I’m curious about what is the deep work?! I’m calling it deep work when I’m in my world so occupied with the thing I do that I don’t have a sense of time and loose all obligations from my mind. Than, when I come back to this world and remember everything first I feel little shock but good feeling of worthiness still stays so I can more clearly see what meters and what is not so important. For me there is also much anxiousness before I start doing something that I know will draw all my attention because I feel fear of missing something important in “normal” life. Does someone feels the same about deep work?

For me, doing a deep work is being as concentrated as posible on a task that I impose myself to do or even a task I have to do for someone else as a paid job. Also, being concentrated when there is a group of peers working together, usually distractions ocurre easily and is hard to stay focused. Having the ability to keep focus even when the surroundings do not help, that’s deep work.

Deep work is being intentional in doing the things you consider life changing and productive. You dedicate and commit to a specific amount of time to do just those things. I recommend reading ‘7 habits of highly effective people’

I feel more out less the same about deep work, but I have one extra layer on top. I experience the same thing you do when I’m in my flow and my ADHD gives me the wonderful gift of hyperfocus where I can stay in my bubble for hours and go really deep. But I also consider tasks that I don’t necessarily want to do but require focus and concentration to be deep work as well. Usually I don’t reach hyperfocus if I’m not that interested in the task but I give myself credit for doing deep work sessions if I manage to do it for 25 minutes. Like you I often emerge from my flow realizing that there is a world around me and I’ve been disconnected from it in my bubble. I used to feel guilty for taking this time because it seemed like I should’ve been doing something wise. But that was based on other people’s expectations of me and not my beliefs about myself. I discovered that I’m much happier if I go into my flow and follow it wherever my brain wants to go because that’s where the magic happens.

I feel the same way too. But my attention span is very short. Like 30 minutes, no more. So I get you. Sometimes I don’t understand what deep work is. I gave up on normal a long time ago. So I think it’s ok to feel the way you do. That is your coping Mechanism. Live it.

For me, deep work means that I really focus on a specific work task for a set period of time. I prepare by taking my dog out then put aside all distractions; I silence my phone and notifications , make sure my water bottle is full and next to me, and make sure everything I need to work is readily available. Then I timebox—set an intention to work for a specific amount of time. During that period of time, I get into deep work, where my only focus is on the work in front me. I can really sink into grading, lesson planning, curriculum planning, etc. By setting periods for deep work, I’m more productive and able to enjoy the rest of my time without being anxious about missing out on things or worrying about other work on my to do list.