How I Focus for Peak Productivity (My Deep Work System)

Introduction (0s)

• This video discusses how to focus for peak productivity using a deep work system, starting with the philosophy of deep work and its importance, and then covering a personal four-step system for focusing (0s).
• The video aims to help viewers build their own deep work system, which can completely change their life (9s).
• The author, Ali, is a doctor turned entrepreneur and author of The New York Times bestseller "Feelgood Productivity", a book about doing more of what matters in a way that feels good (20s).
• Ali has been documenting his journey on the channel since 2017, from being a broke medical student to working full-time as a doctor and now as an entrepreneur and author (27s).
• Ali attributes his success to having a deep work system, which allowed him to focus on tasks for an extended period (37s).
• Building a deep work routine or system can benefit individuals who need more time to focus during the day, and can move the needle in their life or career (44s).
• The video is divided into parts, starting with part one, which zooms out to discuss the philosophy of deep work (54s).

Philosophy of Deep Work (57s)

• Cal Newport defines shallow work as non-cognitively demanding logistical tasks often performed while distracted, which tend to not create much new value in the world and are easy to replicate (1m2s).
• Deep work is defined as professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push cognitive capabilities to their limit, creating new value, improving skills, and being hard to replicate (1m15s).
• Shallow work is often performed while distracted, which is the state most people find themselves in, whereas deep work is a state of distraction-free concentration, often referred to as focus (1m30s).
• Deep work pushes cognitive capabilities to their limit, making it hard and effortful, but it tends to create new value and is hard to replicate (1m49s).
• The freedom path is the journey from one's current situation to a place of freedom, often defined as financial freedom, time freedom, and location freedom (2m6s).
• There are three paths to achieving this kind of freedom: the career stream, the side hustle stream, and the entrepreneur stream (2m25s).
• The career stream involves working one's way up through the ranks of a company, which can be slower and less risky, but still lead to freedom (2m57s).
• The side hustle stream involves building a side business while maintaining a career, with the goal of eventually making enough money to quit the career or go part-time (3m23s).
• The entrepreneur stream involves building one's own business, which can be a faster but riskier path to freedom (3m41s).
• To achieve financial freedom, it is essential to create value in some way, whether it's for society, an employer, or customers, as creating value is the only way to make money (4m2s).
• Creating value can be done through various means, including starting a side hustle, becoming an entrepreneur, or building a community, and one of the most fulfilling and sustainable ways to earn a sustainable income online is by building a community (4m48s).
• Building a community involves creating a dedicated space around a passion, where like-minded people can come together to learn, grow, and support each other, and it's possible to make money doing this (4m52s).
• Circle is a platform that can be used to create and manage an online community, and it offers features such as built-in email marketing, allowing users to grow their audience and nurture them over time (5m2s).
• Building a community can lead to connections forming amongst people online, which can translate to real-life events and a supportive community (5m29s).
• To build a community, it's recommended to try Circle, which is quick, easy, and affordable, and offers a 14-day free trial (5m48s).
• Shallow work tends not to create much new value, whereas deep work tends to create new value, and creating a system or routine for doing more deep work can help achieve the goal of financial freedom (6m8s).
• Creating value is essential to achieving financial freedom, and it's worth understanding how to create value in order to work towards this goal (6m30s).
• Understanding the "why" behind building a deep work system is crucial for motivation and maintenance, as it helps individuals overcome distractions and stay focused for extended periods (6m38s).
• The concept of "value" is essential in creating a deep work system, and it can be defined as taking raw materials, adding effort, and creating output that is worth more than the initial materials (7m14s).
• The value created is not subjective, but rather determined by what others are willing to pay for the output, making it a crucial aspect of achieving financial freedom (7m46s).
• In most jobs, individuals are not converting physical raw materials into output, but rather using their brains and skills to create value, especially in knowledge work (8m36s).
• Knowledge workers use their brains to transform digital information, such as pixels on a screen, into more valuable digital information, which can be sold for a profit (8m46s).
• Management consultants, for example, create value by transforming blank slides into valuable presentations that clients are willing to pay for (9m0s).
• A free 2-day productivity workshop called "Productivity Spark" will be hosted on January 4th and 5th, 2025, to help individuals reflect on their work and life, set goals, and create a plan for the upcoming year (9m17s).
• The Freedom Path is a journey to achieve freedom, which requires creating value, and the primary way to create value is by using one's brain effectively through deep work or focus (9m46s).
• Deep work is a skill that can be trained and improved over time, allowing individuals to create more value in less time, which is the definition of productivity (10m17s).
• Deep work involves sitting still for an extended period, doing cognitively demanding tasks, and using one's brain to create new value in the world (9m58s).
• A person who is good at deep work and focusing will be more productive and achieve their goals faster than someone who is not, even if they have the same amount of time available (11m8s).
• The person who is good at deep work will be able to create more value in less time, whereas the person who is not will be distracted, demotivated, and less productive (11m33s).
• Having a deep work routine, scheduling it into the calendar, and blocking off distractions can help individuals make the most of their time and achieve their goals (11m50s).
• Financial freedom is a common goal, and having a good deep work system can help individuals achieve it by creating more value in less time, which can lead to increased productivity and earnings (12m10s).
• Creating a deep work system is essential for achieving peak productivity and freedom, as it enables individuals to create more value in less time, regardless of their career path or goals (12m20s).
• Figuring out a deep work system allows individuals to create value more efficiently, which can help them achieve their goals faster and more likely (12m38s).
• On the freedom path, freedom is the ultimate destination, but two other important aspects of work are often underrated: fun and fulfillment (12m53s).
• Having freedom is not enough; it needs to be exchanged for other things that bring value to one's life, such as fun and fulfillment (13m29s).
• The point of freedom is to be able to spend time on activities that bring joy and fulfillment, such as spending time with family or pursuing hobbies (13m48s).
• It's essential to find ways to experience fun and fulfillment on the journey to freedom, as the journey is what truly matters (14m9s).
• People who have achieved freedom often still want to work and contribute meaningfully to society, but they prefer to do deep work rather than shallow work (14m31s).
• Having the freedom to choose one's work allows individuals to pursue deep work that brings them fulfillment and a sense of purpose (14m50s).
• Even with unlimited time and money, individuals often find that they want to engage in meaningful work to avoid feeling miserable and depressed (14m58s).

My Deep Work System (16m31s)

• The Deep Work system consists of four steps, which are part of a philosophy that emphasizes building a personal productivity system by experimenting and tweaking what works best for each individual (16m32s).
• The first step is to schedule Deep Work into the calendar, which can be done using two methods: an ideal Week calendar or a separate Google Calendar for blocking out ideal time slots (17m24s).
• There are four different types of Deep Work scheduling methods: monastic, bodal, rhythmic, and journalistic, as defined by Cal Newport in his book "Deep Work" (17m45s).
• The monastic method involves carving out an extended period of time for Deep Work, which may not be suitable for most people due to its demanding nature (18m27s).
• The bodal approach involves designating certain days for Deep Work and others for shallow work, which may work for some individuals (18m57s).
• The rhythmic approach involves building a daily rhythm for Deep Work, which is the method used by the speaker, focusing on the first four hours of every day for Deep Work (19m5s).
• The speaker's book, "Feelgood Productivity," is a guide on how to enjoy work and become more fulfilled, creative, and productive (16m37s).
• The book "Deep Work" by Cal Newport is recommended for those interested in learning more about the concept of Deep Work and its scheduling methods (18m6s).
• There are different types of deep work schedules, including monastic, rhythmic, and journalistic, each with its own approach to incorporating deep work into one's daily routine (19m14s).
• Monastic involves dedicating large blocks of time to deep work, while rhythmic involves scheduling deep work at the same time every day, and journalistic involves squeezing in deep work whenever possible (19m20s).
• Having a predictable schedule is crucial for incorporating deep work, and those with unpredictable schedules, such as doctors, may need to adopt a journalistic approach (19m30s).
• When the speaker's side hustle became successful enough to quit their day job, they experimented with different deep work schedules and landed on a rhythmic approach, dedicating the first four hours of every day to deep work (20m5s).
• The first step in implementing a deep work system is to schedule deep work into one's calendar, as it is unlikely to happen otherwise (20m46s).
• Once deep work is scheduled, the next step is to take 5 minutes to align and organize, which involves setting a clear goal for the deep work session and ensuring all necessary resources are available (21m1s).
• Research on flow state suggests that having a clear goal is essential for achieving flow, making the alignment step crucial for effective deep work (21m25s).
• The organization step involves ensuring all necessary resources, such as water or coffee, are available to minimize distractions during the deep work session (21m35s).
• To prepare for a deep work session, all necessary materials are gathered to avoid distractions, and a startup routine is performed within the first 5 minutes, which includes putting on headphones, playing music from a study playlist on Spotify, and organizing the workspace to ease into focus (21m43s).
• A goal is set for the deep work session, which requires minimal cognitive effort, and small tasks such as getting coffee and water are completed to help ramp up towards the actual focus block (22m30s).
• The focus block typically lasts around 50 minutes, but the duration can vary depending on individual factors such as tiredness or mental state, and sometimes it's necessary to adjust the focus time to as little as 15 minutes (22m49s).
• A guide on how to stay focused is available, which includes a three-part playlist on maximizing the use of focus time (23m13s).
• The final 5 minutes of the deep work session are spent on reflection and recharge, and if struggling to focus, a focus log is used to track the amount of time spent on deep work, which is a technique recommended by Cal Newport in his book "Deep Work" (23m21s).
• Keeping a focus log can radically change one's relationship to deep work and focus by providing a clear understanding of how much time is actually spent focusing each day (23m45s).
• Using a focus log has been beneficial for students in a productivity course, with many testimonials reporting that tracking their focus time helped them realize how little time they actually spent on deep work (24m12s).
• The concept of measurement as intervention is discussed, where tracking a specific metric, such as weight or focus time, can lead to improvement simply by being aware of the current state (24m23s).
• Many people struggle with focus and have no idea how many minutes they spend on deep work each day, making it difficult to improve without tracking this metric (24m44s).
• The goal is to track the number of minutes or hours spent focusing each day, with an upper limit of around 4 hours, as cited in the book "Rest" by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang (25m10s).
• Tracking focus hours through a focus log can help increase productivity, and even achieving 2-3 hours of focus per day can be beneficial (25m31s).
• The importance of tracking focus time is emphasized, as it allows for improvement and management of deep work, with the quote "what gets measured gets managed" from Peter Drucker (26m20s).
• Building a personal deep work system and tracking the numbers can lead to significant improvements in productivity and potentially financial freedom (26m36s).
• The key takeaway is to build a deep work system and track the numbers to improve focus and productivity (26m45s).
• Implementing focus minutes has significantly improved life, and it is hoped that it can have the same impact on others interested in improving their focus (26m56s).
• A three-part playlist on how to focus is available for those seeking more information on the topic (27m5s).