Deep Work: Why calendar blocking is difficult (+1 pro tip)

The common suggestion to block calendar time for deep work is more difficult than we think - but it's still worth it

Many product managers have little time - too many meetings, too many ad-hoc issues, breaks too small to achieve anything.

On the other hand, Deep Work is important: Diving deep into a topic, not looking at the clock, thinking thoughts until their end - this is how working on content leads to good results. Shallow work means organizing things, responding to email, and other administrative work. Deep work is the real work, Shallow work is meta-work.

One common way to make time for deep work is to block time in the calendar. This signals to you and to others: This slot is reserved, you will not work on anything else than the planned topic during this time.

Yet still, this is more easily said than done.

Blocking calendar slots to focus on deep work is hard.

Why is this so hard?

Urgent vs. Important Tasks

First, there are urgent and important tasks. If you work with the Eisenhower Matrix, you know the distinction: Important tasks are not always urgent, and urgent tasks are not always important.

Product Managers usually block time for important tasks. When the time comes, there are always urgent tasks, too. PMs sometimes would like to use the Eisenhower Matrix, but there is nobody to delegate to (because they don’t have subordinates or other people who could do the work). So important and urgent tasks both compete with each other again.

Timezones

Second, international and global teams work in different timezones. A team in Europe may block the morning for deep work, but the morning is the only time when they can connect to people in, say, Asia. Should they block the afternoon instead? Well, that is the only time they can connect to people in the Americas.

Is calendar blocking still a valid option?

Yes, despite all the difficulties, calendar blocking is often still the only option to reserve time for deep, uninterrupted work. Decisions need to be made: Should urgent tasks be delayed? Should people in other timezones have to wait another day? The answer is: Yes, urgent tasks should be delayed and people need to wait!

Urgent tasks should be delayed and people need to wait.

There needs to be time for shallow work, communication and deep work. Product managers needs to find the right balance.

Tip for product leaders: Help your team block their calendars. It’s easier said than done and leads to real conflicts with others. It is necessary, though. So help your team take time for deep work without a bad conscience.

The extra pro tip

When blocking calendar time, do not just block time for “deep work”. Instead, block time for a specific topic that you want to work on. If you later need to decide between an incoming request and blocked time, you can better judge the important of the topic you blocked time for.

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