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<\/a>\u00a0 Words by Iyanla Vanzant<\/p>\nWhen reading this book, Newport mentioned the phrase \u2018do the work.\u2019 (111)\u00a0 The words \u201cyou must do the work\u201d kept speaking to me.\u00a0 It’s a phrase often used by Iyanla Vanzant. Iyanla is a Life coach for many individuals, families, and celebrities. When she shares with the client what they need to do to move forward in their personal life and they are resistant, she would say \u201cIf you want your life to work you must be willing to do the work.\u201d [1] \u00a0Her phrase was speaking to the spiritual healing of one\u2019s life, whereas, Newport was speaking to being successful and relevant in one\u2019s career life.<\/p>\n
Deep work is the process of working intentionally by learning difficult skills sufficiently and quickly. Newport defines it as \u201cProfessional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skill, and are hard to replicate.\u201d <\/em>(2)\u00a0 \u00a0In our times, we have numerous distractions, specifically with the Internet and Cable.<\/p>\n Newport says, according to Hansson, \u201cOne should push current skills to their limit and produce unambiguously valuable and concrete results.\u201d (32) Deep work is not for those who rely on willpower. You must have the desire to endure through the intense process and remain focused on purpose. You must but in the time necessary to produce and achieve excellent results. In his research of several individuals and their work, he was able to document that \u201cif you can\u2019t learn, you can\u2019t thrive\u2026\u201d (32) He also presents an equation for deep work:\u201d High-Quality Work Produced = (Time Spent) x (Intensity of Focus).<\/em> \u201c (40)<\/p>\n Newport presents in this book numerous theories and strategies for one to achieve deep work. Also, his research covered several executive leaders in many industries, for example, technology and communication. One needs to be creative and think outside the box. He points out that distractions debunk deep work. One must withdraw themselves from all distractions to be successful which include social media. As I continue to digest his information, it appears that the effect of distractions in our economy is similar to the effect of kryptonite is to Superman.<\/p>\n