Name: Deep Work
Rating: 4.3 (1819 reviews)
Author: Cal Newport

What’s in it for me? Realize your full potential through focused, deep work.

Be honest, over the course of these blinks, how many notifications, emails and texts do you think you’ll get? Chances are there might be quite a few. The question is: How will that impact your understanding of these blinks?

Most likely you’ll be less focused and probably miss some of the details. In an age where technology is evolving at a pace we could have once only dreamed of, we must acquire the skills and ability to focus on one task at a time in our daily work without interruption. We must learn to practice deep work.

What does that mean and how can it be achieved? For starters, you’d better turn off your notifications and then you’ll find out.

In these blinks, you’ll discover

how multitasking makes you less productive;
the difference between deep work and being in the zone; and
how taking a shower can be a good time for focusing on a specific issue.

Multitasking and distraction are the enemies of productivity.

A lot of people think that doing tons of things at once is the most productive use of their time, but this logic is dead wrong. That’s because multitasking does not equal productivity. Sophie Leroy, a business professor at the University of Minnesota who conducted research on this phenomenon in 2009, shows why.

She demonstrates that when switching from task A to task B, our attention stays attached to the first activity, which means we can only half-focus on the second, which hurts our performance. Her experiments utilized two groups: group A worked on word puzzles until she interrupted them to go on to reading resumes and making hypothetical hiring decisions; Group B got to finish their puzzles before moving on to the resumes.

In between the two tasks, Leroy would give a quick test to see how many keywords from the puzzles were still stuck in the participants’ minds.

The result?

Group A was much more focused on the puzzle and therefore less focused on the important task of hiring the right person.

The long and short of it? Multitasking is no good for productivity. Neither is being electronically connected all the time. In fact, while it might seem harmless to keep social media and email tabs open in your web browser, the mere fact of seeing things pop up on your screen is enough to derail your focus, even if you’re not immediately addressing notifications.

For instance, a 2012 study by the consulting firm McKinsey found that the average worker spends over 60 percent of the workweek using online communication tools and surfing the internet with just 30 percent devoted to reading and answering emails.

Despite this data, workers feel like they’re working more than ever. That’s because completing small tasks and moving information around makes us feel busy and accomplished – but it’s actually just preventing us from truly focusing.

There are different strategies for achieving deep work – all of which require intention.

So now you know some of the roadblocks that get in the way of deep work, but how can you overcome them? While there’s no universal strategy, here are a few you might find helpful:

The first is the monastic approach. This strategy works by eliminating all sources of distraction and secluding yourself like a monk.

Focus your brain and be selective about your use of technology.

In the modern world, our brains have grown accustomed to craving distraction. After all, everywhere we look, people are glued to their screens, playing games, messaging or refreshing their Facebook pages on repeat.

The problem is that our brains are wired to be easily distracted. That’s because, evolutionarily speaking, these distractions could pose risks or opportunities. As a result, it’s hard for us to deeply focus on one task.

Scheduling both work and free time is essential to restoring energy.

When you get home from work or running errands all day, often all you want to do is, well, nothing. And for lots of us, that means having no fixed time slots where we have to complete tasks.

But ironically enough, we end up stuck in the same routine every night: we watch TV, scroll through our phones or stare at our computers. Then, when it’s finally time to go to bed, we feel more tired than when we got home, leaving us depleted of energy for the next day.

Kernaussagen in Deep Work

Über den Autor

Cal Newport is an assistant professor of computer science at Georgetown University specializing in the theory of distributed algorithms. Several publications, including Inc. Magazine, The Globe and Mail and 800-CEO-Read, have featured his most recent book, So Good They Can’t Ignore You, on their lists for the best business book of the year.