You’ve read or watched something about deep work. Maybe you even tried it once. Now you want to know what to do when you sit down.
Here you get the seven steps of a block and a day and what helps when starting is hard. You learn what to do when your mind drifts mid-block. You also learn how blocks fit into your week and how to do your first one.
Deep work happens one block at a time
When you sit down to do deep work, you do it as a block. A block is a timed stretch of focused work on one goal. It lasts 15 to 90 minutes, depending on your current state.
In his book Deep Work, Cal Newport describes deep work as professional activities done in distraction-free concentration. They push your cognitive capabilities to their limit. If you want the full picture first, start with what deep work is.
Learn that smallest unit first, then repeat the block several times a day. By the end of the day, you have worked with focus overall.
Everything below is about that unit: what you do before, during and after a block.
How do you do deep work, step by step?
With the unit clear, the sequence follows. Every block runs through the same four steps in the same order. Three more steps turn your blocks into a day:
- Prepare your body and space. Check that you’re awake and put your phone in another room. Close what distracts and lay out two blank sheets.
- Start the block. Skip the music and set a timer. Write your block goal on your protocol sheet, the sheet for goal and steps.
- Stay in focus. Keep going while it flows, and park stray thoughts on your thought sheet. Note the next mini step when you’re lost.
- Stop when the timer rings and you’re not in flow: note the next step and check your block goal.
- Take a real break: move, get fresh air, and leave your phone alone.
- Repeat with a block length and a task that fit your energy.
- Close out the day: review your protocol sheet, clean up, note what to start with tomorrow, then stop.
After a few rounds, the preparation takes only a few minutes, because you know what to do. The details of each step inside one block are in my guide on how to do a deep work session.
Starting a block takes effort
Starting is one of those two hard things. Two tools make it easier: a timer and a small, concrete block goal.
The timer works like a starting gun and tells your brain the work will end soon. That makes starting easier, especially with unpleasant tasks. Pick the length by your current state.
Take 90 minutes when fully fit, 45 when focused, 35 in between, 25 when unfocused and 15 when strongly unmotivated. Fifteen minutes beats nothing. Write your block goal as a finished state, such as “First draft of the outline is done”, not an activity.
Make it ambitious but doable: too big means overwhelm and paralysis, too small means no drive. If the first move is still unclear, add the next action, the smallest concrete step. If your start fails every time, look at why deep work can feel impossible to start.
What do you do when your mind drifts during deep work?
Once the block has started, you’ll meet three situations, each with its own tool.
Some stray thoughts look like work: an interesting link or a research tangent. If they don’t belong to the current task, they go on the thought sheet.
Use whichever tool you need in the moment; they are not steps in a fixed order.
| Situation | Tool | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| It’s flowing | Flow | Keep going, even past the timer; write nothing down |
| A stray thought pulls at you | Thought Parking | Write a keyword on the thought sheet, look at your protocol sheet |
| You don’t know what to do next | Thread | Write the next mini step on the protocol sheet, then do it |
Thread means finding your way back to the task.
The hardest part of Thought Parking is noticing that you’ve drifted at all. Watching your own mind like this is called metacognition, and it takes practice. It’s frustrating at first, but that’s normal, and it gets better with every block.
If drifting still costs you whole blocks, read how to improve your focus during deep work.
From one block to a deep work day
After a block, you take a real break and start the next one. You repeat this until the quality drops and you close the day. The phone is the biggest risk in the break: a quick check turns into 15 minutes of scrolling.
The second block starts faster, because your space is already set up. Match its length and task to your energy. Do demanding tasks when you have energy and easier tasks when it fades.
For highly concentrated work, I see a realistic upper limit of four to six hours a day. Some manage less, some more. That’s my answer to how many hours of deep work per day you can do.
Stop when the quality of your blocks drops. You need longer to get into the task, and the protocol sheet no longer helps. Then the workday is over, even after only three hours.
Close the day with the deep work shutdown ritual. Tidy the desk and sort the thought sheet into your task system.
Note in one sentence what to start with tomorrow. A clean desk lowers the barrier for tomorrow’s first block.
At the end of my workday, I finish the task and take stock of what I got done. Then I tidy my desk and walk outside to switch off.
How do you implement deep work in your week?
Your blocks still need a place in your week, and there’s more than one way to give them one. Newport describes four depth philosophies, ways to fit deep work into your life: monastic, bimodal, rhythmic and journalistic. He says the journalistic one, switching into deep work whenever free time opens up, is not for deep work beginners.
The planning details are in how to schedule deep work. Three things help in a normal week:
- A set start time: Newport’s rhythmic approach turns deep work into a simple regular habit. One example is a set starting time every day.
- No fixed clock: blocks don’t have to start on the hour. Some people like a fixed schedule, others feel pressured by it.
- Tell people when you’re unreachable: let the people who contact you regularly know you can’t be reached at certain times.
Pick what fits your job and your temperament. I don’t plan much myself; usually I know what comes next. If meetings and chat fill your calendar, read how to do deep work at work.
How do you start deep work as a beginner?
Whatever your week looks like, your first step is one imperfect block, done soon. You don’t have to implement everything at once; take what works for you. Pick one task and a block length that still feels doable.
When in doubt, start shorter, since you can always go over. The first blocks won’t be perfect: you’ll forget steps, get distracted anyway or take too long a break. That’s normal; everyone starts that way.
Afterwards, check your block goal without judging: not reaching it is information for the next block. After a few weeks, the process is routine and you stop thinking about the steps. So do your first block today, or first thing tomorrow morning.
Half an hour of reading is enough. Then you sit down knowing every step, from checking that you’re awake to closing the day. See how it works →
FAQ
Can you do deep work every day?
Yes, you can do deep work every day. What counts is performing well consistently over weeks and months, not pushing yourself to the limit on a single day. Better one block too few than one too many, because overworking today costs you tomorrow.
What can you do about noise during deep work?
Deal with noise during deep work before the block starts: close windows and doors, and turn off loud appliances. Then put in earplugs or noise-cancelling headphones, or both. Simple earplugs are cheap and often enough.
How long does it take to get back to work after an interruption?
Gloria Mark gave an interview to the Gallup Business Journal in 2006. She reported that interrupted work was resumed after 23 minutes and 15 seconds on average. In between came about two other tasks.
Mark, Gudith and Klocke (2008) found that interrupted tasks got done faster, but with more stress.
