The Worth of Deep Work
It’s not a new book, but Deep Work by Cal Newport was only recently brought to my attention. I have my own history with this phrase and was intrigued by the description so put it front and center on my reading list. I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads- it really struck me, to the point that I took careful notes after completing it and made the decision to put a few words about it here.
Throughout the book, the author nails some concepts that apply to how I work and live. For example, needing to be entertained instead of just bored, or just waiting, or just, anything really. This trains the mind to not accept these moments, crucially, when we are trying to get important things done. I also appreciated the efforts that Mr Newport made on trying to relate to how the majority of information and creative workers actually work (e.g. the challenges of open offices), and I suspect he added copiously to his blog and podcast on the opportunities and challenges that arise from working from home.
Some standout tips for me included:
- Break from focus rather than distraction to train for concentration. There’s more to being bored than meets the eye.
- Practice productive meditation on sticky work questions. Find times that you deem as ‘mindless’ and apply structured deep thinking around them instead.
- Quantify your shallow work budget and be ruthless about sticking to it. This shakes things up (for the better) when you explain it to your manager and can create a radical change for the self-employed.
For anyone who finds themselves challenged by distraction at work and especially in situations when you know you could be producing at a much higher level, I wholeheartedly recommend reading this book and putting some, if not most, of the tools and rules to work for you. Many of the insights can also be applied to life outside of work.
All that said, the book isn’t perfect. Mr Newport relies heavily on his own experience and included the experience of others that were often unrelatable or in some cases, downright distasteful (think Donald Trump and Bill Gates). I found this book encouraging in its quiet disdain of traditional leadership, so using examples like these is uninspired at best and lazy at worst.
Other aspects about how we work and what affects output are missing. You will have your own but here are a few of mine.
- Structure — Every example that Mr Newport points to is an example of privilege. These people do utilize deep work principles, however they all come from a place of privilege to arrive at their spot and then use it to maintain their ability to continue with it. This could be remedied by using examples of average people who overcome disempowerment through these technologies.
- Relationships — For many office dwellers, relationships are key. Besides a bit of gloating over his own happy family and friendships, Mr Newport does not take this into account aside from one section where he speaks of the benefit of working with others for deep inspiration and challenge. There is more, much more, to our working relationships than that. One quick glance at the hot soft skills that businesses are keen on will give some clues. And post-2020, even people who were adept at relationship management will have to start anew. Work relationships can be difficult to quantify- precisely because many are invaluable.
- Spirit — Finally, there is the question of spirit. What is the meaning of work, beyond the paycheck? Beyond tenure? Is it possible to find meaning in coding? What if you have a bullshit job? Meaning isn’t just about being able to think deeply and focus on a matter. If you aren’t passionate about what you’re doing, if you don’t believe it’s doing anything than driving profit, how do you find meaning? While this will never apply to everyone, there are always seekers who are looking for meaning across their lives. Mr Newport’s rules and tools can easily be applied here, but he hasn’t thought to include this.
I have had the idea of creating “deep work” spaces, but I lack the capital. I picture these running similar to co-working spaces, but they are solely for people to get inspired and DO deep work. I am sure someone will snap this up as there just aren’t many practical spaces to turn to for getting work done in a quiet, distraction-free environment.
Overall, there are many practical insights and tips that can help many people produce to their best. If you’re curious about it, then it’s for you.
