because the years before: fireworks across the globe. People greeted the brand new 12 months with latest resolutions and latest goals. Someone, somewhere, surely said: “2026 goes to be THE 12 months.”
Then January happened.
Because the weeks went on, the tip of the month got here closer. And for people in ML research, late January has a really specific flavor: it’s deadline season. The ICML rolls around, and suddenly the calm end-of-year downtime — when offices were empty and inboxes were quiet for long times— turns into 110% energy.
That’s a stark contrast: from slow days to sprint days. But perhaps that contrast will not be a flaw, but a part of the rhythm? After a correct recharge, people can come back stronger, filled with energy.
Looking back (delayed) on January, I discovered three themes that belong together: deadlines, downtimes, and flow times. The primary two are obvious. The third falls in between the 2 and consists of long stretches of focused work; where something is just difficult enough to require concentration, and you’ll be able to stick with it for hours.
Deadlines
Deadlines are available in all sizes, and in all areas.
In private life, it is perhaps the deadline for an insurance claim, an interest payment, or some official letter that you just really mustn’t ignore for too long. In work life, it’s project milestones, feature releases, and — for researchers — paper deadlines.
Everyone knows the downsides of stress, and yes, chronic stress is bad. But, over time, I’ve come to understand that a of stress, over limited time, may be good. For me, those deadlines are essentially a mechanism to create that dose. Suddenly, every part else pales as compared because this one thing have to be done — now.
That’s also why, somewhat strangely, I often enjoy getting closer to deadlines. Not because I just like the panic. But because I just like the clarity. A deadline creates priorities in a way that ordinary days don’t.
In each day ML work, things often feel more continuous: experiments run on the cluster, pipelines are adjusted, bugs are fixed. No big dramatic finish line, only minor mishaps. But infrequently, the pipeline has to ship. A feature must be added. An evaluation must be stable. After which, briefly, the entire team locks in. Less chatter, fewer side quests, more alignment. Deadlines may be stressful — but they offer you focus.
Seems, what if you happen to don’t have deadlines in your life? No worries, create small ones. A weekly internal deadline for a prototype. A Friday cutoff for an ablation set. Something that forces clarity without burning you out.
Downtimes
After the deadline is before the deadline.
Yes yes. But, first, a downtime.
After a stressful phase, it’s genuinely good to do nothing for some time. Or a minimum of, to do less, or to do things slower. After a stressful 12 months, it’s good to take an prolonged break and recharge the batteries.
When you track time at work and collect additional time, that is the right moment to make use of it. When you don’t track time, taking one paid time off — or two — to balance the intensity continues to be an excellent idea. Or, leave work earlier: it’s not laziness. It’s ensuring you’ll be able to do the stuff you enjoy for very long time.
I used to underestimate downtime because it could actually feel unproductive, But that’s the purpose: downtime is productive, nevertheless it uses a unique currency, called It restores your ability to focus later. It prevents the slow decline where you retain working but your attention gets worse, your patience gets shorter, and also you start needing more effort for a similar output.
That’s why I like to recommend planning downtime like worktime. Put it on the calendar. Especially after intense stretches. When you “wait until you are feeling prefer it,” you may never feel such as you’ve earned it.
Flow times
These three ideas are connected.
After the deadline, you could have earned your downtime. Then, once recovered, you come back with latest energy for brand spanking new projects — which helps you reach the following deadline. And so forth.
However the interesting part is what happens downtime and deadline: the flow time.
Flow time is whenever you’re working on something that’s just difficult enough to require real concentration, and you then stick with it long enough that your mind fully enters the duty.
I discovered that’s where good work happens.
Flow time comes in numerous shapes: it is perhaps implementing a feature (adding attention mechanisms, handling missing values properly, getting evaluation right, integrating some “agentic” principle fastidiously, somewhat than slapping it on). Or it is perhaps moving an entire project forward, just like the regular march toward a submission deadline. Either way, flow requires one thing that modern work life often attacks: uninterrupted time.
The concept of flow was coined by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, and it describes exactly that sweet spot: high engagement, high focus, low self-consciousness. You don’t “try” to pay attention; concentration happens as a side effect of being in the correct zone.
And whenever you’re , things get done.
Thus, protect flow time explicitly. Make a frequently recurring blocker for just a few hours. Turn of messaging notifications (or close applications entirely). Make one task the one task. Even one or two flow blocks per week can change how much you get done — and the way fulfilling the work feels.
Closing thoughts
January jogged my memory that an excellent work rhythm will not be about at all times pushing hard.
It’s about working in cycles
- Deadlines for priorities and create focus.
- Downtimes to revive energy and forestall slow burnout.
- Flow times to make meaningful work.
For the remaining of the 12 months, I’m attempting to treat this as a deliberate loop: earn the downtime, use the downtime, then put money into flow — and let deadlines do what they’re meant to do: bring things to completion.
