In researching his book, How to Become a Straight-A Student, Cal Newport interviewed fifty ultra-high-scoring college undergrads and found that the amount of time they spent studying was less than the group of students right below them on the GPA rankings. The reason for this was intensity of focus: the high-performing students knew the importance of intensity when studying and so maximized it.
You think you don’t have enough time in the day to get all your work done or make progress on that important side project.
But what if you didn't need more time; what if you could squeeze more juice from the time you have?
Intensity is the measure of concentration and mental effort applied during a task
It’s how fully you engage cognitive resources in your work, minimizing distraction to maximize productivity.
I like to think of intensity as working with a sense of urgency. Like the clock is ticking.
A few years ago, I decided to perform more deep work each week (because I was doing essentially none).
In doing so, I quickly became fixated on the number of hours worked rather than the intensity at which I worked. I'd give myself a big four-hour block. I'd decide to start around 9am but then never really settle in until at least 930am. I'd work until I felt like taking a break and on that break I'd check my phone only to get distracted with something and then come back to my work and feel like I was starting all over again.
I’d do my four hours, but it was deep work done casually. Cheap work rather than deep.
Once I started to really key in on intensity instead of duration, I began working with a sense of urgency and everything changed. It was like a superpower.
The more intensely you work, the less you need to work
Intensity isn't about doing more, it's about doing the same with less. It's making the most of every minute you've devoted to working on something meaningful.
Some people fear the idea of intensity because it’s hard. But it leads to freedom, not shackles.
And learning to hold your focus on the very thing you've chosen to pay attention to is an invaluable skill that helps in all areas of life, from work to relationships.
Intensity is about full engagement and presence. And presence is power.
How to ramp up intensity
Clearly identify ahead of time what you’re going to work on and why it matters
How does it link to your goals, values, dreams, aspirations? I'm not just sitting here right now writing this. I'm putting in reps and writing every day because I want to become a better writer; I want to write for a living; I want to improve my ability to focus and do deep work and become a better human being. That's motivating and reminds me to make each moment of writing count.
Clear all distractions from your environment ahead of time
This is obvious, but you can't work intensely if you're constantly darting your eyes or picking up your phone. (See my post here for how to set up your environment for success).
Set a time to start and commit to it
Treat it like an important meeting that you will be prepared for and not late to. Put it in your calendar.
Don't check social media or notifications for at least 30 minutes prior to your start time
You want to come into your session with calm not chaos. Avoid distraction and overstimulation.
Set a timer and commit to working for a specific length of time before taking a break
Keep it reasonable. If you already have trouble focusing, try doing just 10 minutes. If you've got more experience, go for 30. Keep it to less than an hour though.
Make sure you can see the timer counting down. The point of setting a timer is to create an artificial deadline and a sense of urgency.
Don't use your phone for the timer. It will be a distraction.
Accept that your brain needs to warm up
Once you start working, it's going to take 5-10 minutes before the neural circuitry required to do that activity well comes online and engages to the point where you experience that as focus.
Like an athlete whose muscles need to warm up before they can perform at their peak level.
Don’t place an unfair burden on yourself thinking you should be able to focus immediately. You’ll get discouraged at the beginning of the session and make it harder.
Work in a group
Online co-working sessions work because it layers in a performative aspect. It also holds you accountable for showing up and starting on time, and not breaking until the agreed upon time is up. I highly recommend doing this.
Greater intensity means more rest is required
Focusing with greater intensity means using considerably more cognitive resources than you’re used to. Paradoxically, the better you can focus the less you should do.
Consider strength training: The stronger you are and the heavier you can lift, the more rest your body needs to recover not only between sets but also training sessions.
