Deep Work
“Men of genius themselves were great only by bringing all their power to bear on the point on which they had decided to show their full measure.”
Deep Work
I picked up this book after reflecting on my overuse of technology and exploring ways to live a fuller life. Reading the book was meant to reconfirm my reflections. Newport makes the distinction between “deep” and “shallow” work to show different ways of working.
Deep work is work which requires distraction-free environments and is rather “difficult.” He relates it to the idea of “flow”. Shallow work is a type of work that requires minimal effort, similar to the concept of busy work.
Part 1 of the book details the reasons for deep work and how hard it is to come by.
Part 2 of the book discusses the rules for achieving deep work and provides evidence to support these rules.
Part 1: The Ideas
CH1 and CH2 cover the topics of why deep work is rare and why it is valuable. In CH3, Newport discusses the benefits of “deep work” with a neurological concept of “fire together, wire together” and a psychological concept of “flow.”
Newport is saddened by Nietzsche’s “God is dead!” proclamation. The modern loss of meaning and narrative has cast humanity into a state of existential anxiety. Newport’s answer is craftsmanship. He says it offers an alternative to the egotistical focus of work to only further your own ends.
Part 2: The Rules
Part 2 is sectioned off into 4 rules:
- Work Deeply
- Embrace Boredom
- Quit Social Media
- Drain the Shallows
Work Deeply and Embrace Boredom
These two sections can be conceptually seen as an inquiry into the question: “What is good work-life balance?”
Newport outlines two forms of work philosophy: “monastic” and “bimodal.” He illustrates two different approaches to working deeply: one where you isolate yourself, or one where you find time to work deeply while “living” as well.
Quit Social Media and Drain the Shallows
“If you give your mind something meaningful to do throughout all your waking hours, you’ll end the day more fulfilled, and begin the next one more relaxed, than if you instead allow your mind to bathe for hours in semiconscious and unstructured Web surfing.”
Deep Work
A side point Newport tries to make is how deep work is primarily a practice in intentionality and effort. “Social Media” and the internet as a whole steal intentionality from the user.
Citations
Attneave, F., B., M., & Hebb, D.O. (1949). The Organization of Behavior: A Neuropsychological Theory.
Csíkszentmihályi, M. (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.
Newport, C.C. (2016). Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World.
Kelly, H. D. a. S. D. (2011). All Things Shining: Reading the western classics to find meaning in a secular age.