Deep Thoughts about Deep Work
Deep Thoughts about Deep Work
As I write, I am struggling to enter into deep work. Distractions yank my concentration away from my writing, as email alerts spontaneously appear on the screen, movie background noises interrupt my thoughts, and my dog peers longingly through the glass door at me. Although I have cocooned myself in my study space, silenced my technology, I hear the ticking clock and anticipate an interruption from one of my family members, as deep work continues to elude me. I decide to become a live case study for the book and implement some of the principles so I can experience deep work.
I change spaces and find a quieter place away from the noises and distractions. I breathe deeper and find myself entering into a more peaceful zone where I can meditate as I work. Instead of concentrating on the distractions, I retrain my brain to listen for the silence, and I feel my brain shift from the anxious amygdala part to the frontal lobe where I am more relaxed, thoughtful, and creative. The silence is comforting as I find myself pondering the deep thoughts of Deep Work. Much of it is common sense, and many of the tactics I have used over the years to get intense amounts of work done in a short period of time.
When I analyze my performance in achieving deep work, according to Newport, I am able to enter into concentration, limit distractions, operate with order, create rituals, and combine creativity throughout deep work, IF I really enjoy what I am working on. If I do not enjoy the work, it can be incredibly challenging for me to even hold one thought cohesively together, and I find myself just enduring the work process. Another piece significantly challenging is how to break down my day, minute by minute, to use each minute efficiently. This seems like an arduous task, as I detest clock watching because it interrupts my “flow”, or the ability to get lost in my work as defined by positive psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Although I can appreciate the efficiency of ordering and accounting for each minute of the day, it also can be counterproductive to allowing oneself to embrace “flow” or deep work when time is dictating your activities, versus inspiration and passion of work. Yet, to allow time to escape unaccounted for can also contribute to poor quality and shallow work. Achieving a balance in this would be a powerful contributor to experiencing deep work.
In accomplishing deep work, I really resonated with the need to have a minimum of a day to experience it, as expressed in the Bimodal philosophy. The example of JK Rowlings writing her final book in the Harry Potter series in a plush hotel for days on end, was a luxurious example of paying a cost to change her environment to experience deep work. To have days of uninterrupted time in a beautiful space that inspires your work would be a delightful experience, albeit not entirely practical. In either case, it inspired me to consider taking time off work, stealing a weekend away, or just allowing myself the luxury of more uninterrupted time to experience deep work. The example of Bill Gates understanding the importance of the internet due to time away in his cabin, also validates the importance of ducking out of everyday life to contemplate your work.
The use of technology was also a solid point to developing your ability to enter deep work. Questions to ponder were: how was I using my technology? Social media? Internet use? Was it complimenting my work or distracting me from experiencing deep work? The concept of taking an “Internet Sabbath” was a fresh idea and one I hope to implement in my weekly rituals. Due to the type of work I do, it demands so much face to face time, I am not able to be on my phone, social media, or email often. My career forces me to stay present with people and out of technology. But when I am interacting with technology, I can easily waste hours surfing the internet, catching up on the news, or getting enraptured with mindless, humorous videos.
Ultimately, deep work is a coveted and increasingly rare commodity in our culture and society. Through this read, I found my longing renewed for the solitude and space necessary to experience the satisfying results of deep work.
About the Author
Jennifer Dean-Hill
12 responses to “Deep Thoughts about Deep Work”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
This is really thoughtful and comforting, Jen. I sense the ‘flow’ that you talk about in your review. I agree that trying to manage every minute of every day seems a little “type A” and I wondered what you as a professional thought about the emphasis on so much organization in Newport’s book. I agree with him that we could all use more, but tell me truly as a psychologist, did I misinterpret or is he a teeny bit frenetic?
Great post and very enjoyable as always.
Ha-ha, yes Mary. A tad neurotic, OCD possibly? I was getting stressed just considering micro-managing every minute.
While I agree that having a full day uninterupted might be good, I realize that it might be difficult for many who are in ministry to be able to do that easily. Maybe for mega-church pastors, but many ministers face a reality that they are “on call” 24/7. And many church members feel that they should to be able to “drop in.” When convenient.
Even so, most of my interruptions are Facebook messages and email alerts. I think that closing my door will also help.
Those “drop-ins” are brutal. They can really suck up the time in your day. I don’t know how pastors do it.
Ha– I’ve read and reread and sat down about 3 times to respond to your post– kept getting interrupting!
Maybe I should plan now to book a hidden (expensive) cabin for a week or two in 18 months’ time to focus in on my dissertation (seriously, I’m thinking about that).
I’m so with you! I already have a cabin picked out to spend a weekend at when it’s dissertation time.
OMG Katy!!! Ditto!!! LOL!
Jen the ability to escape and remove ourselves from the hustle and bustle of our daily lives is a true privilege. The irony is that we do not often exercise our privilege while others would love to have that opportunity any day of the week. 🙂
I have the same longing for a quiet place away from it all! I wouldn’t mind a plush hotel or a log cabin somewhere – preferably overlooking water! I think our environment is so important. I work better away from my church office, but feel really bad for not being there for my staff. It’s a constant conflict!
Thank you for this restful post, Jen. Just reading it reminded me that breathing and finding quiet is crucial.
I’m with you in that I will never be one of those people who schedules my day minute-by-minute. I have to set my alarm to remind me that time passes and I should get up and move, but I can’t seem to focus when I am thinking “I only have 2 more hours available to study!” Some of Newton’s ideas don’t allow a lot of room for variety in personality, but I think we are coming to know ourselves well enough to cast away those things that will not work for us and keep the things that will.
I am with you all about the cabin. I normally go to the timeshare to un whine and depressed.
I am going to make sure that happens.
Jen, I need you to teach me how to mentally separate. I don’t have a private mental chamber.
Jen, Thanks for the post.
Like you I often try to change places to engage the ‘deep work’ in my work life.
I also completely identified with your finding that it is much easier to get to the deep work state, if you will, when I am excited by or interested in the subject of the work.
Maybe that is the reason the rituals, routines, etc. are so important – so that we can lean on them when we aren’t so interested?