Practicing Depth - UX Scotland 2019

UX Scotland 2019 Simon Duncan
Conference Presenter
Practicing
depth

Work is a major
part of life.

Control of
consciousness
determines the
quality of life.”
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
“

Scott Logic

Depth

Deep Work
Cal Newport

We work in an
information based
economy

Not physical
goods

Generate, solve,
and apply
knowledge-based
information

400mb

400mb to 2tb

400mb to 2tb
Or, an increase of
thousands

We’re in the thick
of it.

Designers need to
do a lot.

Designers need to
do a lot.
And we need to do
it quickly.

Definition of
‘Deep Work’

Professional activities
performed in a state of
distraction-free
concentration that push
your cognitive capabilities
to their limit…
“
Cal Newport

…These eﬀorts create
new value, improve
your skills, and are
hard to replicate.”
Cal Newport

Not just to your
vocational benefit

Psychological
Benefits

ESM

Experience
Sampling Method

Flow

Work can be
easier to enjoy
than free-time.

Philosophical
Benefits

Sacredness

Craft

Craft takes expert
manipulation of
materials. What comes
with it is an ethereal
sacred quality…
“
Cal Newport

…The intangible act of craft
is something to be viewed
as sacred, irrespective of
who is conducting it, or
what form it takes. So long
as it is expertly crafted.”
Cal Newport

Work can be
special.

“A rock pile ceases to be a
rock pile the moment a
single human contemplates
it, bearing within them the
image of a cathedral”
Antoine de Saint Exupéry

What we do as UX
Designers is
special.

Flow, sacredness

How is it
achieved?

Deep work =
(Time spent) * (Intensity of focus)

Simple enough?

Many
environments do
their best to
deter depth.

Hypothetical day

What’s happenin’

Skype messages

Teams messages

This is before
personal stuﬀ

Context switching.

Day is hacked and
slashed at.

Death by 30
minute slivers

No depth

No flow

No sacredness

:(

Multitasking

Humans are
monochronic’‘

Gloria Mark

More stress. More
frustration.

Trouble is far-
reaching.

A lack of depth
conditions people
for the shallow.

People become
comfortable in the
shallows.

Busyness
becomes a proxy
for productivity.

Visibility

Industrial era

Several people are
typing…

How is depth
achieved given all
of those real
problems?

I’ll just focus
more.

Focus is a
muscle, not
a switch.

How do I get
shredded?

Scholars and
isolation

You don’t have to
become an
intellectual
hermit.

North Star

4 disciplines
of execution

No. 1
Identify the wildly
important.

No. 2
Act on lead
measures

No. 2
Lead vs. lag

Lag
I want to get better
at After Eﬀects

Lead
Time I spend in After
Eﬀects learning

Lead
Time I spend in
After Eﬀects learning

Lag
I want to be better
at focusing.

Lead
Time I spend
practising depth.

No. 3
Keep a scorecard

No. 3

No. 4
Be accountable

No. 4
Fortnightly retros

No. 4
Have a spotter

Additional
strategies

Embrace the
wildly important

Drain the
shallows

Embrace
boredom

We’ve forgotten
how to be bored.

Waiting at the
cafe?

Waiting for your
chihuahua to find
a suitable spot to
relieve herself?

Listening to
someone go on
about depth to you
at a conference?

Conditioning
ourselves for
shallowness

Observation
opportunities

Quit meaningless
media

Any value isn’t
enough

Evaluate like a
craftsperson

Instagram
for me

In the workplace

Habit-based

Consistency,
rhythm

Start-up
rituals

Meditation

Unplug
Meditation Guidelines

Some guidelines:

1. What’s the problem I’m
attempting to solve?
2. What’s a potential
solution for it?
What are my next steps to
solving it?

1. What’s the problem I’m
attempting to solve?
2. What’s a potential
solution for it?
3. What are my next steps
to solving it?

If you wander,
bring it back in

When you make it
to your place of
work, it’s time to

Schedule

Limits to our deep
work

Aim for about 4
hours a day

Midnight oil is
overrated

Working 40 hours a week is
plenty. Plenty of time to do
great work. Plenty of time
to be competitive. Plenty of
time to get the important
stuﬀ done.”
Jason Fried
“

Leaves room for
Tasks

Redrawing

Do-not-
disturb

IM

IM, Phone

IM, Phone, Email

Lots of £ has gone
into grabbing your
attention

Better
meetings

Set an agenda

Set the company-
wide precedent

Be respectful -
schedule enough
in advance to fit
with people’s time

IM & Email

Oh boy…

It’s okay to not
respond
immediately

It’s okay

EVERYONE IS
TYPING SOMETHING
SUPER IMPORTANT
OMG OMG OMG OMG

Context is key

Open
oﬀices

Do unto others

Noise cancelling

Library days

Collaborating

Not about being
an isolationist

Flow can happen
in groups

Whiteboarding
eﬀect

Lockstep

Shut-down
rituals

Keep track of
ongoing items

Well worth the
extra 10-15
minutes

Say something,
Pavlov

Boundaries

Turn it oﬀ

Don’t check
InVision out of
hours

Leisure

Day within a day

Need something
high quality

Can’t be keto 50%
of the time

Not anti-
technology

Expect more.

How do I
achieve flow,
sacredness?

Thank you

Now, an
opportunity

Practicing Depth - UX Scotland 2019

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