6 ms·
Here's a trick that works for me that's totally impractical, but is a hint/roadmap to finding a repeatable system: I've been doing a lot of travel to Europe la
by nlh 6y ago
Here's a trick that works for me that's totally impractical, but is a hint/roadmap to finding a repeatable system:
I've been doing a lot of travel to Europe lately, and the return flight has become my greatest deep work experience ever. I enjoy it so much that I actually look forward to it now and wish I could do it more than ~4 times a year.
I fly either Zurich or Frankfurt to SFO on United and get an economy bulkhead seat (nobody in front to recline). Wifi is solid. In-seat power. It's a ~12 hour day flight (leave around 1pm CET, land 4pm PT). It's dark since many people sleep so they turn the lights off and close the shades. There's enough ambient noise to be calming without annoying. There are zero distractions otherwise. The are regular coffee refills on-demand.
Every time I've done this flight (I've done it 6 times now) I get into a solid and excellent flow state. I've accomplished more on various coding projects in that one flight than sometimes in a week or two of regular at-home time.
Obviously as I said it's not practical to fly around the world to get work done :) But I try to use that as a roadmap for setting up an environment at home to emulate it as much as possible.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- Donald 6y ago> Obviously as I said it's not practical to fly around the world to get work done A friend of mine finished her novel through repeated long-haul flights from JFK. The on-going expense alone is motivating.
- esperent 6y agoI hope, for maximum irony, the novel features climate change as a plot point.
- quickthrower2 6y agoDon’t worry the physical print will capture that carbon back!
- dpflan 6y agoThanks for sharing. This and the parent are interesting anecdotes. It reveals the “cost” of the environment for “deep work”, and therein the price / value of deep work to these individuals. This is an expensive and impactful price to pay to achieve a higher state of mind. How can the environment be recreated on demand (just like a long haul flight schedule) with less cost and environmental impact?
- quickthrower2 6y agoSit in the back seat of your car while parked. Get a friend to bring you some microwaved meals every 4 hours.
- huijzer 6y agoI just would like to say that requiring a flight to be able to focus is absolutely ridiculous. I think the question already starts off in the wrong direction. There are no tricks which solve the problems completely. It would be like asking for a trick to gain muscles or a trick to learn Spanish. The trick for both is: do the work. I'd argue that it is the same for focus. For example, Einstein was able to work through the sound of his crying baby [1]. Ignoring the questionable fatherhood practices, it shows that Einstein did not need a trick to get into the flow. Doing the work implies that you optimize for doing the work. For one, that means reducing the number of possible distractions. Two great examples are Donald Knuth and Linus Torvalds. Knuth, doesn't read his emails or letters for extended periods of time and Linus' workplace is a desk staring straight to a white wall. Both people have clearly optimized for avoiding distractions and they seem to have come quite far with their lifes. If you want to hear a similar message about cutting distractions from an ex-Navy SEAL, then see Jocko [2]. Note that my examples do assume an, lets say, average Hacker News individual. Of course, if you have ADD or live under the poverty line then hearing that you "should just focus" is as unhelpful as telling a depressed person to be happy. [1]: Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson [2]: https://youtu.be/WAiZqtxbvYQ https://youtu.be/WAiZqtxbvYQ
- ZeroGravitas 6y agoThat Einstien anecdote sounds more like ADHD. Despite the general impression being that it causes lack of focus, its sometimes better thought of as an inability to choose what to focus on. Getting absorbed into something they are passionateky interested in is sometimes described as a positive aspect of ADHD. I just googled and a bunch of people think he may have had ADHD, but I'd guess thats true of basically any combination of famous person and mental health issue.
- bot41 6y agoYour [2] (Jocko) is essentially "don't focus on things that don't matter"
- burntoutfire 6y ago> For example, Einstein was able to work through the sound of his crying baby [1]. OMG, as someone who is very irritable and has trouble focusing through any kind of noise, this sounds like a superpower. I'm guessing it's largely genetic.
- munchbunny 6y agoI personally have never succeeded at deep work on flights, but I found that long haul flights are excellent time for reflection and journaling. I can’t stay awake long enough to get deep flow state, but reflection is quite doable and maybe even improved by involuntary napping.
- solarkraft 6y agoI think a good part of the focus I too experience on flights is the nice vibration/noise profile. I recently replicated the noise I remember from my last flight (quite a while ago) on mynoise and dubbed it "Airplane vibes": https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/whiteRainNoiseGenerator.php?l=86827865523823161007 https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/whiteRainNoiseGenerator.ph... It manages to drown out people talking outside your headphones while comfortably allowing you to listen to something playing on the inside.
- nlh 6y agoThat’s great! Thanks for the link. I’ll give it a shot at home today :)
- markus_zhang 6y agoSounds interesting. Hope you find a way to replicate it cheaply.
- tmaly 6y agoI have found I am able to finish a good book on long flights like this. Work not so much.