how to not give a fuckschedule time blocks
you "worked" for eight hours today. how many of those hours were spent in actual, focused, deep work?
be honest. for most people, it's about two. the rest was emails, slack messages, meetings that could have been emails, and the thirty-minute recovery time it takes to refocus after every interruption.
you're not unproductive. you're unprotected.
the attention crisis
every notification, every "quick question," every context switch costs you far more than the seconds it takes. research from the university of california irvine found that after an interruption, it takes an average of 23 minutes to fully return to the original task.
do the math. if you're interrupted just four times in an hour, you never actually reach deep focus. you spend the entire day in shallow mode — getting things done, but never doing your best work.
time blocking is the fix
the concept is dead simple: schedule multiple hour-long blocks on your calendar where all distractions are eliminated. not reduced. eliminated.
during these blocks:
- phone goes on airplane mode
- email and messaging apps are closed
- browser tabs are limited to what you need
- your calendar shows "busy" so nobody books over it
- you work on one thing. just one.
how to set it up
- identify your most important work — the stuff that actually moves the needle
- block 2-4 hours each day specifically for that work
- schedule these blocks during your peak energy time (morning for most people)
- treat these blocks as non-negotiable — as sacred as a meeting with your most important client
- batch all shallow work (email, admin, messages) into separate blocks outside your deep work time
the resistance you'll face
people will push back. "can't you just check this real quick?" no. "it'll only take a minute." it won't. "you're being difficult." you're being effective.
protect your time blocks the way you'd protect your sleep. because your ability to do meaningful work depends on uninterrupted focus, and no one will protect that for you.
if this resonated, share it with someone who needs to hear it.