You sit down ready to tackle that single, critical project for the day, yet the hardest part seems to be just simply getting started.

No matter how well we’ve eaten, how deeply we’ve slept, or how happy we are at a current point in time, we just can’t find a way to sink our teeth into the most important job of the day. This affects any activity that requires a deep mental state to produce value work; research projects, blog writing, video creation, strategy planning or data analysis.

This is completely normal experience for anyone who commonly enters a deep mental state for work, and if not acknowledged, can often lead to frustration, the feeling of laziness and anxiety over the time that we feel has been wasted. This model unpacks how we should think about approaching critical work that requires a huge amount of mental commitment to complete.

Understanding deep work

The feeling of the deep, naturally flowing mental state has been popularised by Cal Newport in his book, Deep Work. He defines Deep Work as “the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task.”

To take this a level deeper, it’s when we transfer our mental judgement from instinctive System 1 thinking, to a deep, sequential and analytical System 2 way of thinking. Our brains will almost always try to avoid referring to System 2 thinking due to the energy it burns being in this mental state.

Deep work is a difficult state to get into, yet once we get into a rhythm and find ourselves in a deep work state of mind, all our best work tends to follow. Everything simply starts to get done effortlessly as we’re completely locked in to a hyper focused state of flow. This is where we think most creatively, we explore all solutions and we feel a huge sense of fulfilment after a lengthly period of being in a deep work state of mind.

Mastering the transition into deep work

The biggest barrier to accessing the state of deep work is the transition phase. It’s often when we know we have a big job ahead of us, that getting into a deep work state seems to be the hardest.

We find ourselves preoccupied with low priority and unimportant tasks and distractions to fill up our time, making us feel like we’re being productive, even when all we’re doing is putting off the only important task at hand. We feel scattered and unproductive, and it seems to get worse the longer it goes on.

This is where minimising any distraction is critical during the 15-20 minute transition window into a deep work state. If anything interrupt this process, it can kick the cycle out of rhythm and we start all over again.

We need this clear mental space to transition into deep work, and it’s accelerated by the first few, actions on the priority task at hand. The first sentence written, the first line drawn, the first nail hammered in.

Transitioning out of deep work can be just as hard

Transitioning into deep work is where all success lies, as once we’re there, things get relatively easier to complete. Yet, it also makes it very difficult to be pulled out once we’re in a deep state of mind. Getting pulled out before a task is complete can be difficult, similar to being woken up suddenly while in the middle of a deep sleep. You’re so focused in on a task that its the only thing you can think about, and time just flies.

Accessing a deep work state must come with plans to provide enough time to transition in and out of the mindset. Many think about the first part, yet fail to recognise the latter.

Ultimately, accessing deep work is a process of clear head space and laser focus. The ingredients to achieving this is action, no distractions and adequate time.

Key takeouts for the power of deep work:

• Deep work is a state of flow: When we access the deep work zone, we feel in a zen-like state of flow. Progress becomes easy, ideas are clearer and solutions are far more valuable.
  

• Distractions limit the transition to flow: Turn off the music, switch off the TV, avoid pointless meetings, mute the messaging channels, throw the phone away and just start doing. ANY distraction can lift you out of this transition and restart the process completely, putting you in a frustrating cycle.
  

• Force the first actions: Tim Ferris recommends in Four Hour Work Week to push through the first 100 words to accelerate the transition into a deep work state. For Jerry Seinfeld, he created a chain of ‘Xs’ on each day of his calendar every time we wrote at least a line a day. The insight behind both of these practices is to get started on the core task in order to break in to the deep work state.
  

• Give yourself more time than you think you need: It takes time to access the deep work state, and it takes time to come out of it too. You need the clear mental space so you know you won’t be distracted. Like the groggy feeling of suddenly being woken up from a deep sleep, you want to give yourself time to get in, and out, of a deep work state.