Beyond the Pager: Using Deep Work to Reduce DevOps Toil

DevOps engineers are constantly interrupted. Alerts, Slack messages, urgent requests, and the ever-present pager create a fragmented work environment where deep, focused work becomes nearly impossible.

But what if we could carve out time for the kind of concentrated effort that actually prevents fires instead of just fighting them?

The Problem with Constant Interruption

In most DevOps environments, engineers operate in reactive mode. The day starts with checking alerts, responding to overnight incidents, and jumping between urgent requests. This constant context switching makes it difficult to work on the foundational improvements that would reduce future toil.

The result? We’re always busy but never making progress on the work that matters most: automation, monitoring improvements, infrastructure optimization, and documentation.

What is Deep Work?

Photo by Romain Vignes on Unsplash

Deep Work, a concept popularized by Cal Newport, refers to the ability to focus without distraction on cognitively demanding tasks. For DevOps engineers, this means:

• Writing comprehensive automation scripts
• Designing robust monitoring systems
• Refactoring infrastructure code
• Creating detailed runbooks and documentation
• Analyzing system performance patterns

These activities require sustained concentration and are exactly the kind of work that gets pushed aside when we’re in constant firefighting mode.

Implementing Deep Work in DevOps

1. Time Blocking

Reserve specific blocks of time for deep work. This might be:

• Early morning hours before the team comes online
• Late afternoon when urgent requests typically slow down
• Dedicated “focus time” that the team agrees to protect

2. Rotation Systems

Implement on-call rotations that include dedicated deep work time:

• Primary on-call handles immediate issues
• Secondary on-call works on preventive measures
• Off-call engineers focus on strategic improvements

3. Batch Processing

Instead of responding to every request immediately:

• Set specific times for checking and responding to messages
• Batch similar tasks together
• Use automation to handle routine requests

4. Environment Design

Create a workspace conducive to deep work:

• Turn off non-critical notifications
• Use noise-canceling headphones
• Work from a quiet location when possible
• Keep a notebook for capturing interrupting thoughts

The Compound Effect

The benefits of deep work in DevOps compound over time:

Week 1: You write a comprehensive monitoring script during a 2-hour focused session Week 2: That script catches an issue before it becomes an outage Month 1: You’ve automated three manual processes, saving hours each week Month 3: Your team’s incident rate has dropped by 40%

Each deep work session creates tools, processes, and knowledge that reduce future toil.

Making It Sustainable

Deep work isn’t about working more hours—it’s about working more effectively:

• Start with just 1-2 hours of protected time per day
• Communicate boundaries clearly with your team
• Track the impact of your deep work projects
• Celebrate wins when automation prevents incidents

Conclusion

The pager will always be part of DevOps, but it doesn’t have to define our entire workday. By implementing deep work practices, we can shift from purely reactive to proactive, building the systems and processes that make our infrastructure more reliable and our lives more sustainable.

The next time you’re tempted to immediately respond to that non-urgent Slack message, ask yourself: “What could I build in the next two hours that would prevent ten future interruptions?”

That’s the power of deep work in DevOps.

Also available on Medium