Trying to have deep work sessions as an engineer is painful. You're trying to code with complete focus, but meetings and urgent tasks keep interrupting your flow. Once your focus is broken, it's not easy to get back in the zone. You know that deadlines won’t pause for your focus to return. So your code quality suffers.
Does this mean you’re bad at focusing? Heck no. Or you wouldn’t be an engineer.
We found that the real challenge lies in the fact that as engineers, you collaborate a LOT. This naturally leads to many interruptions.
So, this isn't a problem you can solve alone. Creating an environment that allows for deep work requires a team effort.
From our conversations with engineers, we realized that all of them know this. What they actually struggle with is HOW can they communicate this to their team.
We’ve created this 3-step guide to help you do just that.
1. First, tell them what the problem is.
Let them know why interruptions affect your work - quality and speed. Use an example so they can directly see how this is a real problem. Be sure to maintain a solution-oriented tone, not a blaming one.
We'll share an example:
✔ Do this:
“Last week, I was debugging a complex issue. I was interrupted 4 times. Every interruption took me about 15 minutes to get back into the flow. This turned a 2-hour task into a full day's work.
✗ Don't do this:
“Last week, I was debugging a complex issue. Aarav and Naman interrupted me twice each. It wasn’t even that important. What was a 2-hour task required a whole day. It was just a waste.”
Even if some don't struggle with interrupted focus, they'll understand where you are coming from.
The second step is to tell them how you are going to solve this problem.
2. Second, tell them your solution.
Tell them your game plan for doing deep work and how you will approach interruptions. Overcommunicate to avoid misunderstandings.
First, share your deep focus schedule. This allows your team to be mindful about when you're most and least available. Try these methods:
- Calendar blocking and sharing with others.
- Creating and sharing a link to book “15m time slots” with you.
- Texting on crucial days: "Folks, really need to focus today. Don't disturb me till 3 PM please".
Two, tell them your approach to interruptions during focus time:
- How you will handle urgent matters - For instance, you could create a dedicated “urgent matters” Slack channel that you can check every hour or two.
- How you will respond to non-urgent matters - For instance, you will check all “non-urgent” messages every 3 hours or so.
The more clearly and honestly you communicate, the easier it is for others to meet you halfway. Remember, most people do actually want to help you.
The third step is to tell them what they can do to support you.
3. Third, tell them how they can help you.
Now that you have explained to your team what you will do and not do to have better deep work sessions, you need to figure out what you want others to do. Consider this, a mini-system for managing interruptions.
Every team’s dynamics are unique. So, there’s no one way to do this. Here are a few examples to give you an idea:
Decide a "Do Not Disturb" signal
Agree on an indicator that you're in deep focus mode. This could be:
- A specific status message on Slack
- A calendar block marked as "Focus Time"
- A post-it note next to your table saying “In the zone, chat later!"
Encourage them to communicate the urgency level each time
This could be like
- “Hey, quick chat? Context - API Doc, No immediate response needed”
- “Hey, quick chat? Context - New Feature, SUPER urgent”
- “umm..so, the is server down” (clearly a developer’s nightmare so, urgent :D)
Unless it's the last example, urgency can be subjective. But it makes everyone think twice about interruptions - both when interrupting and being interrupted.
Encourage them to use your calendar link to block “15m” slots
Google Calendar allows you to create bookable time slots. Set 3-5 daily 15-minute slots (adjust based on your work nature). These are your "happy interruption" times.
You can even segment these:
- Link for "New Feature" questions
- Link for "Bug Fixes" discussions
- Link for "Code Reviews"
Share these links with your team members. Pin them on your conversations/channels. Remember, the link is only as useful as it is used. So, make it easy for others to use.
It encourages thoughtful interruptions: "Is this worth booking a slot, or can it wait?"
Remember, spontaneous chats are valuable too. The goal isn't to become unapproachable. It’s about managing the frequency and timing of interruptions, not eliminating them entirely.
Batch non-urgent questions for scheduled check-ins
We all collaborate with some folks more than others. For frequent collaborators, encourage the batching of non-urgent items. This is particularly useful when managing multiple junior roles.
This could be:
- A 30-minute weekly sync with each junior dev you're mentoring
- A bi-weekly "open office hour" for your entire team
- A shared document where people can drop non-urgent questions for your next 1-on-1
This approach reduces ad-hoc interruptions throughout the week. It also ensures that important, but non-urgent matters don't slip through the cracks.
Finally, take deep action.
Look, deep work is rare and invaluable for engineers. But it doesn't happen in isolation. Your work happens in the context of your team. So it’s only fair to say that teamwork makes deep work.
So, set aside time to plan when you'll communicate this to your team. We've given you the steps. Now, you have to take deep action to make these work for you.
In just a few weeks, you won't just feel the difference yourself—your whole team will feel it too :)
