DeepWorkCalMake room for focus.

The method / six small decisions

Put your work
on the clock.

A task list tells you what is waiting. A time-block plan helps you decide when to work on it.

Based on Cal Newport's explanation of daily planning. The walkthrough below is our own exercise. Scroll and the calendar follows along, or use the step buttons.

“You have, in effect, given every minute of your workday a job.”

  1. 01

    Collect what is waiting

    Write down the tasks you might do today. Choose one meaningful piece of work before you fill the calendar.

    What changed: Six things are waiting. None of them has a time yet.

  2. 02

    Mark fixed commitments

    Place classes, calls and appointments first. Include travel or preparation when it takes time.

    What changed: The project meeting and the weekly 1:1 went onto the day first. Everything else plans around them.

  3. 03

    Estimate honestly

    Give the draft an hour if that is what you expect it to need. Leave space to learn that your estimate was wrong.

    What changed: Each card now shows a rough length. The proposal is the biggest piece at about 90 minutes.

  4. 04

    Place protected focus

    Pick a stretch where you can stay with the demanding task. Batch messages and routine admin elsewhere.

    What changed: The proposal took the first open stretch. Email and the expense report now share one shallow block after lunch.

  5. 05

    Leave breathing room

    Reserve breaks and flexible time for reactive duties. Choose a stopping time you can realistically keep.

    What changed: Lunch and an hour of flexible time joined the plan, and the day now ends at 16:30.

  6. 06

    Revise the remaining day

    When reality changes, redraw what comes next. Move unfinished work to an available block or another day.

    What changed: A call took 09:00–10:00. The proposal still got 30 minutes, its last hour moved forward to 15:00, and the survey review moved to tomorrow.

    Nothing here counts as failing. The plan changed, so you drew the rest of the day again. Try the interruption game.

Step 6, as a short clip

Watch the rest of the day get redrawn.

A silent, 12-second animation of the revision step. It loads only when you press play, and every frame is written out here, so the clip is optional.

  1. Here is today's plan. The proposal has the first stretch of the morning.
  2. At 09:00 a call arrives and takes the first hour of the proposal block.
  3. The proposal still gets 30 minutes, from 10:00 to 10:30.
  4. Its last hour moves forward to 15:00, and the flexible hour absorbs it.
  5. The survey review moves to tomorrow. The day still stops at 16:30.
  6. Redraw the rest of the day, then try it with your own plan in the planner.
Our animation of an illustrative day, based on Newport's advice to update the remaining schedule when plans change. No sound.

An unexpected meeting?

Suppose a call takes your 9:00 writing block. At 10:00, look at the time left. Move the rest of the draft to 15:00, let flexible time absorb the displaced admin, or carry part of the draft into tomorrow. Keep the stopping time in view.

Newport recommends updating the remaining schedule when plans change. Our example is practice, with no score to lose.

Try a plan of your own ↗