Focus
What Should I Do in a Deep Work Session?
The first 15 minutes decide whether a deep work session succeeds. Four questions about your task, block length, and where you left off — get a session opener and structure for the rest of the block.
Results
Answer the questions to plan your deep work session.
Stay in the loop
Get new tools and productivity tips in your inbox. No spam, ever.
Related tools
How to Do Deep Work
Answer 4 questions and get a Cal Newport–style deep work plan — scheduling, environment, shallow-work cuts, and your first protected focus block.
Deep Work Schedule Quiz
Find your deep work scheduling style — monastic, bimodal, rhythmic, or journalistic — based on Cal Newport's four philosophies and your real-life constraints.
Shallow Work Audit
Calculate how much of your workweek is shallow work — meetings, email, Slack, and admin — versus time left for deep work. Cal Newport–style audit in 60 seconds.
Deep or Shallow Work Quiz
Is this task deep or shallow work? Answer 4 questions about any task and get a clear verdict — protect, batch, delegate, or eliminate — based on Cal Newport's framework.
Frequently asked questions
- What should I do first in a deep work session?
- Phone away, open only task files, read your "done" definition, start timer, then work — no inbox or research detours in the first 15 minutes.
- How is this different from deep work blocks?
- Deep work blocks tool sizes length and frequency. This tool structures what happens inside a session you're about to start.
- Should I warm up before deep work?
- Yes — 5–15 minutes of goal review and re-entry beats diving into email first. Warm-up is part of the block, not before it.