Into the Deep

When we step back from these individual observations, we see a clear argument form: To produce at your peak level you need to work for extended periods with full concentration on a single task free from distraction. Put another way, the type of work that optimizes your performance is deep work.

Deep Work, Cal Newport

I have a lot of things on my mind lately. If you saw yesterday’s post, you know that I’m starting a new position this year. I’m still a pastor with the United Methodist Church, but I moved to a new town and today is my first day at a new church.

It’s a daunting task. I’ve always struggled somewhat with transitions. Going from elementary school to middle school, middle school to high school, high school to college. In each instance, I had one of my worst class performances in the first semester of the transition. I’m not really sure why, to be honest.

I’ve never been great at multitasking (which, by the way, most productivity experts will tell you that multitasking is BS; it takes too much brain energy to switch from one task to another). In fact, yesterday, I was working on getting some boxes and shelves shifted around in the garage. As we were figuring some things out, Katie kept looking four steps ahead at what needs to be done, and it was overwhelming. It was (and still is, in spite of about 3 hours of work yesterday) a giant, cluttered mess. But it’s getting better. We at least have our garage fridge and freezer plugged in, which is going to help with some of the inside stuff also. It’s coming together, albeit, very slowly. I needed to stop thinking about everything that needed to be done all at once. I needed to focus on one thing at a time. I needed to do some deep work.

So, how can we be more effective at getting deep work done?

Pick a Task

The first step in getting deep work done in our lives is to decide what needs to be done in the first place. This is the hardest part, sometimes. As I look around at all the boxes in our house that still need to be unpacked and put away, it’s overwhelming. I know at some point, I need to go around the house and hang up shelves as well. I’ve been holding off on that, but we are getting to the point where I need to put them up so that other things can get put away.

I think of this process almost like putting together an outline for a sermon. The first thing you need to do when putting together a sermon is decide what you are going to be preaching. Now, this seems obvious, right? It should. However, I have – and I’m sure you have, as well – heard a lot of sermons that didn’t seem to have a point.

When we first moved to Wilmore, KY to attend seminary, we spent some time going to different churches in the Lexington area, trying to find a place to plug in. I’ll never forget one church in particular where the pastor began his sermon with six different stories. SIX – yes, I counted. They were mostly jokes, I think; I don’t remember exactly. But they never connected to the rest of the message. I’m certain there was a focus verse, but I couldn’t tell you what it was.

So many times, pastors just start speaking, and there doesn’t seem to be any point or direction to where they are going. A good sermon has a point, a focus. If you want to get some deep work done, pick your focus.

Break It Down

Secondly, break it down. Once again, using sermon writing as an example, once you have your main idea, you need to start putting together a roadmap. Where are you going to start? Where are you going to finish? How are you going to get there? Those are three crucial questions.

With any given task, you need to know what you want to accomplish, and then you need to decide what path you are going to take. The ultimate destination is the completion of that task, so how are you going to get there?

Several years ago, I was going on a road trip to a mission camp in Alabama where I was going to work for the summer. So, I did what any person did in the late ’90’s. I pulled out my Rand McNally atlas. For those that don’t know what an atlas is, it’s Google Maps in book form. I knew from previous experience that I wanted to avoid a particular route, and so, I found an alternative route on the map. All I had to do was remember a few numbers of the roads I want to take, and it was easy peasy. I also kept the map in the front seat in case I needed to refer to it along the way.

I knew where I was. I knew where I was going. I just needed to connect the lines on how to get there. The deep work that we do is the same. We simply need to find the path.

Now, I’ll admit, there are times in my sermon writing where I’m more of a pathfinder than a map reader. I’m not really sure how I want to get to where I’m going, and so, I just start. Those tend to be the weeks I struggle the most with my focus and my ability to put together a coherent message. We all have bad weeks. The goal is to just make them fewer and further between.

One Step at a Time

Finally, you do the work. One step at a time. That’s all we can really do, so why not be intentional about it?

Have you ever seen a little kid who just learned how to jump? They will try to jump everywhere. With both feet, from Spot A to Spot B. It takes three thousand times longer than just walking with one foot in front of the other. Okay, that may be a little bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point. It takes longer to jump from spot to spot than it does to simply walk. Take it one step at a time.

When I talk to families that are facing an uphill battle with newly found grief, I remind them to take things one day at a time, one hour at a time, one minute at a time, if need be. It’s okay to have a bad minute, a bad hour, even a bad day. Grief can do some weird things in our lives. We need to slowly work through the process. There’s no skipping steps when it comes to working through grief. We may think there is, but we will always be proven wrong eventually.

In the same way, when we have deep work that need to be done, we have to be intentional about it. We need to stay focused, on task, and take it one step at a time. When we can clear the distractions, we can do exactly what needs to be done.

So, what are you focusing on today? What deep work do you need to do? And what are you going to do to make it happen?