Staring at the blank page is the biggest issue that knowledge workers tackle with.
For us - programmers, it might be staring at the blank file. Flow state is what we all aim to be in.
But how long can you be in flow state. Can you just keep working?
Ernest Hemingway, a well renowned author, would stop writing his piece when he knew what came next.
That way he would establish a bridge from one flow state to another.
And the next morning, he knew where to pick things up from.
Thinking in similar lines, how would you create a bridge from one deep work session to another?
Here is what I do.
I like to time my deep work sessions. For about 45 minutes. Followed by a short break and then another session.
If I don’t follow this, I tend to work on a longer stretch which would empty my brain juices (energy). I’m not functional after these. And it takes a lot of time to recover from empty brain.
When the time in the current deep work session is about to end, listing down points for the next session or making some todos is great way to build up that bridge.
This way when you start the next day or the next session, you know exactly what to work on. No staring at the blank page or file. No wasted time in getting into flow state.
This is how I Hemingway my deep work sessions.
See you next Tuesday 👋
