Caveday and the Science of Focus
A research-based approach to getting things done boomed during the pandemic. Here's what it tells us about the future of work.
I was thrilled to see Caveday featured last week in the New York Times. The program has transformed my approach to creative projects.
Caveday provides virtual co-working spaces known as “caves.” A Caveday session is a one-hour or three-hour guided focus session. The methodology is designed around research-based protocols to help people get things done.
It’s popular with freelancers, entrepreneurs, and creative professionals seeking structure and accountability. It’s used by thousands of people in over 40 countries. Membership has grown 2,000 percent since the pandemic began.
[Note: This is not a sponsored post. I’m just a fan of Caveday and its mission.]
Social facilitation and body doubling
How to explain Caveday’s success? With the rise of remote work, people miss the feeling of accountability that comes from being observed by others while at work.
Social facilitation is a psychological concept relating to the tendency for the presence of others to improve a person’s performance on a task. We’re often more motivated and productive when we’re around other people doing work, whether it’s a co-working space or a gym.
This can be particularly helpful for those with ADHD. Psychologists refer to a concept called body doubling that’s been shown to be helpful for people with ADHD. Simply having another person around while you work on a task can help you get started, stay focused, and finish the task.
I attended one of the first Caveday sessions in 2017. Back then it was done in person, at a co-working space in Tribeca (they’re all done virtually now on Zoom). When I walked into the space, I was asked to check my phone at the door. This simple act—letting go of my phone—had a profound impact on my ability to focus.
I gathered in a circle with the other participants. Each person shared what they were working on: Writing an article, creating a business plan, making an art project.
We worked for hour-long sprints with short breaks for stretching, movement or creative exercises. Coaches were available for guided meditation, mind-mapping exercises and brainstorming.
At the end of the day, we gathered again to check in and share our progress.
The guiding principles of Caveday: Come with an intention—focus on one project. Don’t task-switch. Finish the draft. Don’t worry about the first one being perfect.
Each Caveday session has a facilitator who starts off the session with rituals to help get you in the mindset to focus. There are breakout sessions with other people from the group to share what you’re working on and provide accountability.
It’s a simple but powerful twist on the traditional co-working arrangement—setting intentions upfront and knowing you’re sharing later makes a real impact.
Programs like Caveday can be a valuable source of community, helping combat loneliness stemming from work-from-home routines.
Co-founder Jeremy Redleaf compares Caveday to SoulCycle, which combines elements of wellness with fitness. It’s more fun to do hard work around other motivated people.
People who sign up for Caveday pay a monthly fee of $39.99 (discounts are available for students, social good, and financial need).
Lessons from the cave
Here are the top lessons about focus and productivity I’ve learned from Caveday:
1. Don’t task switch
Caveday encourages members to monotask—focus on only one task or project at a time. Research shows multitasking and task switching can have detrimental effects on productivity. When we jump from task to task, we aren’t really getting more done. In actuality, we're forcing our brains to constantly switch gears, working harder to do things at a lower level of quality and exhausting our mental reserves.
To perform a challenging task optimally, you need to reach a state of flow, where you give your complete attention to one activity. Studies have shown that it takes around 15 minutes of uninterrupted work on the task to reach this state. This is why context switching can keep you from being truly efficient. It reduces concentration and lowers the quality of your overall work by stopping you from reaching an optimal state of focus.
2. Have accountability partners
We’re more likely to accomplish our goals when we have partners who coach each other to keep our commitments. It’s the principle behind the 8-week challenge I did recently at my fitness studio. It’s why I love doing writers groups, where every week we share our progress and give each other feedback.
Being a writer or entrepreneur is often a lonely, solitary endeavor. It can help to surround ourselves with accountability partners to keep us on track. These can be friends, co-workers, or members of online communities like Caveday.
3. Move, sing, laugh
When I did an in-person Caveday session, after each work sprint we took five-minute breaks to move our bodies. Our facilitators had us stretch, shake and dance. Sometimes they had us sing or do laughing exercises. Research has shown these exercises are correlated with improved mood and focus.
The New York Times recently ran a story called “The Joy Workout: Six Research-Backed Moves to Improve Your Mood.” When people do these kinds of movements—reach, sway, bounce—they report more positive emotions. The effects of so-called joy moves are stronger when you can see someone else doing the movements, too—in part because happiness is contagious.
4. Do the deep work
Focus on the big goals, not the easy stuff. We need to eliminate distractions so we can pursue the things that are most valuable to our success.
One of the foundational texts for Caveday is a book called Deep Work by Cal Newport. Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It’s a skill that allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce better results in less time.
Newport presents a four-part system for transforming your mind and habits to support this skill:
Work on the wildly important goals, the ones you’ve been dreaming about for years
Focus on your inputs, like the time spent in a state of deep work dedicated toward your wildly important goal, rather than outputs
Keep a scoreboard, a visible tracking system to keep yourself honest
Create a cadence of accountability to keep yourself moving toward your goals, whether it’s a weekly or monthly review
5. Overcome the resistance
One of my favorite books on the creative process is The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. The book highlights the forms of resistance faced by artists, entrepreneurs, athletes, and others who are trying to break through creative barriers.
Pressfield defines resistance as anything that keeps us from sitting down and doing our best work: “Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.” Programs like Caveday that provide structure and accountability can help people overcome the resistance and achieve their goals.
6. Lock up your phone
I realized: I can’t get into a flow state when I’m distracted by my phone. The Cal Newport book Digital Minimalism highlights the challenges of tech addiction—and what we miss out on when we spend hours scrolling through endless social media feeds.
Some ways to take back control of our time: Embrace solitude. Take long walks. Leave your phone at home. Write letters to yourself (journaling). Turn off notifications. Set your phone to do-not-disturb.
Newport recommends we prioritize demanding leisure activity over passive media consumption. Build stuff. Embrace hobbies like carpentry or gardening. Playing musical instruments with friends.
It’s in our DNA as humans to learn new skills and produce valuable things in the physical world:
“Humans have the need to put their hands on tools and to make things, in order to feel whole.”
After reading this book, I bought a timed iPhone lockbox ($30 on Amazon). I use it to put away my phone for 1-2 hours at a time so I can focus on deep work. It took some getting used to, but now it’s a regular part of my workday.
I cherish these phone-free working sessions. With no phone to distract me, it’s easier to get into a flow state.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Would you try a virtual co-working space like Caveday? What are your favorite ways to stay focused?
Thank you for reading this week’s edition of Vitamin Z.
Until next time,
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Love this breakdown, Daniel! If you like Caveday, you should check out Groove (https://links.groove.ooo/substack) I'm biased since I'm on Groove's team ;) but I'd use it all the time even if I wasn't.
Pretty similar concept, but Groove is free, the groups are only up to 4 people, and you're off video and sound after the initial check-in until the regroup. We like to say it's a way to get sh*t done the fun way. Would love to see you on a Groove!