Productivity folks love to talk about deep work, getting into the zone and being able to accomplish what their peers cannot.
Common YouTube video titles and tweet hooks will promise you that you can get a year's worth of work done in 12 hours with some deep work methods.
Or how once you are in the zone, everything is easy to do.
Deep work success is a bit overstated
Depending on your specialisation you do need deep work and getting into the zone to actually get the work done.
Have to start and end a report on financials this evening? Sure, a few hours of absolute focus will certainly help you out.
The problem starts with stating deep work as an all encompassing solution that can help you succeed at everything in life.
Let's be honest - work you need to complete is sometimes grunt work and does not lead to a new solution in most cases. A lot of times, it's simply using solutions that exist to plaster it onto your current solution and get it done within a certain time period.
Why you need more than deep work and to enter the zone
Deep work and entering the zone are used interchangeably in most occasions though the message remains the same.
You enter a state where everything slows down, tasks look manageable and you are at your utmost comfort when doing these.
It's the right amount of challenge and the reward for it just about right too.
But if you want to innovate, bring something new to the world or discover what others have not done yet then you will need to go beyond.
Finding emus in the zone
I pick the term "emus in the zone" from the documentary Sans Soleil. It's a poetic representation and therefore its meaning is subjective to the viewer.
For me, finding emus in the zone is seeing things that others do not; doing things that others have not processed yet. Seeing shifts in industries and structures before anyone else.
Examples of emus in the zone
For me, if I had to tell you about these "emus in the zone" and who found them, I would sum it up to these:
- Lionel Messi's impossible goal in the Copa Del Rey final.
- Yuvraj Singh's six sixes against England.
- Lewis Hamilton's lap at Singapore
- Andres Freund saving the internet.
These come to mind when I think of being in the zone and doing things others would consider difficult, impossible or improbable.
Entering the zone is pointless if you cannot significantly benefit from it
There, I say it - if you enter the zone and all you get done is work someone else would have but faster then I do not see the point in glorifying the deep work culture.
Sure it works for some and not for others; you can perhaps get into the zone more often than your colleagues or rivals.
But are you really going to have fun if you are aware that you are in the zone? Are you going to enjoy it if the end result is the same as expected, no breakthroughs?
Of course, not all work needs significant breakthroughs or acts of impossibilities to be appreciated; but if you feel like being able to do deep work puts you in the top 1% of thinkers then boy do I have lessons for you.
Finding the right time for deep work, the zone and your emus
Not everything needs to be rushed. Sometimes you need to slow down and see the beauty of things.
There's always a right place and time for everything, let's explore what works best.
The right opportunity for deep work
Use deep work only when you want to complete tasks faster or on time; being "locked in" and facilitating necessary changes is important for anyone's line of work.
This of course saves you time and you do not have to innovate or go beyond to create a solution that's never been seen or implemented before.
Save the zone for your passions
I believe that you need to enter the zone for things you are passionate about; the mind needs to attune itself to the right conditions before you can enter the zone and create significant impact.
This is exactly why entering the zone works well for sports and other competitions rather than deep work where your goal is to complete something that is not being completed for.
Find those emus in the zone when a lot is at stake
If you are eager to find emus in the zone, then the best time is to do so when you want to win and a lot depends on it.
This could be something life changing and it may not even come to you unless you are completely engrossed with the mission.
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