that door to your advantage. some ideas include creating available hours or a busy sign that can be posted on the door. Then if someone happens to be wandering past and wants to stop to chat then these barriers will probably stop them.
Some times its just as easy as a “do not disturb” sign.
Getting leadership onboard with protecting your deep work timeblocks
This can be one of the more challenging aspects of protecting your deep work hours. This can be even more challenging when your leadership is the ones who are constantly interrupting.
Having a clear conversation with your leader that you’re working on creating deep work time where you can dig deep into tasks and make progress can be daunting. However, many leaders can see that it benefits them just as much as it does you! We recommend explaining you’re looking to create deep work sessions, when you’re thinking of setting times, and what measures you’re planning on taking. Be prepared to be flexible and adjust, but alignment from the meeting can be a major key to success!
Give some of these tricks a try and you might be surprised just how easy it is protecting deep work timeblocks from constant interruption!
