+1: #595 The 1-Hour (Deep) Workday

We’ve been talking a fair amount about the idea that some of history’s greatest creators didn’t work all that much. To be clear, they worked hard and (very importantly!) CONSISTENTLY, but the fact is that it’s really hard to put in any more than 4 to 6 hours of really high-quality work.

 

Of course, we all have our own idiosyncratic professional responsibilities. And, in addition to Deep Work, we all have (and, for the record, all of history’s greatest creators had!) some Team Work and some Monkey Work to do. (Even hermits like me can’t get all that to zero—as hard as I may try! lol)

 

But I get the fact that, for a lot of people, the idea that we can structure our lives such that we’re basically hammering out four hours of deep work and then calling it a day feels a bit impossible. 

 

Fair enough. 

 

Maybe we can’t currently (or ever!) wave our wands and instantly manifest our ideal Masterpiece Days. 

 

But…

 

a) Have you actually stepped back and REALLY thought about how you COULD structure your life so you more consistently execute a pretty epically masterpiece day?

 

b) What about just ONE hour of Deep Work hammer time per day? If four hours feels like an “impossible” stretch, can you carve out ONE hour to go DEEP on what REALLY matters most to you before jumping into the whirlwind of other people’s priorities?

 

Perhaps part of that Deep Work time can be dedicated to mapping out how you create four hours of sheer awesome such that you can consistently accumulate twenty hours of REALLY solid Deep Work per week?! (And, the “impossible” becomes “what’s for breakfast” as per a recent +1?)

 

You know how much four hours of Deep Work per day/twenty hours of Deep Work per week adds up to in a year?

 

1,000 hours. 

 

You know how many hours that adds up to in a decade?

 

10,000 hours. 

 

You know who you would be if you logged in 10,000 (!!!) hours of REALLY Deep Work?

 

Of course you don’t. That, as Ellen Langer would say, is UNKNOWABLE. 

 

But… You know what? I’m super-curious to know what it could look like.

 

How about YOU?

 

That’s Today’s +1. 

 

If you’re struggling to find your Deep Work rhythms, how about an hour of awesome today?

 

Let’s run the math on that as well…

 

You know how much one hour of Deep Work per day or five hours of Deep Work per week adds up to in a year?

 

250 hours. 

 

You know many hours that adds up to in a decade?

 

2,500 hours. 

 

You know who you would be if you logged in 2,500 (!!!) hours of REALLY Deep Work?

 

(… Echo…) Of course you don’t. That, as Ellen Langer would say, is UNKNOWABLE. 

 

But… You know what? I’m super-curious to know what it could look like.

 

How about YOU?

 

Here’s to your 1-Hour (Deep)Workday!