Sitting down to do my work today, to write this very blog post, meant not only turning toward the task at hand, but also turning away from everything else that I might possibly be doing.\u00a0 I had to log off of Facebook, which I had been mindlessly surfing.\u00a0 I had to turn off my Gmail account, which I was scanning hopefully for responses from colleagues.\u00a0 I had to turn off my web-browser, where the path toward cnn.com, espn.com, and nytimes.com is well-worn.\u00a0 I had to put my phone out of sight, close my office door and block out the time on my calendar.\u00a0 All of this is quite necessary if I am going to \u201cget some real work done\u201d, which is my stated goal.<\/p>\n
Does this sound familiar to you?\u00a0 According to Cal Newport in his helpful book Deep Work<\/em>, this is what life is like for the modern knowledge worker.\u00a0 Newport writes that, \u201cA 2012 McKinsey study found that the average knowledge worker now spends more than 60 percent of the workweek engaged in electronic communication and Internet searching, with close to 30 percent of a worker\u2019s time dedicated to reading and answering e-mail alone.\u201d<\/a>[1]<\/p>\n Newport argues persuasively in his writing that almost anybody who uses a computer as part of their daily routine, is likely to slip into what he calls \u201cshallow work\u201d.\u00a0 This is defined as, \u201cNoncognitively demanding, logistical-style tasks, often performed while distracted.\u201d<\/a>[2]\u00a0 But shallow work also seems to describe the lack of depth when it comes to producing material of real value.\u00a0 So, it can be distracted work, or it can be low-quality work, but either way, it is not deep work.<\/p>\n I read this book over a year ago, after our lead mentor Jason Clark mentioned it to our cohort.\u00a0I had been struggling at the beginning of my DMin studies to make the time and space in my schedule for the work that I needed to get done.\u00a0 Deep Work\u00a0<\/em>was a revelation to me.<\/p>\n I still use the term as a kind of short hand for \u201cputting away distractions and getting things done.\u201d\u00a0My wife, my church staff, and even my neighbors will still ask me about this because I shared about it so exuberantly.\u00a0Not only does Deep Work\u00a0<\/em>correctly diagnose the problem, it also has a set of practices that are obvious in retrospect, but that are powerful to experience.<\/p>\n One of these is simply about scheduling.\u00a0 Newport argues that it is necessary to schedule time for the deep work that we need to do, which helps to set the context and mental space to really think, create and engage.\u00a0 He quotes columnist David Brooks who says, \u201c(Great creative minds) think like artists but work like accountants.\u201d<\/a>[3]\u00a0 He means that, the discipline of accountants, who move methodically line by line, is counter intuitively the way that great art can be made.\u00a0 I wish that I could be productive while working in the energizing and stimulating environment of a coffee shop or caf\u00e9, but the reality is that I need to be hermit-like, and to do my work in my office with the door closed.<\/p>\n Newport is not a Luddite, and his book is not an anti-technology screed, however, there is a strong preference within it for stepping away from the tools of technology.\u00a0When it comes to scheduling, he doesn\u2019t just mean the time and the place, but he also prescribes scheduling limited time to be on the internet, or social media, or email.\u00a0 His thinking is that left to its own devices, these distracting baubles will creep into every moment of our time and our thinking.\u00a0 It will distract us continually from doing deep work.<\/p>\n This resonates with what Tina Seelig writes about in Insight Out<\/em>. \u00a0She describes the way the short term win or immediate need gets in the way of doing the bigger, harder and more important work in our lives.\u00a0 She calls this \u201clow hanging fruit\u201d and says that many people, \u201cfill their time with commitments and then, once their day or week is full, can\u2019t imagine ways to add anything new.\u00a0 They\u2019re tackling the things they need\u00a0<\/em>to do, so they don\u2019t have time to do the things they want\u00a0<\/em>to accomplish.\u201d<\/a>[4]<\/p>\n Every email, text or message that pops us can seem to be so important and immediate.\u00a0 However, Seelig and Newport argue that it is possible to corral those things that come up, which seem so important, but actually aren\u2019t.\u00a0 At the same time, Newport presses for workers to embrace fallow time, rest time, periodic breaks from work. \u00a0It sounds a lot like Sabbath-keeping.<\/p>\n The way that I have taken this on, is by going on walks through the neighborhood around my church.\u00a0I see it as a reward for getting a task done, but also, it clears my mind, awakens my body, and helps me return to the next deep work task.<\/p>\n My analysis of this book, which is full of suggestions for things that will seem counter-intuitive or hard to do, is that Newport is purposefully pushing the limit.\u00a0His hope is that by offering a basket that is overflowing with fruit, that a reader would be prompted at least to take one or two bites.<\/p>\n His ideas run counter to the popular mood of the day, about multi-tasking, using technology to get more done, and open-space office environments.\u00a0 However, his suggestions for monkish work habits make a lot of sense.\u00a0 In fact, even taking on a few of the routines that he describes can have an immediate, positive effect for those feeling caught in the rat race, or drowning in the shallows.<\/p>\n <\/a>[1]Cal Newport,\u00a0Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World<\/em>\u00a0(London: Piatkus, 2016), 6.<\/p>\n <\/a>[2]Cal Newport,\u00a0Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World<\/em>\u00a0(London: Piatkus, 2016), 6.<\/p>\n