Daily Creative with Todd Henry

How To Plan A "Cave Day" To Get Work Done


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What do you do when you have a ton of important creative work to do, and are feeling stressed about your ability to get it done? My solution is to plan a "cave day", which is basically a block of time dedicated to doing deep work. On this episode, I share a few best practices for planning and executing a "cave day", then we interview Molly Sonteng, co-founder of CaveDay.org, about what she's learned from leading group work sessions.

Why should you intentionally go "into the cave"?

  • You have time dedicated to what matters most
  • So much of our stress is not knowing when and how the work will get done
  • You eliminate the possibility of the tyranny of the urgent
  • You psychologically orient yourself toward your biggest priorities
  • You perform better when your mind is able to connect dots
  • Your creative intuition and your senses are honed when you are doing "deep work"
  • You notice nuances that you overlook when you are distracted
  • You channel your resources like a river

How to go "into the cave":

  • Literally make your space like a cave
  • Low lighting
  • Immersive sound
  • Sensory deprivation
  • Have a cave-entering ritual
  • Light a candle or play some music
  • Re-affirm your objectives

Set a time limit.

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Daily Creative with Todd HenryBy Todd Henry

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