What is Caveday?
And why should it be part of your focus toolkit?
If you’ve been reading content on Iterate for a while, you’ve likely seen me mention Caveday before. You still may not be entirely clear on what Caveday is or if it’s something that will help your productivity. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for me to share this Medium post from last year that gives a bit more context on why deep-work sessions with Caveday have been such a game changer for me.
I also wanted to let you know that I lead 3-hour long dedicated work sessions every Friday at 10:30 am Pacific/1:30 pm Eastern time. If you find yourself looking for ways to minimize distraction and want to be more productive with your time, I’d love to see you join me for a cave!
Over the past year, I’ve been using a new tool in my focus toolkit. It’s been something that has allowed me to get more deep work done with fewer distractions. It’s also allowed me to connect with a community of like-minded folks who are working on important projects that benefit from chunks of uninterrupted focus.
Today I want to tell you about Caveday. What is it? How does it work? And why should you be using it to boost your productivity and mindfulness?
What is Caveday?
Caveday is a company born out of the necessity to accomplish more in less time by monotasking. The three co-founders started the project as a way to encourage deep work sessions to accomplish those big, scary projects that have been hanging out on your to-do list for far too long. Like most things, this experience moved from the physical world to the digital world in the form of focused Zoom sessions that they call “caves”.
A Caveday cave consists of one 1-hour sprint of concentrated work. They also offer 3-hour caves that are composed of three sprints with short breaks in between. Whether you’re in the short or long cave, the goal is the same. You want to choose one (or possibly two) tasks to complete within each sprint and push aside all other distractions.
That means muting notifications on your computer. Closing all unnecessary browser tabs or apps. And maybe most importantly, silencing, turning off, or putting away your phone so it doesn’t tempt you during your concentrated work sessions. Easier said than done for some people right?
How Does it Work?
You’re able to signup for a time slot on the Caveday website. You’ll be able to try out your first Cave for free then decide if you’d like to pay per cave or become a member for a monthly fee. They really do make the onboarding process super simple. Once you’ve chosen the time of your cave, you’ll receive reminders beforehand to make sure you don’t miss it.
When the time rolls around, you’ll join the Zoom link they provide and you’re in! You’ll be joined by fellow cave dwellers and your intrepid cave guide (full disclosure — I also lead caves and it’s really fun!) who will lead you on your journey. You can have your camera on or off. It really helps the sense of community when you’re able to see everyone else who is joining. You may all be working on different things, but you’re uniting together in the name of focus! There is a comforting sense of community and accountability in this. You feel compelled to honor this time slot and not let down your fellow folks in the cave.
The Cave
The cave guide will kick things off and tell everyone a bit about how the cave will work. They’ll also invite people to share their first names, locations, and what they’re working on today. This may occur in the chat or optional Zoom breakout rooms. It’s short and sweet, but a great way to quickly connect with other people in the cave.
And from there, you are let loose to start working in the cave! You’ll go into deep work mode and eliminate all other distractions. You may be listening to music or whatever type of audio that helps get you into a flow state. Some may choose to keep the Zoom window front and center to see your fellow workers in the cave. There is a comforting feeling when you see other people working as hard as you are.
You’ll get lost in your work and hopefully lose track of time until the cave guide sounds the chime that the work session has come to an end. If you’re in a 3-sprint cave, you’ll take a short break before getting back to work. If it’s only a 1-hour cave, you’ll leave the Zoom meeting hopefully feeling refreshed and accomplished. And if you’re anything like me or the many other satisfied cave dwellers, you’ll have one less big scary thing on your to-do list.
Should you try it?
Yes, the cave may feel uncomfortable at first, but that’s the point. In order to really overcome our limitations, we often need to get outside of our comfort zones. You can say that you’re going to complete a task this afternoon. You can also sign up for a 3-hour cave at 2 pm where you’ll have no distractions and you’ll work only on your one important task. Which one of those scenarios is more likely to yield successful results?
Caveday is the perfect focus tool for the modern way that we work. Maybe you’re working remotely and feel a lack of connection to your co-workers. Caveday gives you that sense of community even with people who are working on totally different projects. Perhaps you’re trying to get better at eliminating distractions to do more deep work rather than shallow, interrupted work. Caveday gives you that friendly peer pressure to help you turn off your phone without freaking out with FOMO.
If you find yourself struggling with any of these things, Caveday could be the perfect solution. Anyone out there already using Caveday? I encourage you to signup for a free cave and let me know what you think of the experience.
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!