Cal Newport is an Ivy League trained, associate professor at Georgetown University.\u00a0 In America, this usually means you are a pretty big deal, and Cal Newport certainly is.\u00a0 Not because of his computer science research, which is the field he teaches at Georgetown, but because of his incredibly popular, mass media, self-help books.\u00a0 His collected works can be useful for anyone from ninth grade, to professional executive – and at 37 years old, Newport has become a celebrated author at a very young age.<\/p>\n
In Newport\u2019s critically acclaimed Deep Work<\/em>, he focuses on the importance of \u201cdeep work,\u201d provides techniques on how to best achieve deep work status, and punctuates how crucial deep work is in the workplace. \u00a0What is deep work?\u00a0 Newport describes deep work as, \u201cprofessional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit.\u00a0 These efforts create new value, improve your skill, and are hard to replicate.\u201d[1]<\/a> Many famous people have utilized this deep work concept to achieve extraordinary success, including JK Rowling, Mark Twain, and Woody Allen.\u00a0 Most importantly for the modern reader is that, \u201cthe ubiquity of deep work among influential individuals is important to emphasize because it stands in sharp contrast to the behavior of most modern knowledge workers \u2013 a group that\u2019s rapidly forgetting the value of going deep.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n But why does this concept matter to us?\u00a0 Here is where Newport shines.\u00a0 The entire book can be summed up via the \u201cDeep Work Hypothesis\u201d which is \u2013 \u201cthe ability to perform deep work is becoming increasingly rare at exactly the same time it is becoming increasingly valuable in our economy.\u00a0 As a consequence, the few who cultivate this skill, and then make it the core of their working life, will thrive.\u201d[3]<\/a> Thus, if you can master deep work, then you will become successful in your profession.<\/p>\n Newport lists numerous suggestions on how to do this (quit social media[4]<\/a>, embrace boredom[5]<\/a>) however the suggestion I\u2019d like to reflect upon is his recommendation to \u201cschedule every minute of your day.\u201d[6]<\/a>\u00a0 I have the perfect opportunity to attempt to follow his suggestions as I am about to commence serving a new church.\u00a0 The parameters I set over the next few months will help guide me throughout the duration of my call and I do look forward to trying out his \u201ccalendar block\u201d method, especially while \u201cexegeting\u201d the culture of this new church.\u00a0 My hunch is the culture of this church will play an active role in how often I have to adjust my calendar block.\u00a0 Let me explain.<\/p>\n At the first church I served, members rarely visited the office.\u00a0 If anyone visited it was often a member of the New York City homeless population or a police officer.\u00a0 Those visits were rare and almost always brief.\u00a0 Not so at the call I have served in most recently.\u00a0 Members would visit the church office often during the day and the expectation was that I would be available and pastoral.\u00a0 Both cultures have their upsides and their downsides; however it was much easier to stay on task, and manage a calendar at my first call.\u00a0 In fact, I ended up often leaving the office when it was time to do anything that required uninterrupted work at my most recent church position.<\/p>\n I had a colleague at my most recent call, the church where visitors and interruptions were unscheduled and frequent; who reminded me that her former boss had told her that being present for those visitors was in fact \u201cthe call \u2013 the most important thing \u2013 what God has called you to do.\u201d\u00a0 Not the sermon writing, not the church newsletter, not the annual budget, but the availability and the ministry of presence.\u00a0 Though I look forward to utilizing Newport\u2019s strategies, I wonder if in the church world, the term \u201cdeep work\u201d has a different definition \u2013 and may I suggest it begins with, \u201cwhere two or more are gathered.\u201d[7]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Cal Newport, Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World<\/em>, (New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2016), 3.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Newport, Deep Work<\/em>, 5.<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Newport, Deep Work,<\/em> 14.<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> Newport, Deep Work<\/em>, 181.<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> Newport, Deep Work<\/em>, 155.<\/p>\n