Mental weightlifting- DEEP WORK

 

 

1. How often have we found ourselves to be extremely busy without getting anything substantial done? With so many tasks that need our attention, we often try to resort to multitasking without getting any results. How many times we have been tempted to check on our phone for latest notifications, messages on social media feed only to realise that we may have spent much more time than we ought to have spent.

2. Everywhere we look we find distractions, that compete for our attention and focus and the result is that we are not able to fully use our cognitive skills to produce good quality of work. Cal Newport who is an associate professor of computer science at Georgetown University has brought out these very problems that plague us in an age of information overload, in his book “DEEP WORK”. He introduces us to the idea of deep work, which is: “Professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that pushes your cognitive capabilities to their limits. The author has given us numerous examples from history from Carl Jung to Charles Darwin, individuals who have embraced this way of working to produce quality work that has stood the test of time. Before we dwell on what deep work is we need to go to the other side of the spectrum and have a look at something described by the author as Shallow work. These are Noncognitively demanding, logistical style tasks often performed while distracted. They do not add much value and are easy to replicate. The alarming thing is that routine shallow work strips away your ability to do deep work. There is a massive personal and economic opportunity if we realise the value of deep work. We are not only looking to improve our skills but to increase our value to the world. In an increasingly knowledge-driven economy, the ability to learn hard things fast will be a critical skill, something that we need to cultivate by being able to focus and going deep. The book has two parts one where the importance of depth is explained and in the second where the tools and techniques are given to us.

3. The idea of Deep work:

The value of deep work in brought out, when it is proposed that in a new economy we will need to have the ability to produce at an elite level,.both in terms of speed and quality. This will depend on our ability to perform deep work. One of the ways that have found resonance with other scholars also is the idea of deliberate practice; recently there has been evidence of deliberate practice being linked to increased neural activity of our brain leading to skill development. (The Talent Code – by Daniel Coyle 2009).In a knowledge, driven economy Deep work is becoming a rarity, with many of us mistaking busyness for productivity. The author has used psychological and philosophical arguments to bring about how going deep and honing our craft whatever it may be can lead to a happy and fulfilling life. With our physical and mental faculties stretched to their limits, we reach a state of Flow, which brings us true happiness. The age of reason has made our lives comfortable; we have things and systems that a few hundred years ago would have been deemed impossible. However, this autonomous existence has at times become boring and unliveable. During these times It is our craftsmanship that helps us in reopening a sense of sacredness in our lives. 

4. How to carry out deep work

Having gone about explaining the importance of deep work we are now given tools that the author has used himself to work deeply. Working deeply is an exercise in managing your attention, and like any muscle attention also need to be developed, and trained. Everyone fights competing thoughts and desires that plague our mind as we try to focus.  So we try to use all our will power to focus and concentrate. Using will power alone is setting us up for failure as this is a finite resource., which will deplete over time. We need to move beyond good intentions and cultivate habits and personal systems that will help us work with more focus and concentration; without the use of our will. There are various approaches to scheduling major time blocks throughout our working day, this can be monastic where we shut off completely and focus, or bimodal where we have a cyclic approach scuffling between deep and shallow work. There is no correct or wrong approach, we are asked to find our own model to schedule time blocks in our working day where we can focus and concentrate. We need to have systematic work habits almost like a ritual or as the author says “Think like an artist, work as an accountant”

We are asked to approach the battle of attention by focusing on ambitious goals that arouse a terrifying longing, which crowds out all shallow and minor distractions. We need to plan in advance how much time do we will spend in a state of deep focus, this lead measure along with a wildly important goal will have a positive impact in our capacity to work deeply. Apart from scheduling work, we must also let our mind be idle so that it can recuperate. The deep state beyond a certain limit will ensure that the law of diminishing returns will catch up with us. We are introduced to the Unconscious thought theory (UTT) which gives our brain additional neural bandwidth to solve complex problems that have lots of variables and no straightforward solution. We all need to have a shutdown ritual which allows us to recharge and come back strong. I guess the saying that we need to leave office in office when we come home resonates strongly with this approach.

A key aspect of us developing deep work is our ability to embrace boredom. Today we are all depending on a great deal on distraction, and we need to consciously wean our mind away from it. We need to train our mental muscles to stay away from on-demand distraction. The ability to concentrate comes along with overcoming our desire for distraction. Scheduling internet usage is a great way to do the same. Instead of looking to take a  break from distractions, we are asked to take breaks from focus.

5. Deep work is the ability that we need to develop whenever we strive to get valuable things done. I have always believed that you need an unlimited amount of will power to concentrate and have for most times have been in the losing side in the battle of attention. I remember in my training days I was told that studying is a physical activity where you need to put your backside in the chair and all else will follow. However, having a ritualistic and systematic approach towards your craft is certainly a better approach towards being better in what you do. We need to develop our own systems that we can use effectively to concentrate and focus. The way we manage our free time too has a  direct bearing on this. There is no magic pill for focus and concentration; this is an iterative process for each and every one. If followed can bring us not only economic benefits but live happy, fulfilling and meaningful lives.

Further reading:   The Talent Code (Daniel Coyle).