Some time ago, I read Deep Work: Rules for focused success in a distracted world by Cal Newport, and since then, I’ve recommended it to a number of people in my field and elsewhere. It’s a book oriented towards knowledge workers and those whose work requires focused attention, deep study, or similar. And it’s really excellent; it helped me understand a number of things I’d discovered about myself but not really put into words, as well as giving me ideas on how to make better use of my time.

One key point he makes which is particularly appropriate for our time is that filling our lives with a constant flow of information from many sources, notifications, etc., is a recipe for constantly feeling busy and overwhelmed – but not managing to do the things which are truly most important.

One thing he highly recommends – and cites the research to back up – is having a clear line between work and non-work, where we quit checking work e-mail and messages after a certain time of day, giving our brains time to recover and think about other things. Apparently, this actually improves our ability to really focus and get deeply into focused work when we ARE working. When reading this, I realized I somewhat accidentally set up my life this way; when we had twins, family life got crazy, and after that I moved away from the faculty work schedule typical in my area (which involves working as much as possible) towards a more regular work schedule where I typically shut off work nights and weekends. While I put in less time than I used to, I think it helps me be more productive and be deeply focused when I AM working.

Another area of research he touches on is the benefit of time outside; he cites research indicating that people who went outside for a walk then worked on a difficult task were more successful than those who went straight into the task, and this effect seems independent of the weather; even those who had to walk outside in a winter snowstorm showed the same effect. I think this is why I benefit so much from getting in my morning runs regularly; it gives me time to unwind, shut off my brain, and just enjoy the outdoors – all of which helps me face my work and be productive when I sit down to it.

Other key take-aways from this book were:

  • We can trade focus for time: A relatively small amount of deeply focused time, just a few hours per day, is often worth far more than much more time if it’s less focused. So, minimizing distractions during focused work is essential.
  • We often find the most satisfaction in creating things of real, lasting value, which requires focus
  • I felt this was the direction God is calling me to invest my time and effort: Having adequate time for important, creative things in my area involving real focus, and pruning other things into designated slots rather than letting my agenda be dictated by others
  • Avoid infinite feeds because these can be endless time-sinks (e.g. Twitter)
  • Save social media for when it’s the best tool for the job; see it as a tool, and don’t go on it just to browse – use it only with purpose, and know WHAT purpose
  • Block time for what matters most/for deep work. If we don’t block time for our most important things (especially those which require deep focus) we probably won’t get to them
  • We’re often inclined to do things which are easy and measurable at the expense of deep, focused work, which can be hard to measure. Being constantly connected and always available seems essential; being “busy” feels like tangible progress, whereas doing something involving deep focus doesn’t always produce tangible output. This tends to result in us down-prioritizing focus work, even though it’s vital.
  • Context switching and interruptions of our attention delay progress far more than the amount of time involved, so we need to minimize these if we’re to do big things
  • He advocates tallying the amount of time we spend on focused tasks/deep work and working to gradually increase it
  • He has valuable tips for e-mail, which partly involve “working more” on e-mail – instead of dashing off a quick response, proposing a plan to permanently resolve the issue/setting up a process (if it’s worth responding to).
  • He suggests quantifying the “deepness” of work as way of thinking about how much focus/intensity it requires; he suggests assessing the number of years of training it would require an average college graduate to complete the task. So, editing a research paper is very deep, because it might require a graduate education (5 years of training after undergraduate, perhaps).

Anyway, there was a lot here I found very helpful in thinking about how I manage my time, energy and resources. Since reading it, I’ve tried to block out one day a week with no (recurring) meetings in an effort to put more time into the parts of my work requiring deep focus – the things which are most important to what I’m doing, often, but also hardest to find time for.

Overall, life on this earth is brief, and I want to make the most out of the limited time I have, using it for God’s glory. Ps. 90:2 says: “So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.” While this book is not explicitly Christian, it does deal with how fast time passes, and I found that valuable. I highly recommend the book if you’re a knowledge worker or someone whose work can benefit from deep focus.