Deep work vs busy work - an unexpected journey...

For months, I’ve been circling around the same frustration: I know I need to do more deep work, but somehow, my day gets eaten up by smaller, easier tasks. Emails, quick admin, fixing little things that ‘eventually need doing’—all of it keeping me busy, but not necessarily moving the big pieces forward.

I’ve read Deep Work by Cal Newport. I know about time blocking, eliminating distractions, batching shallow tasks. I’ve even tried some of them. And yet, I was still avoiding the kind of work that requires full focus—the stuff that actually builds the future I want.

At first, I thought it was just standard procrastination. Then I wondered if I was just naturally bad at deep work. And then, in the middle of a conversation about it, I had a bit of an existential crisis: Was I avoiding deep work because I didn’t actually need to?

The Fisherman’s Dilemma (a.k.a. Is This Enough?)

There’s an old story about a fisherman who spends his days leisurely fishing, enjoying life. A billionaire tells him he should work harder, expand his fishing business, hire employees, and scale up. When the fisherman asks why, the billionaire says, “So you can retire one day and relax, enjoying life.”

The fisherman just blinks at him.

That’s the thought that hit me: Maybe I’m the fisherman. Maybe my reluctance to push into deep work wasn’t about fear or distraction, but because I didn’t actually need to. My business, in its first real year since it stopped being a side hustle, already covers my bills. I don’t have a boss breathing down my neck. I take time off when I need it, and walk the dog in my lunch breaks. Isn't that the ideal life? Do I want to fall into the capitalist trap of infinite growth when I could just… not?

And yet…

The ‘Prove-Them-Wrong’ Factor

Here’s the thing: I’ve always been ambitious. I don’t just want to succeed quietly—I want to prove that solo parenting and running a consulting business can be a success story. I want to show that you don’t have to choose between parenting and ambition, or between business growth and quality of life. I want to build something meaningful, something that eventually buys me more freedom, not more work. I want to be that person that shows others it can be done (and yes, a little bit of "I told you so" to the people of my past).

And for that? I need deep work.

What Deep Work Actually Is (And Why We All Need It)

Deep work is focused, uninterrupted, high-value work. It’s the kind of work that requires full mental energy and attention. It’s the work that moves you forward, builds your business, and creates meaningful results. It’s not just about ticking off checklists—it’s about strategic moves that change the trajectory of your career or business.

And it’s getting harder for all of us to do. Technology is designed to distract us, from social media notifications to email pings. We’re constantly checking our phones, looking up things, relying on our tech to remember dates and phone numbers and tasks, keeping our brains in a state of low-level distraction and of not needing to remember things or work stuff out. When was the last time your brain had to dig really deep into your memory, and your mates' memories, at a dinner party to work out who that actor was who was in that thing with that woman who dates that guy? Of course not; you just google it, right?

All this ease, all this touch-of-a-button information, and it makes deep work feel harder than it used to. It’s not that we’re bad at it—it’s that we’re not training our brains to stay focused anymore.

The Visionary Mode Hack

The problem wasn’t knowing how to do deep work. It was getting myself to actually do it instead of floating between the tempting little tasks that make me feel productive but don’t move the needle.

So, I’ve decided to try a new approach: Visionary Mode.

Instead of asking myself, “Do I feel like doing deep work right now?” (spoiler: the answer is always 'just after I've finished this email'), I’ll be stepping into an alter ego—Boss Bitch Me.

Boss Bitch Me doesn’t get caught up in small tasks. She doesn’t waste her best energy on emails or admin. She doesn’t wait for motivation. She sits down, gets focused, and moves the big things forward because she’s building something bigger than today’s to-do list.

The Plan (And The Challenge)

So, here’s what I’m actually doing to make this stick:

✔ Setting a Deep Work Trigger—For me, this will probably be tea + Taylor Swift + a verbal cue: “Alright, Boss Bitch Me. Let’s go.” (Yes, I’m talking to myself, and I stand by it.)

✔ Blocking Off Boss Time—Late afternoons, when I feel a fake sense of looming deadline before daycare pickup, are now for deep work only. No emails, no admin, no sneaky “I’ll just do this one quick thing” excuses.

✔ Tracking Wins—I’ll be tracking how many deep work sessions I complete each week, gamifying it so my competitive side kicks in and doesn't want to ruin the streak. I WON'T be setting up schedules and diaries at the start of each day, because I know from experience I can spend a LONG part of the morning procrasti-planning.

✔ Using Newport’s Tactics—I’ll be batching shallow tasks, scheduling social media and email checking in specific windows, and embracing the 80/20 rule: 20% of my efforts are going to create 80% of my results.

✔ Holding The Vision—Before every session, I’ll remind myself why this matters: Less travel while my kid is young, more delegation (mostly of social media!), more control over my lifestyle.

I’m testing this out starting now. If you also struggle with shallow work creep, I’d love to hear what’s worked (or not worked) for you. And if you see me online doing something unimportant after noon, feel free to call me out—because Boss Bitch Me is supposed to be too busy building an empire and sticking it to the patriarchy.