Answers
How do I track my deep work hours?
Plan your deep work as time blocks in a calendar, tick each block off only if the work was actually deep, and read your finished hours by category each week. In Cutline that happens automatically: a "Deep work" category totals its finished hours per day, week and year, and your record shows the trend.
The method
- Give deep work its own category (Cutline has Work; you can add "Deep work").
- Book one to three blocks a day, 90 minutes or more, at fixed times.
- Tick a block off only if you worked without switching. Leave it unticked if not.
- Every Friday or Sunday, read the finished deep hours and compare with what you planned.
What good looks like
Cal Newport suggests about four hours a day is near the limit of deep work for most people. Many start with 90 minutes a day and build up. What matters most is the trend over weeks, not one heroic day.
Numbers to watch
| Number | Why |
|---|---|
| Deep hours per week | The output of most knowledge jobs follows it |
| Planned vs finished | Shows planning errors (the planning fallacy) |
| Longest uninterrupted block | Hard problems need long blocks |
Questions
Should meetings count as deep work?
No. Keep them in their own category so the deep work number stays honest.
None
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Keep reading
GlossaryDeep workDeep work is focused, distraction-free work on hard problems. Cal Newport named it in 2016.GuidesDeep work scheduleHow to build a deep work schedule: when to block focus time, how long, how to protect it, and example schedules for founders, creators and students.GlossaryTime auditA time audit records how you really spend your time for a week, so you can plan with facts. Peter Drucker recommended it. How to run one in a calendar.Who it is forSoftware engineersA weekly planner for developers: protect long coding blocks, keep meetings in one window, see your Google or Outlook meetings in the same week. Free.