Deep Work for Entrepreneurs: 5 Ways to Boost Productivity and Stop the Overwhelm

Deep Work for Entrepreneurs: 5 Ways to Boost Productivity and Stop the Overwhelm

Deep work — the ability to focus without distraction on cognitively demanding tasks — is how you get the right things done, not just more things done. And for entrepreneurs especially, it might be the most underused productivity tool you have.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• What deep work actually is and why Cal Newport's definition changes how you think about productivity
• Why your best thinking requires protecting yourself from your own to-do list
• How to set up the right environment for focused work (no hotel required)
• Why multitasking burns through your brain's capacity — and what to do instead
• The one-goal rule that makes deep work sessions actually productive
• How to recognize when your brain needs a break before it tanks your output

Key Topics Covered:

• What is deep work + why it matters for entrepreneurs (00:02:00)
• Tip 1: Be flexible about what you're working on (00:03:05)
• Tip 2: Set the right environment (00:04:00)
• Tip 3: Stop multitasking (00:05:00)
• Tip 4: Set one goal (00:06:00)
• Tip 5: Take breaks (00:07:15)
• Reset & Reclaim action step (00:08:52)

Reset & Reclaim Action Step: Block two hours for a focused work session on whatever strategic work you keep bumping down your list. Before you start, pick one goal — just one thing you want to have moved forward by the end of that block. Turn off notifications, close the extra tabs, and protect that time.

Resources Mentioned:

• The Productivity Rebellion (free monthly guide): carachace.com/productivity-rebellion
• Chaos Detox (weekly planning method): carachace.com/chaos-detox
• Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport

Connect with Cara:

• Website: carachace.com
• Instagram: @carachace
• Email: hello@carachace.com

Love this episode? Leave a review and help other exhausted entrepreneurs find the show.

The Social Media Burnout Cure drops fall 2026. Get on the launch list at socialmediaburnoutbook.com for first look at the introduction, pre-order info, and launch bonuses. 

Transcript

# (50) Deep Work for Entrepreneurs: 5 Ways to Boost Productivity and Stop the Overwhelm

[00:00:00] When was the last time you sat Still long enough to actually think, not plan, not organize, not check things off. Just think, welcome to Ditch the Chaos. I'm Cara Chace, and this is your space to figure out how to run your life in business without running yourself into the ground. Today, I am walking you through deep work, what it actually is, why it matters for your business in five ways to make it happen, even when your life doesn't naturally create the space for it.

[00:00:29] A couple of years ago, I did my annual business planning retreat, and it did not go the way I expected. Normally I go a full on beautiful mind in my hotel room post-its on the windows, mind maps everywhere, markers and highlighters, the whole deal. But this particular year I booked three nights instead of two, and it turns out I needed every bit of that extra time just to decompress, like stare out the window for hours, kind of decompress.

[00:00:59] [00:01:00] I was frustrated with myself. I kept waiting to feel ready to plan. It was my business planning retreat, and it took me until the second day to figure out what was actually going on. I didn't need to plan. I needed to think. I was in the middle of a big business pivot, not just a new chapter, but a whole new book.

[00:01:22] And what I really needed was to sit with the hard questions. Who do I want to serve? What do I actually want to offer? How am I going to talk about any of this with my audience? So that's what I did. I sat by the window with a blanket, a notebook, and a pen. I wrote and crossed out more taglines, and I can count, not a single post-it, not a single highlighter, not a single calendar.

[00:01:49] But I walked away from those three days knowing I had done the most important work I could possibly do for where my business was headed. That's deep work. The term Deep Work [00:02:00] comes from Cal Newport, who wrote a book called Deep Work Rules for Focus Success in a Distracted World. I picked it up when I was feeling frustrated and burned out by social media, and honestly, it was one of those reads where someone puts words to something that you've been feeling so deeply but you couldn't name.

[00:02:18] His definition of deep work is. Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task, it lets you master complicated information faster and produce better results in less time. It's the work that actually moves the needle, the thinking, the strategizing, the creating, as opposed to the endless stream of tasks that keep you busy, but don't get you anywhere.

[00:02:44] In short, deep work is how you get the right things done, not just more things done. And for entrepreneurs especially, this really matters because most of us are running so fast all the time just to keep up, that we never stop to ask whether we're running in the [00:03:00] right direction. So let's talk about how to actually make space for deep work.

[00:03:05] Here are the five things that help me get into deep work and stay there. Tip number one is be flexible. This sounds simple, but it's actually harder than it seems. Be flexible about what you are working on. I went into that retreat with a full agenda. I was going to map out the next year, plan my launches, build out my marketing calendar, instead, I ended up scrapping all of it and spent three days rewriting my business messaging from scratch. That wasn't the plan, but it was the most important thing I could have done. And here's what I learned. When you finally give yourself time and space to think sometimes what surfaces is the thing you've been avoiding, the more foundational, more uncomfortable, more necessary work that you keep pushing to the bottom of the list.

[00:03:54] So if you go into a deep work session with a plan and it becomes obvious pretty quickly that something else needs your [00:04:00] attention, follow that instinct. The agenda can wait. Tip number two is to set the right environment. Your environment matters more than you think. The reason I get outta the house for my retreat and specifically book the nicest room that I can afford with a lake view and a fireplace is that I'm a wife and a mom of littles at home.

[00:04:22] There's always something else that becomes a pressing priority, always. Getting out of your normal environment does something to your brain. It interrupts the autopilot you've been running on and gives you a little more room to actually think differently.

[00:04:36] Let you lift your head up and look around. Now, I wanna be clear, you don't have to go book a hotel for three days. But you do need to be intentional about creating time and space where you're unlikely to be interrupted in a place that feels calm to you, even a few hours somewhere that isn't your normal desk can make a difference.

[00:04:55] The most important thing isn't where you are. It's that you've set yourself [00:05:00] up to not be distracted. Which brings us to tip number three. Don't multitask. You have to stop multitasking, and I know you've heard this before. I've said it before, but stay with me because the reason it matters for deep work in particular is a little different than you might expect.

[00:05:18] Multitasking, or what sometimes is called context switching doesn't just slow you down and it actually burns through your cognitive capacity. It burns real calories. Your brain is working harder to manage the switching itself, which means you have less mental energy left for the actual thinking, and here's what that looks like in real life.

[00:05:39] Say you have 30 minutes before your next call or your next meeting, so you try to call a contractor, you skim LinkedIn and you work through your inbox all at the same time. You might feel productive, but you're probably leaving all three half done, 

[00:05:55] and now your brain is scattered with even more open loops.

[00:05:59] .

[00:05:59] [00:06:00] You need to be fully in the problem you're solving or what you're creating, not bouncing between it and five other things. And that leads us to tip four and why it's so important. Set one goal. Pick one goal for your deep work session, just one. There's this pressure, especially among entrepreneurs to come to a planning session with a list of 10 goals and get a detailed plan for every single one.

[00:06:26] And if you don't have that, somehow, you're just not serious enough or you haven't hustled hard enough. But here's what actually happens when you try to work towards 10 goals at once, you make shallow progress on all of them instead of real progress on any one of them. When I finally gave up on my original retreat agenda, I committed to one goal, frame out the messaging and offers for my new business.

[00:06:50] What did I want to do and for whom? That was it. Now achieving that one goal required a bunch of different work. Writing a brand script, [00:07:00] doing keyword research, deciding which offers were staying and which were going, figuring out what marketing channels really made sense for me and my audience. That was a lot to tackle in three and a half days, but every single piece of it served that one goal.

[00:07:15] So whether you have a full day or just a couple of hours, pick one thing you wanna walk away having moved forward on just one, and let that be enough. And tip number five finally is to take breaks. This one isn't optional, even though it can feel like it is when you're in the middle of something important.

[00:07:33] At some point during deep work, your brain just kind of grinds to a halt. You'll know you've hit that wall when your thoughts won't string together. Your output starts to feel like garbage, and you find yourself staring blankly at what you were just working on. Or you fall into a scroll hole. You click through tabs mindlessly checking social media with no memory of how you got there or what you were doing two minutes ago.

[00:07:56] That's your brain telling you it needs a break. I hit this [00:08:00] point almost every afternoon without fail. Some days I take a break and come back Other days, that's a signal to just call it for the day. Either way, I've stopped fighting it because I've learned that pushing through that wall doesn't produce better work, it produces worse work, and I usually have to redo it anyway.

[00:08:18] During my retreat, I took breaks with naps, spa appointments, long meals, and you don't need to do anything that fancy. You can do a walk, some food, a 20 minute rest, whatever actually recharges you. The point is to step away with intention so that when you come back from your break, you actually do the work.

[00:08:38] You cannot expect yourself to produce deep quality work for hours on end without stopping. Recognizing when you need to recharge isn't slacking off. It's part of the process of self-awareness. Now here's your reset and reclaim action. Step for the week.

[00:08:52] If you're not ready to book a retreat block just two hours for a focused work session on whatever's been sitting on your list. That [00:09:00] requires real thinking. No email, no admin, no scheduling. The strategic stuff. You keep bumping down your list before you start. Pick one goal, just one thing you wanna have, move forward by the end of that block.

[00:09:13] Turn off notifications, close those extra tabs and protect that time. That's it. Just one goal and one block to start. See what happens when you actually give your brain the space to work. If this episode resonated, I'd love to have you join the Productivity Rebellion.

[00:09:29] It's my free monthly guide for a woman who refused to choose between success and sanity. One email a month, you get one productivity strategy that fits your real chaotic life behind the scenes. Stories from my month, not Instagram, perfect advice, and the chance to ask me anything. I answer subscriber questions on the show.

[00:09:48] Think of it as your monthly reset when you're tired of holding everything together with duct tape and coffee. You can sign up for free at carachace.com/productivity rebellion. And [00:10:00] PS if you're ready to stop white knuckling your way through every single week. Check out Chaos Detox. It's a weekly planning method built for high achieving women.

[00:10:09] Learn more at carachace.com/chaos-detox.

[00:10:13] Thanks for listening. If this helped, please leave a review. It helps other women entrepreneurs find the show. I'm Cara Chace reminding you to keep questioning the rules and making your own.