Deep Work by Cal Newport

[Janice in NJ]

Just checking in to see if anyone has read this one. I would love to hear your thoughts on his work.

 

Mine? (I'm only 1/2 way through, so my gut is still 1/2 baked)  

He touches on a list of things homeschool educators just naturally end up stressing after years of working with and motivating kids. Yesterday, I found myself reading parts of it to my daughter; she heads into her next college semester on Tuesday. The book is not about education, but the ideas apply.

 

Has anyone else picked up a copy? I would love to hear your thoughts.

 

Thanks,

Janice

 

Enjoy your little people

Enjoy your journey

 

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World: Cal Newport: 9781455586691

http://www.amazon.com/Deep-Work-Focused-Success-Distracted/dp/1455586692

Edited January 16, 2016 by Janice in NJ

[daijobu]

I haven't read the book, but I subscribe to his blog.  He's the reason I gave up facebook a year ago, and I'm so glad I did.  I hope it's okay to post here, because I am such a fan of his other books. 

 

My goal is to take all the old AMC 12's and create lesson plans particularly for the hardest problems.  This is difficult work for me and requires sometimes days of study and research to be able to understand and replicate a solution to a single problem.  (Not entire days, but more like an hour or so per day when I can grab it between everything else.)  

 

I work best in the mornings, but those are often taken up with chores, coffee, emails, and the WTM forum.  WTM is taking a bigger chunk of my life, but it is a lifeline for me.  What I need to do is not quit WTM entirely, but check less frequently than say, several times a day, lol.  I'm thinking I should cut back to checking the digests once a week or less.  

 

That should hopefully free up time so I can have uninterrupted time with my studies and preparation.  

[Nan in Mass]

I haven,t read it but I will. I really liked his So Good They Can,t Ignore You. I,d be interested to hear your thoughts on Deep Work.

 

Nan

[MarkT]

Just checking in to see if anyone has read this one. I would love to hear your thoughts on his work.

 

 

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World: Cal Newport: 9781455586691

http://www.amazon.com/Deep-Work-Focused-Success-Distracted/dp/1455586692

wait listed at public library so it will be a while before I read it

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I have to disagree with his assessment of Facebook, simply because my life is so different from his.  I don't live on the same continent as most of my family and friends.  Facebook allows me to keep up with little happenings of my extended circle, in a way that fits into my time schedule (which is offset by 2-13 hours because we live in different time zones.  The best time for my parents or in-laws to talk to me is right in the middle of my most productive hours.  

 

I do agree with the idea that your tools need to stay tools and not become your master.  I also think that many people over estimate how well they multi-task.

[Janice in NJ]

Good Morning,

 

Finished the book today.

 

Newport suggests that "shallow work" should be treated with suspicion; he argues that too often we underestimate the damage it does while simultaneously overestimating its importance.

 

He goes on to build the case that time spent engaging in shallow activities needs to be consciously controlled so there is plenty of time and energy left to engage in the "deep work" that ultimately determines our impact and provides real satisfaction. 

 

During his "Quit Social Media" chapter, he is suggesting that folks take a sabbatical from various forms of social media. Then, you can step back in after assessing whether or not those services actually add significant value to your life. Sebastian, you have obviously already thought about the value that FB adds to your life. :001_smile: In your case, a sabbatical is unnecessary. He is encouraging readers to consider the difference between tools that add any level of value (no matter how small) with tools that add a significant amount of value.

 

IMO, habits sometimes blind us to the opportunity cost of our choices, so questioning habits on regular intervals is a good idea.

 

I did enjoy the book. Nothing earth-shattering. But I enjoyed it.

Love to hear more feedback if folks decide to read it.

 

Peace,

Janice

 

Enjoy your little people

Enjoy your journey

 

 

Edited January 18, 2016 by Janice in NJ

[daijobu]

I have to disagree with his assessment of Facebook, simply because my life is so different from his.  I don't live on the same continent as most of my family and friends.  Facebook allows me to keep up with little happenings of my extended circle, in a way that fits into my time schedule (which is offset by 2-13 hours because we live in different time zones.  The best time for my parents or in-laws to talk to me is right in the middle of my most productive hours.  

 

I do agree with the idea that your tools need to stay tools and not become your master.  I also think that many people over estimate how well they multi-task.

 

It sounds like FB is really working for you in terms of keeping close to your far flung family.  Here's how I used it.  I would page down, page down, page down through vacation photos, photos of entrees, provocative political posts, etc., made by people I didn't know all that well, but I went to high school with, and am generally vaguely curious about.  I spent so much time in this very unproductive endeavor.  It basically took up time that I normally would spend reading books.  

 

There are a few people I like on FB, but I haven't really missed out all that much.  I think I'm FB friends with just too many people at this point, and I need to cull the list.  But it was just easier in the near term to stop completely.  

 

Now I'm thinking that the WTM forums are taking to much time.  I don't want to give them up completely because I get so much valuable information, but I need to discipline the time I spend here.  

[daijobu]

 

Newport suggests that "shallow work" should be treated with suspicion; he argues that too often we underestimate the damage it does while simultaneously overestimating its importance.

 

He goes on to build the case that time spent engaging in shallow activities needs to be consciously controlled so there is plenty of time and energy left to engage in the "deep work" that ultimately determines our impact and provides real satisfaction. 

 

During his "Quit Social Media" chapter, he is suggesting that folks take a sabbatical from various forms of social media. Then, you can step back in after assessing whether or not those services actually add significant value to your life. Sebastian, you have obviously already thought about the value that FB adds to your life. :001_smile: In your case, a sabbatical is unnecessary. He is encouraging readers to consider the difference between tools that add any level of value (no matter how small) with tools that add a significant amount of value.

 

 

I do feel like people use social media effectively to self-promote in their careers.  It helps with networking, and there is value in keeping in touch with friends and loved ones.  I think I read somewhere that people who stay in touch with old school mates are healthier and happier than those who are cut off.  

 

Having said that, I do agree that we need to be careful to prioritize what is the best use of our time.  So-called deep work enables us to truly improve ourselves or make us more valuable in the marketplace.  

 

Janice, do you have any particular goals in mind when you think about deep work?  I would like to establish myself as competition math tutor.  I'm okay at the elementary and middle school level, but would love to have competence at higher levels.  I'd love to be one of those people who can complete an AMC 12 with no problem.  I'd love to be able to solve some AIME problems.  We'll see.  

[G5052]

Having said that, I do agree that we need to be careful to prioritize what is the best use of our time.  So-called deep work enables us to truly improve ourselves or make us more valuable in the marketplace.  

 

Janice, do you have any particular goals in mind when you think about deep work?  I would like to establish myself as competition math tutor.  I'm okay at the elementary and middle school level, but would love to have competence at higher levels.  I'd love to be one of those people who can complete an AMC 12 with no problem.  I'd love to be able to solve some AIME problems.  We'll see.  

 

We have several of Cal Newports books, and I follow his blog as well. 

 

For me, Facebook is great for professional networking, nice we have a family crises going on where I need to upload folks quickly, and the rest is mostly meh. So many organizations use it now for updates and networking that many of us find it useful even if we don't like it in general. The group email lists that I used to subscribe to have largely moved to Facebook.

 

But I frankly don't care what you make your family for dinner, how much you love your kids, or what you're going to watch on TV tonight. Sorry.  :crying:

 

So I mostly check Facebook once a day and have it organized so that I can zip through and move on.

 

Professionally, I think it's very valuable to work out what you're truly good at and enjoy, and put your efforts towards that. Setting prioritized goals is very important. I write up weekly goals every Sunday and use that to guide my week.

 

Of course life sometimes derails that. The number of urgent interruptions outside of work that I've been juggling over the last six months is killing me, and there's really not a lot I can do about that most of the time. There are some calls and emails that you just can't schedule.

 

But I do like the use of a timer during periods when I can truly ignore email and the phone. I find that I can be very, very productive in 30 minutes if everything else is screened out and then I can go put in a load of laundry or meet the carpool or whatever.

 

I'll probably wait on his latest book until the library get it, but we busy people need all of the help we can get!

[Sebastian (a lady)]

With FB, I do wish that I could filter out the (many) posts related to people's home based businesses (Pampered Chef & Rodan & Fields) but keep their personal posts.  I'd rather see what my neighbor is making out of cauliflower this week than see before and after shots of someone I've never met.

 

I'd also love to eliminate huge swathes of sports related posts, but I like seeing what my friends' kids are personally doing.  (So travel volleyball is great, but daily updates about the Golden State Warriors and the health of individual players? Meh)

 

 

[daijobu]

WSJ book review:

 

A few weeks ago, Citigroup rolled out its latest big idea: An open floor plan at headquarters. Soon no Citi employee—not even executives—will have a door to hide behind at the company’s digs in downtown Manhattan. Most bankers will be evicted from a dedicated desk. This newspaper ran a photo of CEO Michael Corbat posing among the ruins of demolished walls.

He might have reconsidered if he had read Cal Newport’s engaging and substantive new book “Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World.†Mr. Newport acknowledges the good intentions behind open offices: They are meant to encourage serendipity and teamwork. But he argues that burdening workers with perpetual distractions constitutes “an absurd attack on concentration†that creates “an environment that thwarts attempts to think seriously.†Sure, there’s collaboration—not least the unspoken camaraderie among coworkers who have shared in the cringe-inducing experience of hearing a colleague castigate her spouse over the phone.

Mr. Newport, a computer science professor at Georgetown, is the unusual academic who will sully himself with matters as practical as: How can a talented employee rack up the rarefied and acute skills—writing, coding, scouring the latest mergers and acquisitions—that make someone indispensable? His answer? Expanding your capacity for “deep work,†ruthlessly weeding out distractions and regularly carving out stretches of time to sharpen abilities. Mr. Newport explains why honing an ability to concentrate can yield enormous professional payouts. Then he lays out rules for becoming one such rare bird.

Most corporate workers, Mr. Newport argues, don’t have clear feedback about how to spend their time. As a result, employees use “busyness as a proxy for productivity,†which Mr. Newport describes aptly as “doing lots of stuff in a visible mannerâ€â€”blasting out emails, for instance, or holding meetings on superficial progress on some project.

 

 

This presents an opening for people who are willing to tame these distractions, not allowing “the twin forces of internal whim and external requests to drive your schedule.†Such individuals cut down anything that could be outsourced “to a smart recent college graduate with no specialized training,†and create rituals of delving into “the wildly important goal†of their trade, whether solving complicated proofs, producing copy for a newspaper or churning out concertos. No job is excused as too mundane for his approach, even in industries that value, say, rapid customer-service responses. “You don’t need a rarified job; you instead need a rarified approach to your work.â€

The book’s best example is the Pulitzer Prize winning Lyndon Johnson biographer Robert A. Caro, known for working on a meticulous schedule in his Manhattan office dressed in a coat and tie “so that he never forgets when he sits down with his research that he is going to work,†as one profile of Mr. Caro put it. He sets parameters for stacking his notebooks—most recent interviews sit atop the pile—and has a strict policy against subjecting his wife, Ina, a fellow historian, to after-hours dinner table chatter about Johnson.

Advertisement
Mr. Newport published some 20 peer-reviewed papers over three years while teaching classes and polishing off this book—and he doesn’t work past 5:30 p.m. Here’s how: When he’s working, he fires up every available neuron. Every project is assigned a time during the day, with paperwork, emails and other tedium lumped into installments. He argues that you should never surf the Web for mental breaks, or for entertainment in the evenings. Such browsing destroys the ability to concentrate.

Then there’s the relentless crush of email slamming inboxes day and night. Even if your boss expects you to respond to notes promptly, Mr. Newport offers strategies for slashing time on Outlook, where value for the company is seldom if ever created. Here’s one great tip: Don’t answer a missive “if nothing really good will happen if you respond and nothing really bad will happen if you don’t.†When dashing off emails, try to bring the thread to a swift, positive end. Instead of chatting about maybe meeting for coffee, offer three possible times and add that someone’s choice will serve as confirmation.

As for Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and so on: Ditch them. He isn’t preening that social media ruins society, but contending that it’s all “a lightweight whimsy, one more unimportant distraction among many threatening to derail you.†Mr. Newport recommends a 30-day social-media fast, and here’s the kicker: Go dark without announcing that you’re cutting the habit. You may be surprised how few of your “friends†miss your hot take on the latest Trump brouhaha.

One quibble with Mr. Newport’s book is its bid to be relevant. The opening discusses why working deeply is critical in what he calls “the new economy,†which is mowing over low-skilled workers and benefiting people who own capital. For one, history seldom plays out so neatly. Ironically enough, the reason his insights are worthwhile is because its philosophy doesn’t have an expiration date. Also grating is the steady cascade of anecdotes about today’s always exalted Big Thinkers—data cruncher Nate Silver, writers Malcolm Gladwell and Jonathan Franzen, among others. In one redolent interview, readers meet a “sustainable farmer†who eschews basic concepts like economies of scale in agriculture but is supposed to teach us about opportunity cost. Mr. Newport has the high-quality problem of being more incisive than most of the people he interviews.

“Deep Work†accomplishes two considerable tasks: One is putting out a wealth of concrete practices for the ambitious, without relying on gauzy clichés. The second is that Mr. Newport resists the corporate groupthink of constant connectivity without seeming like a curmudgeon. In fact, his proposals—for instance, allowing yourself to be bored, even if it involves the novel experience of standing in a line with no smartphone—are enticing, a hint that he’s on to something with a mantra he quotes that a life of unbridled focus “is the best kind there is.â€

[Azalea]

We have several of Cal Newports books, and I follow his blog as well. 

 

For me, Facebook is great for professional networking, nice we have a family crises going on where I need to upload folks quickly, and the rest is mostly meh. So many organizations use it now for updates and networking that many of us find it useful even if we don't like it in general. The group email lists that I used to subscribe to have largely moved to Facebook.

 

But I frankly don't care what you make your family for dinner, how much you love your kids, or what you're going to watch on TV tonight. Sorry.  :crying:

 

So I mostly check Facebook once a day and have it organized so that I can zip through and move on.

 

Professionally, I think it's very valuable to work out what you're truly good at and enjoy, and put your efforts towards that. Setting prioritized goals is very important. I write up weekly goals every Sunday and use that to guide my week.

 

Of course life sometimes derails that. The number of urgent interruptions outside of work that I've been juggling over the last six months is killing me, and there's really not a lot I can do about that most of the time. There are some calls and emails that you just can't schedule.

 

But I do like the use of a timer during periods when I can truly ignore email and the phone. I find that I can be very, very productive in 30 minutes if everything else is screened out and then I can go put in a load of laundry or meet the carpool or whatever.

 

I'll probably wait on his latest book until the library get it, but we busy people need all of the help we can get!

Would you elaborate on how you have organized Facebook? How, why and when Facebook posts to my Timeline is a great mystery to me.

Edited January 20, 2016 by Azalea

[MarkT]

I am halfway through this book and loving it.  The trends in office space these days is ridiculous. I think the whole push towards open office space is to have the bean-counters showing a low square footage per employee.

 

I also will discuss with DS about this topic in his HS context. He has too many distractions while trying to do his homework and studying for tests.

[Joules]

I listened to the audiobook, but am getting the book for another, more thorough, read.  So many of the concepts in the book are how ds functions best (and why homeschooling was appropriate for him).  He is starting college with all of the associated busyness, so he'll have to fight to protect his deep thinking time.

 

My most productive times were when deep work was possible for me.  As I am preparing to re-enter the workforce, it's been a great reminder of what I need.  I found inspiring.  He also has some very useful ideas on how to organize deep work around different professional lifestyles.  

 

The only complaint I have is that it is mostly for professionals.  There is not much acknowledgement of "life" affecting deep work or that deep work is a luxury for some people.  I had this background annoyance that he probably has a wife at home that handles real life that intrudes on any ability to focus: calls from the school/daycare/assisted living center, family issues, bills, paperwork, taxes, pets, the HOA, the plumber, and so on.  (But that may be my own issues leaking in as I am the administrivia manager for our household.)

Edited February 22, 2016 by Joules

[JumpyTheFrog]

The only complaint I have is that it is mostly for professionals.  There is not much acknowledgement of "life" affecting deep work or that deep work is a luxury for some people.  I had this background annoyance that he probably has a wife at home that handles real life that intrudes on any ability to focus: calls from the school/daycare/assisted living center, family issues, bills, paperwork, taxes, pets, the HOA, the plumber, and so on.  (But that may be my own issues leaking in as I am the administrivia manager for our household.)

 

I haven't read this book, but I have the same complaint about most productivity podcasts and books I've tried. They are usually written by men who either don't have kids, or have wives that must take care of everything. I'd like to find something useful to apply, but it's hard when a person has two little mess-making work-interruptors running around all the time.