Deep Work & Doomscrolling: End of Year Balancing Act

End of year deadlines are looming, projects are piling up, West Tech Fest is almost here, and the festive season has now added a whole extra layer of crazy to my already overflowing calendar. It's like the universe conspires to cram a year's worth of work into the last few weeks of the year! But this year, I'm determined to approach these last few weeks with a sense of calm and control and set myself and my team up for a smooth transition into 2025.

Reclaiming our focus

Cettina Raccuia from Alternative by Design delivered an insightful time management session yesterday as part of our monthly Collaborate Session at Peritas . Time management was a key area of focus in many of our personal development plans this year captured through Culture Amp , so it was important to create some space for us to refresh ourselves on some well-known techniques to manage our workload and time effectively.

It felt like a collective ‘aha’ moment across the room, when we realised that we are all feeling the pain of wanting to do and achieve more, but constantly feeling bogged down, literally trying to work out how to drag ourselves to the 2024 finish line. The session wasn't just about how we are scheduling our work though, Cettina made us think about how we can reclaim our focus in a world of distractions.

Overcoming the Seduction of Shallow Work

A few years ago, I read Cal Newport’s book Deep Work, and he absolutely nails it when he says, "Clarity about what matters provides clarity about what does not.” I admit, I can easily lose the art of deep work, seduced by the high volume of shallow work that can consume my day – those quick, easy tasks that give us a false sense of accomplishment. Answering emails, Teams messages, scrolling through LinkedIn, attending back-to-back meetings... it all feels productive, but is it really moving me forward?

So, yesterday’s session was a good reminder of how we can break free from this shallow work vortex and reclaim our time and attention, especially in these chaotic last few weeks of the year.

Strategies for Staying Focused

We were invited to share with each other some of the techniques that have worked for us when managing our time. Here are a few strategies that have worked for me over the years:

• Deep Work Sprints: I've become a huge fan of deep work sprints, dedicating my work-from-home day to them. No meetings (wherever possible I avoid scheduling them on Tuesdays), Teams notifications off and checked only at set times throughout the day. Just me, my laptop, some snacks and a challenging task that requires serious focus. Usually, I tackle things like writing or reviewing policies and procedures, developing presentations or reports, or strategic planning for my functional areas during these sprints. It's amazing how much I can accomplish when I allow myself to get into a flow state.
• The Eisenhower Matrix: Anyone else a fan? (Avoid the "Urgency Trap" with the Eisenhower Matrix). This was a game-changer for me many years ago. It helps me cut through the noise and prioritise tasks based on their urgency and importance. It's so easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of urgent but not important tasks! I find myself getting frustrated now if I spend too much time on the urgent/not important items and not doing really important work. I am also fortunate enough to have a great team of professionals who I can delegate key work projects to.
• Tech Tools: Tech can be a double-edged sword. I have used email rules to tame my inbox and rely heavily on action registers and planners to break down large projects into manageable chunks. Since we collaborate a lot across our Support team, these tools are essential, especially those with built-in reminders that keep us all on track with our tasks. Keeping these planners updated with accurate information can be a challenge though, so I have to remember to keep utilising and updating them to get full value.

But even with these tools in my toolkit, I admitted to myself today that I still need to conquer ...the dreaded admin beast.

• The Admin Hour: Like weeds, admin tasks are always popping up and threatening to take over my day. So, my time management experiment between now and our end-of-year shutdown is to introduce ‘The Admin Hour’. Just like I block out time for meetings and focused work, I plan on dedicating a specific time each day to tackle my admin tasks. If a task takes less than 5 minutes though, I'll tackle it right away. Otherwise, it is going into my dedicated Admin Hour.

Embracing (Intentional) Doomscrolling

Now, here's where I might surprise you. While I strive for focus and productivity with a strong drive for achievement, I also recognise the importance of downtime. We all need those moments when we can disconnect and let our minds wander. And for me, that often involves a bit of curated distraction (okay, I am a doomscroller).

It's my guilty pleasure, usually after a long day. My algorithm seems to know me better than I know myself, serving up a delightful mix of the absurd and hilarious, leadership insights, and productivity hacks. And I love sharing all these with my friends. I mostly do this strategically—at the end of the day or on weekends when I'm intentionally unwinding. I think of it as my brain's reward after a productive day.

Of course, I'm aware of the potential downsides. Johann Hari, whose session at SXSW Sydney this year challenged my thinking, explores this in his book Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention - and How to Think Deeply Again. He talks about how our constant connectivity can erode our attention spans. That's precisely why it's all about balance.

It's not about eliminating distractions entirely, but rather about being more intentional with how we spend our time and energy. To help me manage my dopamine delight fest courtesy of Instagram and LinkedIn, I have turned off my notifications on these apps, so I don’t get distracted during the day. I am also someone that has not downloaded or set up a Tik Tok account! That is a doomscroll rabbit hole I am confident I wouldn't be able to get out of.

End of Year Balance

As 2024 comes close to finishing, I'm finding a sense of peace in the balance between focused work and intentional distraction. I hope that this article serves as a reminder that productivity doesn't have to mean constant striving; it's about managing our time well and recognising when to switch gears. Sometimes, our end-of-year strategy just needs to be about allowing ourselves to unwind, recharge, and yes, even embrace the absurdity of the internet.

Feel free to share your ideas and strategies on how to manage your end of year frenzy. ?

Here are some resource links on this topic. I saved you ‘time’ on developing an AI prompt for this list.

• Deep Work by Cal Newport: https://www.calnewport.com/books/deep-work/
• Indistractable by Nir Eyal: https://www.nirandfar.com/indistractable/
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey: https://www.franklincovey.com/the-7-habits/
• Atomic Habits by James Clear: https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits
• Harvard Business Review: Time management - HBR
• Todoist Blog: https://todoist.com/productivity-methods