For the past week, I've been insanely bored.
I just got back from my university's summer program in other words, I just got back from one month of attending classes, building cool projects, and going to the beach every weekend).
To fill up my time at home, I've decided to "prep" for the school year: I'm learning new things and getting my study skills up to speed.
Over the past few days, I've discovered a powerful productivity technique that's actually helped me get stuff done.
The Ultra-Productive Habit I'm Trying To Build
Deep work is the idea of being ultra-focused for a long-ish period of time.
A daily highlight is the idea of having one major "highlighted" task you want to complete each day.
Combine the two together, and BOOM—you've unlocked a version of yourself you've never seen before.
Here's how it works in case you didn't get it:
Pick something you really, really wanna do
Go to an environment with absolutely no distractions
Sit there for an hour or two
Listen to chill music (optional)
Work
Repeat steps 1-5 every day with one big task
Why It's A Cool Idea
To-do lists can be useful. Emphasis on "can".
If you're like me, to-do lists can get overwhelming. And this feeling of drowning in work usually happens at the worst possible moment.
With this daily highlight + deep work combo, I'm still tracking the smaller tasks I need to complete. However, they're not my priority.
Instead, 80% of my focus goes toward my daily highlight.
If I finish the smaller tasks too, great. If not, oh well (unless they're urgent, I can do them another day).
The Apps I Use
Ok, now's the part you're waiting for.
Here are the apps I'm using to actually implement this amazing productivity hack on my iPad:
Todoist
Todoist is my usual to-do list app. Since I already use Todoist to track my tasks, I'm using it to track my daily highlights.
Every day (or sometimes the night before), I'll add one big task I wanna get done.
Today, my daily highlight is writing this blog post. There's some other stuff I gotta do, but this is #1 on my list.
Streaks
While Todoist helps me plan my daily highlight, Streaks helps me track it.
For those who have never heard of it, Streaks is a cool habit-tracking app. It's pretty easy to use and offers cool customization features.
When it comes to my daily highlight + deep work productivity hack, I use Streaks to track my consistency with this habit.
In other words, Streaks helps me "gamify" my habit—by putting in a solid deep work session every day, I extend my streak.
Streaks is a paid app, though a great free alternative is Pixelist (a "visual" habit-tracking app).
Clock
Whenever I'm in a flow state, I like taking mini breaks (think Pomodoro).
I want these breaks to be short (so I don't get distracted), but not too short (so I can actually take a break).
That means setting a timer (usually 5 minutes is good enough for me). Instead of some fancy timer app, I just use the built-in Clock app.
Apple Music
Whenever I'm trying to get into a deep work state to work on my daily highlight, I usually put on some chill music.
Nothing too crazy—the more intense the lyrics are, the more distracted I become. For me, the best style is either instrumental music or chill songs.
One strategy I've used is listening to one solid song on repeat when I'm working on my daily highlight. It's had a weird but useful effect: my mind is now trained to be productive whenever I hear that song.
Concepts
One cool use case for this deep flow/daily highlight technique is a brainstorming session.
When you’re in a flow state, ideas just pour out of your head.
Concepts is a fantastic app for this purpose—it offers an unlimited canvas with every pen tool you’ll ever need.
It's one of the few apps I highly recommend for every iPad user out there. And I genuinely believe this (again, check my post history if you wanna verify this claim).
Concepts has been kind enough to offer a free 30-day trial. And no, you don't have to enter your credit card information.
The Tools I Use
On top of apps, I also use two iPadOS features whenever I'm trying to enter a deep work state: Guided Access and Focus Modes.
Guided Access
Guided Access is a cool feature that essentially locks your iPad onto one screen.
I use it whenever I'm really trying to get work done (lex: right now as I write this post).
I have a tendency to sometimes go to other apps whenever I'm stuck on something. It's almost like a reflex—I'll do something small like check my email or social media.
To avoid this, Guided Access keeps me on the app I work on. The only way to escape my digital prison is to click the power button three times and type in a password. Usually those steps are enough to keep me on task.
Focus Modes
Focus Modes are like Do Not Disturb, but way more powerful.
For me, some of the worst distractions are messages from my friends. Though it's nice to keep in touch with them, one notification ring can completely mess up my focus.
Focus Modes are a cool way to filter my notifications so only the people I absolutely need to respond to (aka Mom and Dad) can contact me.
Final Thoughts
"To produce at your peak level you need to work for extended periods with full concentration on a single task free from distraction"—Cal Newport
PS—Sorry for missing the post last week. I just got back from my program and I was waaaaaay too tired to write a post.