How ‘Deep Work’ Can Help You Focus, Reduce Stress, and Be More Productive

Deep work is when you’re fully present and immersed in the task at hand. Some people refer to it as being “in the zone” or in a state of flow. It involves being completely focused on a single activity.

In a 2012 study with 188 junior tennis players, participants rated their perceived level of flow state during their match. The group of winning athletes scored significantly higher on all but one of nine flow dimensions, showing statistically significant differences in:

• the balance between the level of challenge versus their skills
• having clear goals
• a sense of control and purpose

A 2018 research review noted that scientific literature identified a positive relationship between flow and performance, as well as artistic and scientific creativity.

The reality is that only 2 percent of the population can actually do two cognitive tasks at the same time.

“The rest of us think we can multitask, but we can’t,” says Wine. “When we try to multitask, what we are really doing is task switching.”

According to a 2019 research review, the human brain lacks the cognitive and neural building blocks for performing two tasks at once. The review noted that multitasking makes it more likely for competing streams of irrelevant information to capture people’s attention, resulting in a disruption in performance and an increase in errors.

This constant jumping from one task to another reduces our ability to focus deeply and can result in feelings of stress and overwhelm.

Wine says we may believe we are getting loads done, but task switching actually hampers our productivity and can even lead to burnout.

In short, multitasking can result in:

• performance disruption
• increased errors
• distraction
• reduced attention span
• reduced creativity
• decreased productivity
• stress and overwhelm

Mono-tasking, however, encourages us to be present in one place, give our attention to what we are doing, and get into a state of deep work.

Also Read: Is the Corporate Life affecting your Health?