You sit for hours, phone next to your notes, jumping between subjects. The exam is coming, and little has stuck.
This guide to deep work for students shows which tasks get a block. You’ll see how to spread a subject over your week and prepare for an exam. You’ll also learn how to start if you can’t focus for long.
What is deep work and how do students use it?
Cal Newport wrote the book Deep Work (2016). He describes deep work as professional work done without any distraction. It pushes your mental abilities to their limit.
In your studies, that’s the work that makes you think hard. As a study method, deep work runs in blocks: timed stretches of focused work on one goal. Before each block, set four basics:
- Phone off: switched off and put in a drawer or cabinet in another room.
- One subject: only this subject’s material on your desk and screen.
- A timer: 15 to 90 minutes, depending on how fit you feel today.
- A written goal: the result you want by the end, on your protocol sheet. That’s a blank sheet for your goal and steps.
If you want the term in more depth, read what deep work is. The full sequence of one block is in how to do deep work.
One subject per block: clear away the last one
One subject per block means clearing away the last one first. Studying often means switching: statistics, then an essay, then flashcards.
Sophie Leroy (2009) studied what switching between work tasks costs. She found that leftover attention from an unfinished task hurt performance on the next task. Her study calls it attention residue.
A paper from another subject on your desk pulls your thoughts to it, too.
Tabs from the last subject can go into a bookmarks folder: saved, closed and out of sight. How to set up the whole room is in how to create a deep work environment.
Which study tasks belong in a deep work block?
With the desk clear, the next question is the task. Not every task needs your best focus. The ones that do make you produce something.
Dunlosky and colleagues (2013) reviewed learning techniques. They rated practice testing, meaning testing yourself, as very useful. They rated rereading, highlighting and summarizing as much less useful.
These four tasks deserve a block:
- Problem sets: math, physics or accounting problems you solve on your own.
- Self-tests: flashcards, past exam questions or your own questions, answered from memory.
- Writing: an essay, a lab report or a chapter of your thesis.
- Hard new material: a chapter you don’t understand yet, worked through until you can answer questions on it.
Do the hardest of them when you have the most energy. Save easier tasks for when your energy fades. How to write the goal for such a block is in how to focus on studying.
Should you study one subject for hours or spread it out?
One subject per block doesn’t mean one subject all day, or all week. Dunlosky and colleagues also rated distributed practice as very useful. That means spreading your study of a subject over time.
So give each subject a block on several days, instead of one long session before the exam. For example, statistics gets one block on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, instead of all of Sunday.
Your blocks don’t have to start on the hour. Some people like a fixed schedule, others feel pressured by it. Find out what works for you.
Lectures and seminars are the fixed points of your week, so put your blocks in the gaps around them. How to plan the week is in how to schedule deep work.
How do you use deep work before an exam?
Before an exam, it’s tempting to sit at your desk from morning to night. But highly concentrated work has a realistic daily upper limit. You’ll find it in how many hours of deep work per day.
Here is what to do at four points of your study day, from a missed goal to tomorrow’s start.
| When this happens | Do this |
|---|---|
| You missed a block goal | Note it without judging; it shows you what’s realistic |
| Getting into focus takes longer, and the protocol sheet no longer helps | End the study day, even if it’s only been three hours |
| Your last block is over | Look at your protocol sheet: what did you get done? |
| You’re about to leave your desk | Write one sentence: what you’ll start with tomorrow |
Use the same protocol sheet all day, and write each new block goal below the last one. In the morning, you sit down and know right away what to do.
What if you can’t focus for more than a few minutes?
Knowing what to do is one thing. If your focus lasts only a few minutes, start with a short block. A 25-minute block fits a day when you’re unfocused, and 15 minutes fits when you’re strongly unmotivated.
Fifteen minutes is better than nothing. Especially with big or unpleasant tasks, the timer tells my brain there’s an end. I’m not trapped in discomfort forever.
William Osler told students that focus grows with use. In “The Master-Word in Medicine”, he wrote:
”… cultivate that power of concentration which grows with its exercise …”
William Osler, “The Master-Word in Medicine”, Aequanimitas
Your first blocks won’t be perfect: you’ll forget steps, get distracted anyway or take a longer break than planned. You’ll also notice how often your mind wanders. That’s normal, and it gets better with every block.
After a few weeks, the process is routine. Until then, pick the length each day by how you feel.
Your first 15-minute block can start today, on one subject with one written goal. Half an hour of reading first, and you’ll know what to do when your mind wanders. See how it works →
FAQ
Does deep work improve grades?
Deep work comes with no grade guarantee. One of its basics, keeping your phone away, has a study behind it.
Ward and colleagues (2017) found that just having your own smartphone nearby lowers your available mental capacity. The study measured this capacity, not grades.
What is the power of deep work for students?
For students, the power of deep work is that a few focused blocks get more done than a distracted day. Three focused 45-minute blocks are worth more than eight hours of half-concentrated work. Your evening stays free for rest, which you need to perform again tomorrow.
Do you need a special place for deep work as a student?
Deep work as a student needs a place you can make quiet, not a special one. Close the windows and the door, and tell roommates you’re unavailable for the next 45 minutes. Every place has its own disruptions, so write your own checklist of them.
