Working Less, Working Better
Deep work practices for working effectively and productively
2 hours, online or in person
Drawing on principles from Cal Newport’s Deep Work and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s work on Flow, this workshop introduces practical and sustainable approaches to focused work. Participants will be encouraged to confront and redress unhelpful around ‘hard work’ and productivity, and to develop more intentional ways of structuring their work, attention and energy.
Participants will be invited to share their current working practices and supported to find and embrace their own optimal work rhythms, even (or especially) if they look very different from others’. They will then be introduced to alternative practices that respect and leverage their preferred individual work practices, and also:
- balance deep work and shallow work
- incorporate deliberate rest and recovery
- manage procrastination and perfectionism
Through guided reflection and practical exercises, participants will develop personalised strategies for working with greater focus, clarity and effectiveness, while reducing unnecessary guilt, overwhelm and cognitive overload.
Note: This workshop pairs very well with the workshop Work-life balance in the PhD
Learning outcomes
By the end of the session, participants will have learned:
- to differentiate between deep work and shallow work, and how to plan for / do each type of work
- how to incorporate deep work practices into their days for more effective and productive work
- how to build in healthful breaks and rest alongside their deep and shallow work
- how to find and embrace their own optimal work rhythms and practices
- how to continue to work and maintain momentum in their research even in periods of demotivation and procrastination