Could the deep work technique help me concentrate better at work?

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Could the Deep Work technique help me concentrate better at work?
Thanks for asking.
Distractions in the workplace are almost endless. From Slack group notifications to questions from colleagues to the dozen or more tabs you've got to open in your browser. By the time your next meeting comes along, you realize two hours have passed, and you've barely done any productive work at all. Sound familiar? Thankfully, there's a method to improve your efficiency and concentration which may help. It's called Deep Work. Where does the concept come from? We owe it to Cal Newport, a computer science professor at Georgetown University in the US. Newport is a renowned figure in personal development, and in 2016, he released a self-help book entitled Deep Work Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, which would go on to be a bestseller.
Newport defines Deep Work as professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit. He contrasts it to shallow work, which includes logistical style tasks, coordinating projects and answering emails. According to research by Asana, that kind of work takes up 60% of our time. Depending on what job we do, most of us will never be able to completely eliminate those kinds of tasks, but we can reduce time spent on them to allow for greater focus on high impact work. What's the best way to concentrate on Deep Work? It's well known that Bill Gates retreats to a cabin in the woods twice a year for what he calls Think Weeks. He completely isolates himself from the outside world, meaning no emails, no phone calls, and no internet access. That's so he can dedicate time to thinking about the future of his company Microsoft. Rest assured, you don't have to go to those lengths to reap the benefits of Deep Work, but you get the idea. According to Newport's theory, we should be aiming for 60 to 90 minutes of distraction-free work per day. During that time, if we want to be truly productive, we should log out of all communications tools, or at the very least turn off notifications, and focus on a single task at a time. You might even want to invest in a pair of noise-cancelling headphones if you're working with other people close by. The aim is to concentrate on tasks which are demanding at a cognitive level, like learning a new skill or creating something. What if my boss and colleagues think I'm being rude? Well you should give them a heads up that you're going into Deep Work mode, rather than leaving their messages waiting unanswered for hours without any explanation. Unfortunately, the modern workplace tends to be biased towards shallow work, and being constantly busy is seen as the best way of getting things done. But some bosses may be more open to the idea of Deep Work than others. If yours isn't familiar with the concept, you could explain what it is, and what the benefits would be if it was more accepted. You could even challenge your boss by asking what proportion of your working time they think you should be spending on shallow tasks. The chances are they'll want it to be lower than it is in reality.
There you have it.
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