Just like many years ago, fireworks are going off all over the world. People welcomed the new year with new resolutions and new goals. I’m sure someone somewhere said, “2026 will be that year.”
Then January happened.
As the weeks pass, the end of the month approaches. And for those involved in ML research, late January is a very special time. It’s deadline season. When ICML occurs, the mild year-end downtime of empty offices and long periods of silence in your inbox suddenly turns into 110% energy.
From slow days to sprinting days, it’s a stark contrast. But perhaps the contrast is not a drawback, but part of the rhythm? After proper recharging, a person can return to a stronger and more energetic state.
As I (belated) look back at January, I see three themes that belong together: deadlines, downtime, and flow time. The first two are obvious. The third one is somewhere in between the two and consists of long hours of intensive work. Something is so challenging that it requires concentration and you can keep doing it for hours.
deadline
Deadlines come in all sizes and in all areas.
In your personal life, there may be deadlines such as insurance claims, interest payments, or formal letters that should not be ignored for too long. At work, project milestones, feature releases, and for researchers, paper deadlines are important.
If there is no final moment, nothing will end.
We all know the downsides of stress, and chronic stress is certainly not good. But over the years I’ve realized that it’s pointed dose Reducing stress within a limited amount of time can be good. To me, these deadlines are essentially a mechanism for producing that dose. Suddenly everything else pales in comparison because you have to do this one thing now.
Oddly enough, that’s why I often enjoy approaching deadlines. It’s not because I like panic. But I like the transparency. Deadlines create different priorities than normal days.
Day-to-day ML work often feels like things are happening more sequentially, with experiments being run on a cluster, pipelines being adjusted, and bugs being fixed. There are no big dramatic finish lines, just small accidents. However, in some cases you may need to ship your pipeline. I need to add functionality. Ratings must be stable. And for a moment, the whole team freezes. Less chatter, fewer side quests, more collaboration. Deadlines can be stressful, but they keep you focused.
After all, what if there were no deadlines in life? Don’t worry, create something small. Weekly internal deadlines for prototypes. The deadline for ablation sets is Friday. Something that forces clarity without exhausting you.
downtime
After the deadline is before the deadline.
Yes, yes. But first, some downtime.
After the stressful phase, It’s really good to do nothing for a while. At the very least, you have to do less or do things more slowly. After a stressful year, it’s good to take a long vacation to recharge your batteries.
If you’re tracking hours worked and tallying overtime pay, this is the perfect time to use it. Even if you don’t track your time, it’s a good idea to take a day or two of paid time off to balance your intensity. Or quit your job early. It’s not laziness. This is so that you can continue doing what you love for a long time.
I used to underestimate downtime because it felt unproductive. you do nothing. But that’s the point. Downtime is productive, but downtime has a different currency called . Preparation for the future. Regain your concentration later. You can prevent gradual decline, where you keep working but your attention span decreases, your patience shortens, and you need more effort to achieve the same results.
That’s why it’s a good idea to plan your downtime like you would your workday. I’ll put it on my calendar. Especially after strenuous stretches. If you wait until you feel like it, you may not feel like you’ve gained anything.
flow time
These three ideas are connected.
If you miss the deadline, you have earned downtime. Then, once you’ve recovered, you’ll return with renewed energy for new projects. This will help you meet your next deadline. and so on.
But what’s interesting is what happens between Downtime and deadlines: flow time.
Flow time is when you’re doing something challenging enough that it really requires your concentration, and then you’re doing it for so long that it’s mentally exhausting. completely Enter the task.
I learned that good jobs can come from that.
Flow time comes in many forms. Sometimes it’s the implementation of features (adding attention mechanisms, handling missing values properly, getting proper ratings, carefully integrating “agent” principles rather than adding them, etc.). Or it may be about moving the project as a whole forward, such as steadily moving towards a submission deadline. Either way, achieving flow requires one thing that modern work life often confronts. It’s uninterrupted time.
The concept of flow was created by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyiand it represents exactly that sweet spot: high engagement, high concentration, and low self-consciousness. Don’t “try” to concentrate. Concentration happens as a side effect of being in the right zone.
and when you are in the flowthings get done.
Therefore, we explicitly protect the flow time. Create a blocker that repeats regularly for several hours. Turn off message notifications (or close the application completely). Make one task the only task. Even just one or two flow blocks a week can make a difference in how much you accomplish and how fulfilling your work feels.
lastly
January reminded us that a good work rhythm doesn’t mean trying hard all the time.
it’s about working in cycles
- deadline Prioritize and focus.
- downtime Restore your energy and prevent slow burnout.
- flow time To do meaningful work.
For the rest of this year, I’m going to treat this as an intentional loop. In other words, earn your downtime, use your downtime, and then invest in your flow. Then, let the deadline do its job and get things done.
