I worry something got lost in translation, with the question about specific skills I’m working on.
This isn’t a technique. It covers a whole day; the timer only gives a clear signal to yourself that “yes, the context has really changed and we’re following different rules now”.
You don’t use it for building a particular skill. It specifically doesn’t require skill goals to start with or end with. To the extent it is for something it’s for learning how to balance diligence and adaptability.
~*~
You correctly doubt the value of deep diving to build a new skill. I agree that most people who offhandedly committed to a 10 hour block of deep work would end up staring at a wall and rage quit. I would not recommend that to anyone. I think people can often commit to doing one more of whatever they were already planning to do.
People will absorb new information when starting from what they know.
When they try something, notice what did or didn’t work, then try again.
When they seek out multiple examples to generalize from.
When they split large skills into smaller actions, to work on independently or in new combinations.
When they’ve gotten good at taking (admittedly arbitrary) intentions to return to a task seriously, and can spend a couple of hours on a hard thing knowing they can trust themselves to spend another couple hours if that’s what it takes to master it.
When they’ve gotten good at taking (admittedly arbitrary) intentions to return to a task seriously, and can spend a couple of hours on a hard thing knowing they can trust themselves to spend another couple hours if that’s what it takes to master it.
I think that right there is the core benefit of a several hour committed work block. Having a level of moment to moment commitment that makes it so you don’t just stop when things get hard. The other things you mention are also useful tips, but they aren’t inherently baked into the practice you suggested (through any sort of checklist or workflow).
I don’t want to bake the intended lesson into the practice; if I have to tell you what the moral of a story is then it’s not doing a very good job of making its own point.
Thanks for engaging!
I worry something got lost in translation, with the question about specific skills I’m working on.
This isn’t a technique. It covers a whole day; the timer only gives a clear signal to yourself that “yes, the context has really changed and we’re following different rules now”.
You don’t use it for building a particular skill. It specifically doesn’t require skill goals to start with or end with. To the extent it is for something it’s for learning how to balance diligence and adaptability.
~*~
You correctly doubt the value of deep diving to build a new skill. I agree that most people who offhandedly committed to a 10 hour block of deep work would end up staring at a wall and rage quit. I would not recommend that to anyone. I think people can often commit to doing one more of whatever they were already planning to do.
People will absorb new information when starting from what they know.
When they try something, notice what did or didn’t work, then try again.
When they seek out multiple examples to generalize from.
When they split large skills into smaller actions, to work on independently or in new combinations.
When they’ve gotten good at taking (admittedly arbitrary) intentions to return to a task seriously, and can spend a couple of hours on a hard thing knowing they can trust themselves to spend another couple hours if that’s what it takes to master it.
I’m betting it adds up.
I think that right there is the core benefit of a several hour committed work block. Having a level of moment to moment commitment that makes it so you don’t just stop when things get hard. The other things you mention are also useful tips, but they aren’t inherently baked into the practice you suggested (through any sort of checklist or workflow).
I don’t want to bake the intended lesson into the practice; if I have to tell you what the moral of a story is then it’s not doing a very good job of making its own point.