We live in distracted times. Your attention is being tracked, monetized, tricked and transformed into power. One may “give” or “pay” attention, but rarely do we save or marshal it. We tend to agree, though, that when we lose attention, things take a turn for the worse. Cal Newport, Georgetown University professor and entrepreneur, credits much of his success to understanding attention. His best-selling book, Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World has sold more than 1.5 million copies and helped propel a cottage industry. It offers strategies and solutions for the ambitious.
Deep Work is organized into two parts: an argument and rules of engagement. Newport contrasts the trends facing all engaged in knowledge work – more email, more meetings, more busyness – with the value of real learning and focus. Shallow work keeps the hamster wheel spinning, without the promise of advancement. Newport believes that deep work is ever more necessary to success. “Fierce concentration” and discipline are at the heart of deep work, and are necessary to become one of the new economy’s winners. Those that are able to get the prize, Newport asserts, are the highly skilled, the superstars, and the owners. Since we are less concerned about those with lots of wealth (the owners) and the superstars (one can’t necessarily plan for that), the book stresses what can be controlled: the ability to master hard things quickly, and the ability to produce at an elite level. Finding meaningful deep work, being able to focus in a sustained way – on a regular basis and over longer stretches of time – are all part of the recipe. Newport, a highly productive professor of computer science, uses himself as an example among many others.
Newport enjoys himself sketching out the rules. Continuing with the cooking metaphor, what he is writing about is not baking, which is dependent upon precise amounts and temperatures. Finding one’s pathway to deep work is more like making a rich stew, a mixture of this and that, guided by intentionality and purpose. That “why?” question is essential, for those that pursue deep work will need good reasons to develop a plan and stick to it.
Deep workers tend to fall into three categories. The monastic shut themselves off from distractions. Bimodal deep workers chunk their time and effort. The journalistic pursue deep work on a regular basis – whenever they have or make the time. Routines are essential to make this happen. Deep work requires attention what is big and important, not the weeds. It means keeping track and being ruthless about prioritization. And on the flip side, as deep require is tiring, it means working less and making time for rest, relaxation and balance. Embrace boredom, Newport advises, and regularly unplug from the internet. Stay away from social media and be extremely mindful of time and time wasters. Good advice, all, and quite helpful. One can easily tap into a robust self-help ecosystem based on many of Newport’s ideas.
Moving beyond the instrumental, some fascinating issues swirl around deep work. I wonder why the book resonated with me and so many others. In other words, why do we need deep work? Much rests upon new technologies and the incessant demands upon our attention, to be sure, but more is afoot. It strikes me that we seem to have lost some degree of appreciation for sustained effort, for constancy, for commitment to something bigger. To be sure we celebrate the victor and the star. What’s often missing, though, is giving the toil and dedication that made it all possible its fair due. If “go fast and break things” is our current phrase, what happened to “slow and steady wins the race”?
Winning itself is part of the equation. Is it fame, money or something else along the way? Newport hints at some of these philosophical questions. They are bound to issues of values, personal and societal. Collectively they point to the need for real exploration of the making of meaning that comes with sustained effort. I believe that making meaning is an essential part of the exercise.
Along similar lines, what organizations, institutions or structures promote deep work and the qualities that can lead to deep work? In our professional world of increasing measurement and accountability, organizations tend to prioritize short term efficiency. More often than not excessive measurement may complicate any commitment deep work. The “why?” question poses another challenge. Do we want a quick return from our institutions? Or is it more important that organizations make a difference, which may or may not be realizable in the short term.
Lastly, why do we rarely teach deep work or create structures so that more students learn from it? Deep work is necessary, of course, for much of what takes place at the graduate level and in the production of knowledge. One cannot complete a thesis or dissertation without deep work. Perhaps, though, younger students might benefit from earlier exposure. It seems, too, that many of our organizational processes in higher education ignore Newport’s rules and the benefits of deep work. Students are expected to be able to read and write at length, but how do they learn how to do so? And when and from whom?
It is possible to read Deep Work as a social critique clothed as a self-help book. For that and more, it is worth time and reflection. Perhaps, even, for sustained stretches of time.
David Potash