The Best of Both Worlds podcast began in August of 2017. We’ve published an episode every Tuesday since then, which means today is episode #400!
So in this week’s episode, Sarah and I take a little bit of time to celebrate (we recorded this one from her closet in Ft. Lauderdale too, just like the past few weeks’ episodes).
Then we pivot to a discussion of how to protect your deep work time. Especially if you work from home, or have a flexible schedule, it can be easy to see your work time chopped up by various other to-dos. So, from scheduling appointments to dealing with contractor visits, we have tips on how to make sure you’re not undermining your own productivity.
Then in the Q&A we address that frequent question: Should I start a podcast? We give some ideas of things to think about if you want to give it a go.
Please give the episode a listen! If you enjoy Best of Both Worlds, you could also consider joining our Patreon community, where we have regular discussions of these topics. And thank you for making it possible to stick around for 7.5 years! Knowing that people enjoy listening to this show makes it far easier to keep recording.
I also hope for a happy birthday for BOBW, Ms. Laura Vanderkam and Dr. Sarah Hart-Unger. And I can see the memories this podcast preserves.
I can feel how you were not thinking #400 when you did episode #1, but I do think that there’ll likely be an episode 800. I do know podcasts that have reached episode 800, by the way.
I don’t think I have a favorite episode. Nor do I think I have a least favorite episode.
I won’t suggest ideas for future episodes today, as I have no idea how many additional hundreds of words I’ll cram into this comment if I do.
Since we’ve figured out that deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task, we can evaluate whether or not I do deep work. But then, my question will become how many hours do I need to focus on that cognitively demanding task before I can refer to myself as doing deep work. The conclusion that I heard from you, Ms. Laura Vanderkam, is that first, I’ll ensure I know how many hours per week I work; then, I’ll spend no less than half of all these hours focusing without distraction on cognitively demanding tasks. Is that right?
It’s actually true that my work environment has relatively few back-and-forths throughout the day.
My summary of the strategies: A). Being strategic with exercise; B). Just because one can doesn’t mean one should; C). Get daycare if necessary; D). Stop with the housework; E). No, the contractor cannot come in the 9 a.m. to noon window.
And yes, I do prefer not to do housework if my real intention is to avoid that other task at hand.
@Yukun – an 800th episode would be fun! We’ll see what the podcasting world looks like then…