Mac apps that support your deep work (Cal Newport's concept)

[LucCogZest]

@LucCogZest

I totally agree with this. I find the discipline of adding a row to the mySelfQuantifier spreadsheet also constitutes “splash of water to the face”. It takes a while to get into the habit of it. An advantage of using an app like Timing + a spreadsheet is that it can tell you exactly when you got distracted. Using a spreadsheet makes it easy to tabulate time spent on each project and activity at the end of the day, which provides more “splash in the face”, reward or punishment depending on how the day went.

While we’re on the subject of intersection of time tracking and Deep Work, after publication of the mySelfQuantifier [I think it was then] sheet, I added two columns for deep work (i.e., I don’t recall if those columns are online yet). One cell is to put a “1” if the row corresponds to deep work time; the other simply copies the duration cell’s value if the DW cell = 1 [default is 0]. That way, one can easily get an estimate at the end of the day about how much deep work time one has engaged in. Also, I find the simple act of putting a 1 in there is a reward for me, having too many 0’s nags me.

I’d be curious to know what people think about software for tracking deep work / projects, or whether they feel Cal’s method of using paper and pencil is enough. And I’m grateful to read people commenting on digital minimalism.