Deep work, uninterrupted, highly focused time, is essential for writing high-quality code.
Collaboration, including meetings, code reviews, and brainstorming, is equally vital for successful software projects.
Common mistakes that hurt productivity include over-scheduling meetings, always being available, lack of clear boundaries, and poorly managed task priorities.
Practical strategies to balance deep work and collaboration include time blocking, async communication, meeting optimization, collaboration hours, and leveraging project management tools.