The Idea of “Deep Work” Is Great, But…

there might be something we should consider as online writers

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I recently finished reading "Deep Work" by Cal Newport.

After having it on my book list for over five years and needing more quality time for my writing, I decided to give it a try.

And (no wonder, being a book from Cal Newport), I understood the hype around deep work. I realized why it makes sense to implement it as a knowledge worker in today's distracted world.

But as an online writer, I also realized the concept has a problem.

One that might stand in the way of better results.

Here's what I mean.

The concept of deep work explained

Deep work is simple.

Deep work describes distraction-free, completely-focused work.

Why distraction-free?

Because humans are shitty multitaskers.

We're bad at doing two things at once and even worse at refocusing from one task to another. Science shows that refocusing can take up to 23 minutes after a short distraction.

This makes hours for an average office worker.

But the worst bit is that human as we are, we can subconsciously train ourselves to seek distractions when we get bored.

Suddenly, the idea of "just checking" Instagram or "only googling" random things gets interesting.

Deep work is the antithesis of that.

It suggests that we isolate ourselves from all distractions and work on the most important things one by one.

The goal is to solve problems by undistracted thinking and increasing creativity through boredom.

And you know what?

I agree with all of that, but as a (aspiring) online writer, we might encounter some hurdles.

How you shouldn't do it

I sabotaged myself without knowing it.

As you know, I started earning money as a writer in 2020. Since then, I have created a (more or less) laser-focused routine of working 4-6 hours daily and getting the work done.

I often called it a day at 3pm, meeting friends afterward.

I implemented deep work in my schedule.

At the beginning of last year, I saw my writing business crumbling. Because I couldn't cope with that situation and the fact that I wouldn't see my GF in many weeks, I started distracting myself.

I stopped doing outreach, started googling random things, and sabotaged myself into staying unfocused for most of the time.

I'd follow every thought instead of focusing on the task.

My productivity and mental and physical health got worse, and it almost ended in me getting a corporate job.

Then, I decided to seriously try this online writing thing (after trying half-assed four times), and here I am now.

Thinking Deep work alone is only applicable to a particular environment.

And often, it's not the one of an online writer.

How to implement deep work

According to Newport, we should answer a simple question to "deepen" our day.

Whenever we think about joining an online platform, we should ask ourselves:

"Is this adding value to my life or subtracting time from it?"

In most cases, we'd say "no" and avoid "shallow work". According to Newport, the reasons for that would be it's:

1. time-consuming

2. highly-distracting

3. energy-draining

Now, my problem is:

As an online writer, you're dependent on those platforms. If it's not for the money, it's for the reach. It wouldn't make sense to just skip them (no matter if you like them or not.)

Tim Denning said he hates LinkedIn and X, too.

But even he (one of the biggest online writers) acknowledges that one should leverage these platforms. Even though he has an email list of over 200,000(!) people (which, in theory, would allow deep work alone).

That's why deep work alone won't cut it.

As online writers, we need plenty of shallow work, too.

Especially in the beginning.

And that's where the dilemma is hidden.

Balancing deep and shallow work

Assuming you're an aspiring online writer, engagement is one of the key bits to grow.

Honest, helpful engagement.

Now, as deep work treats this as "shallow work," we should minimize this time.

But especially in the beginning, this is more than difficult.

Because, at first, it's not your posts but your comments that give you exposure. Even when you go wild and post twice on Medium and/or LinkedIn daily, you'd be limited growth-wise.

On the other hand, a few comments can go a long way, especially if you are attention-farming on big accounts.

Again, once you get big enough, you'll have many responses to check and messages to answer, and you want to engage with others, too.

Because here comes the crux:

If you stop engaging, you'll automatically hinder your progress.

For reference, I know people with fewer views, reads, and followers on Medium who earn almost twice as much as I do. Why? Because they spend 4 to 5 hours daily there, while I spend an hour.

That's the limbo of online platforms.

Either your account is too small to survive without engaging, or it's too big to keep up with your daily comments.

Now, I only see two ways to solve the problem:

• spending more time doing shallow work, as in decreasing your time for deep work or

• outsourcing shallow work

Of course, the second option is questionable for different reasons (especially if you advertise authenticity).

Now, that’s the problem.

Cal Newport is a great thinker.

But finally, although he gets paid to solve problems (like we want to), his approach is different. He has a fixed salary that is dependent on solving problems.

As online writers, our salary is (strongly) variable and dependent on solving problems and our reach.

The more people we reach to solve their problems, the better.

It doesn't matter to him if his problem-solving at university reaches no one (because it's highly theoretical) or a few million.

The only thing the latter would blow up would be his ego, not his bank account.

I find it more than difficult to compare his way of working with online writing. Which doesn't mean we should ditch deep work altogether.

Of course not; it's a great concept.

But as online writers, we must fine-tune our craft and find clever ways to balance deep and shallow work.

And that's what we should be working on.

That's what I'm working on currently.

And I'll let you know if I find something I can rely on.

In the meantime, don't shy away from sharing your perspective and strategy in the comments.

Thank you for reading.