Hello!

This is the formal title of my talk.

And this is the much simpler title that I didn’t think of until after I submitted my talk proposal.

Deliberate work is a productivity method based on clarity of intention.

It’s a focus exercise that allows your brain to naturally go from broad conceptualising to specific problem-solving.

There are three parts to implementing deliberate work.

Part 1 – Define the task. What am I supposed to do?

Part 2 – Identify the goal. What is the desired outcome?

Part 3 – Outline a process for completing the task. What steps do I need to take to achieve the goal?

Then do the work by completing the steps.

Here’s an example:

The client says ‘Update my website to the latest version of WordPress.’ 

OK! Let’s get started.

First I define the task: update this website from version something or other to the current version, which is 4.9.8.

Then I write down the goal. The desired outcome is that the site is updated, it works properly after the update, and the client is happy.

I mark each step off as done when I complete it.

When everything is crossed off, I’m finished!

Thinking takes less time than working.

Deliberate work allows you to think through your solutions first and explore them quickly without doing any work at all. Time saved!

(This concept is related to rubber duck debugging.)

Deliberate work helps with procrastination.

Breaking large scary tasks down into smaller ones makes them less intimidating and easier to conquer.

Also, marking things off as done feels nice and is a great motivator. Finish one, finish them all!

When you’re finished with the task, you know exactly what you did. No more forgetting!

• If you have to do the same task again or explain it to someone else, you don’t have to start from scratch.
• If you need to ask for help, you can explain clearly what you’ve done
• If you have a code review (or you’re writing your CV), you have documentation of what you’ve worked on.

You can estimate your time more accurately when you can see everything you need to do to complete the task. Much better than guessing!

And if you want to get really nerdy, you can put timestamps on the individual process steps so you can see where you’re spending the most time.

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. (Not actually said by Peter Drucker.)

So that’s deliberate work. You can use the Task / Goal / Process method for pretty much anything, not just technical work. It’s a bit of work, but it’s quite simple to try. And it’s effective.

But regardless of what technique you use, always remember this (from John Wooden).