I have always thought of myself as busy and productive. Juggling so many things at once and feeling good about my results. However, I have always dreamed of working less and achieving more. So I decided to rectify this? Unknown to me I had been involved in what Cal Newport describes as shallow work.
Cal Newport, in his book, Deep Work describes shallow work as non-cognitively demanding, logistical-style tasks, often performed while answering calls, doing social media, and returning emails. This form of work provides no new value and it is easily replicated.
He describes deep work as professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that pushes your cognitive capabilities to their limit. This form of work provides value and is not easily replicated.
He further argues that Deep work is valuable and meaningful.
How is deep work valuable?
Deep work as a skill has great value today for the following 2 reasons.
The first has to do with learning. We have an information economy that’s dependent on systems that change rapidly. To remain valuable in our economy, therefore, you must master the art of quickly learning complicated things. This task requires deep work. If you don’t cultivate this ability, you’re likely to fall behind as technology advances.
The second reason that deep work is valuable is that the impacts of the digital network revolution cut both ways. If you can create something useful, its reachable audience is essentially limitless—which greatly magnifies your reward. On the other hand, if what you’re producing is mediocre, then you’re in trouble, as it’s too easy for your audience to find a better alternative online.
In order to succeed you have to produce the absolute best stuff, you’re capable of producing—a task that requires depth.
Deep Work is meaningful
Deep work is meaningful because it focuses our attention. This flies in the face of conventional wisdom which is that most people assume (and still do) that relaxation makes them happy.
The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile. Csikszentmihalyi calls this mental state flow. The irony is that jobs are actually easier to enjoy than free time because like flow activities they have built-in goals, feedback rules, and challenges, all of which encourage one to become involved in one’s work, to concentrate, and lose oneself in it.
Practical Insights to develop Deep work
So now that we understand the value of Deep work, how do we apply it in our lives? How do we, first of all, develop a habit for deep work?
Developing a Habit for Deep Work
We all have a finite amount of willpower that becomes depleted with infrequent use. The more we flex our willpower muscles, the more depleted it becomes. We cannot rely on our willpower to guide us in doing deep work.
We have to consciously create the environment and make decisions to engage in deep work. The key to developing a deep work habit is to move beyond good intentions and add routines and rituals to your working life designed to minimize the amount of your limited willpower necessary to transition into and maintain a state of unbroken concentration. For example, determining your Biological Prime Time, and treating those periods as sacred. I usually work very well in the morning and thus schedule all my meetings after 1 pm.
Focusing on the Wildly Important
The next big idea has to do with focus. How do you choose what to do? The answer is to focus on the wildly important. In the 4 Disciplines of Execution, the authors put it as, “The more you try to do, the less you actually accomplish.” They suggest that execution should be aimed at a small number of “wildly important goals.” This simplicity will help focus your energy with sufficient intensity to ignite real results on significant issues. For an individual focused on deep work, the implication is that you should identify a small number of ambitious outcomes to pursue with your deep work hours.
Creating a downtime schedule
The next big idea is being lazy or creating a downtime schedule. Yes, having downtime to think while bored is one of the most valuable techniques I use to get new ideas. As Cal writes “Idleness is not just a vacation… It is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D. It is necessary to get any deep work done.” Walking, for example, in nature provides such a mental respite, but so, too, can any number of relaxing activities so long as they provide similar “inherently fascinating stimuli” and freedom from direct concentration. Having a casual conversation with a friend, listening to music while making dinner, playing a game with your kids, going for a run—the types of activities that will fill your time in the evening if you enforce a work shutdown—play the same attention-restoring role as walking in nature. Regularly resting your brain improves the quality of your deep work. When you work, work hard. When you’re done, be done.
Engaging in Productivity Meditation
The goal of productive meditation is to take a period in which you’re occupied physically but not mentally—walking, jogging, driving, showering—and focus your attention on a single well-defined professional problem. For example, I set out every Sunday on a walk and I ask myself to solve a specific problem. The problem could be how do I structure this article to make it more accessible. It never ceases to amaze me but the time I come back from my walk I have an idea to implement.
Quitting Social Media
Quitting social media is an emotional issue. But there are 2 pieces of advice I have found useful to think about how I interact on social media. David Goggins suggests you use social media and not let it use you. For example, you can use it to reach your audience with your message but you don’t make it your life. Don’t live in that virtual reality.
The second piece of advice is from Cal who suggests “The Law of the Vital Few.” In many settings, 80 percent of a given effect is due to just 20 percent of the possible causes. Find the 20 percent of the social media platforms you need to improve your life and stick with them. For me, I love Pinterest because it provides me with a platform to spread my message and drive engagement.
Making Time
To enable you to create value through deep work you need to make time. Time blocking on your calendar to provide the needed distraction-free space. To engage in deep work, treat your time with respect. A good first step toward this respectful handling is the advice outlined here: Decide in advance what you’re going to do with every minute of your workday. It’s natural, at first, to resist this idea, as it’s undoubtedly easier to continue to allow the twin forces of internal whim and external requests to drive your schedule.
For example, I plan my day and time using a simple process. I have a handwritten notepad for all my entries. I found that writing ideas and tasks by hand helps me schedule my time better. Every Sunday morning, I set out a plan for the week. The 3 most important things I need to achieve for the week. This is further broken down into the 3 steps I need to achieve from Monday to Friday to enable me to attain my goals for the week.
My thoughts
I know I have bombarded you with a host of ideas and concepts on how to engage in deep work and be more productive. To make your work less but achieve more. The important bits to note are simply focusing on the vital few, time blocking, and scheduling your downtime.
