Deep work: The guide to do any homework with complete focus and better quality for college students
💡 1st Step: Self-introspection
In a piece of sheet or one app notes write down your entire day in detail. Secondly, track them into three columns and label them. If you are a student who works on a laptop for your assignments, you might lose track of time. Check the history to track the time that is spent on each task. You can also notice the social media tabs that you have been frequently checking.
Use this template and track down your time spent on each task for about three days. By tracking your day you become aware of how you have been using your time without consciously making a choice. By labeling them as distractions you are moving to the state of awarness. Next time, when you have the urge to use your phone, this would remind you and would help you refrain from it.
📍 Always “Deep work”
Deep work is working on a task without any distraction i.e. giving it complete concentration for a prolonged period. The term was coined by Cal Newport and he has explained it elaborately in his book “Deep Work: Rules of Focused Success in a Distracted World”.
The benefit of Deep work is that it creates a new value and improves the skill in the long run. The intentions that we set for the day help us to understand the shallow work that is performed throughout.
Shallow work are the tasks that is not cognitively demanding and they can be performed while getting distracted. They could be printing out course material, checking college mails, attending meetings and filling logsheets. Deep work are the tasks that creates value and improve your skills. For example, writing a research paper, drafting outline for an essay and analysing a case study.
💭 2nd Step: Choose your philosophy
There are four types of deep work stratergy that can be used to your college schedule. Based on your college routine and study routine you can choose one among them. 
⏳3rd Step: Drafting a Routine
After knowing your pattern of work, it is time to draft the routine for college homework. The first and foremost thing that you can do is to set the timer.
1️⃣ Fix your goal or task for the time block
2️⃣Set a timer for 50 minutes with 10 minutes break.
3️⃣ Fix a location where you want to work. Make sure that the location does not have any distractions. For example, you can choose library or study room as they are less noisy.
Create a distraction-free zone. Such as, you can remove your phone from your study area and can be in silent mode. While working on your assignment, set your goal work for that 50 minutes, and then take a break. Here comes the question, what to do in break? Listening to mild music, petting a dog, watering plants, or discussing the concept with your peers are good options.
What not to do?
🔴 Scrolling on Instagram or any other social media.
🔴 Watching snippets of web series of movies.
🔴 Using YouTube during the break.
Try not to do, ‘what not to do’. They contradict to the assignments you have been working on. There is a high chance of getting carried away by these break-time activities.
The actions that you do in your break are as important as the ones that you do in deep work sessions.
Let’s build a routine with deep work method and time blocking method
✍🏻 4th Step: Journalling
Have a journal and answer these questions
1️⃣ What are the two things that went well while studying?
2️⃣ What is the area that I need to improve on?
