Book Report: Deep Work by Cal Newport

The deep life

The ability to focus is a powerful skill. Especially in modern times, where various applications always seem to try to attract, divert and sell our attention to the highest bidder.

Recently, I’ve been thinking more and more about creativity and methods to increase my productivity. Why, despite my inner need and longing for bringing new ideas into reality, things have been moving so dreadfully slow?

The answer to this question is quite simple. The solution is not.

I’ve been swallowed whole by daily routine tasks. Always checking what is happening on Slack, replying to emails, reading the latest news or tech articles, or attending meetings during which I had little to say nor cared enough about what was being said. As a result, I was not making tangible progress in projects that mattered. Those were supposed to be the central points of my attention.

“Shallow work stops you from getting fired, but deep work is what gets you promoted.” - Cal Newport

Having my initial diagnosis, I then turned to books and articles on the topic of time management to find a solution. The one that impressed me the most, was Deep Work by Cal Newport. Written clearly and concisely, it describes the concept of deep work - an ability to concentrate on a cognitively difficult task without distractions. This allows you to achieve better results in a shorter time and what’s most important, creates a sense of fulfillment from completing your goals.

Let’s compare the deep work and shallow work essence.

Deep Work: “Professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that pushes your cognitive capabilities to their limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skill, and are hard to replicate.”

Shallow Work: “Non-cognitively demanding, logistical-style tasks often performed while distracted. These efforts tend to not create much new value in the world and are easy to replicate.”

What’s also valuable in the book itself to me, is that it is free from any cheap philosophies or coaching, which is common even in the highest-rated classics on managing yourself.

After completing the book, I’ve started to implement the techniques I’ve learned. Apart from the actual mental exercise of focusing on one complex task at a time, even the tiniest changes in my routines and work setup brought measurable effects. I already opted out of social media some time ago, but some of the redeemed time was still going to undesirable places. The list of tiny optimizations included:

• getting rid of the Google Chrome Gmail plugin. You don’t need to know that you got mail this instance. Limit the time to check your mailbox to once per day,
• closing the slack app or Outlook entirely, when I need a longer span of focus,
• closing the browser entirely as well, and only opening it when it’s needed for research.

This allows me to keep a laser focus on the tasks, that in the long term bring the most value. The ones that will bring satisfaction to your life.

Post Scriptum

One last great thing that came after reading Cal’s Newport book, is that I started to look for quality music for concentration. I don’t always like listening to music while doing long stretches of work, but there are certain pieces, that induce a stake of flow, zen, or whatever you want to call it. That’s how I have found this gem.

“Don’t take break from distractions. Instead, take breaks from focus” - Cal Newport