Understand this concept to 10x your productivity as an ADHDer!ā£
Many of us ADHDers struggle with low productivity and constant procrastination. ā£ ā£ As a business owner or working professional, this can have severe consequences. ā£ ā£ A study published in 2020 estimates that the lifetime cost of productivity losses for an individual with ADHD is approximately $1.2 million.ā£ā£ ā£ So we could also interpret this as how much your inaction costs you over the lifetime. ā£ ā£ So as knowledge workers, as many of us ADHDers are, we should understand the difference between DEEP WORK and SHALLOW WORK to prevent these costs. ā£ ā£ What is DEEP WORK?ā£ ā£ - Cognitively demanding tasksāā£ - Need dedicated focusāā£ - Can't be easily automated, outsourced, or replicatedāā£ - Create new value or improve a skillā£ ā£ What is SHALLOW WORK? ā£ ā£ - Do not require any significant cognitive effortāā£ - Can be easily replicated, automated, or done by someone less skilledāā£ - Low-value tasks, often multitasked, do not result in meaningful impact on goalsāā£ - But create the false impression of progress, connectedness, actionā£ ā£ I give you an example to drive this concept home: ā£ ā£ - DEEP WORK: In 30 mins, you typed 500 words WRITING YOUR BOOK.ā£ ā£ - SHALLOW WORK: In 30 mins, you typed 500 words RESPONDING TO EMAILS.ā£ ā£ Conclusion: Same "ACTION." Much different "OUTPUT." ā£ ā£ To implement this concept start using time blocking and differentiate between blocks of focused work (deep work) and blocks of low-value tasks (shallow work). ā£ ā£ The nice side effect of this is that it prevents distractions from interrupting, thus improving your ability to concentrate.ā£