Deep Work: The Idea That Will Transform How We Live and Work

When you ask people what they want most in their work lives, they often say “more time.” But time is a finite resource. The real reason we feel short on time is that we have too much to do and not enough attention to give to each task. We spend our days in a frantic blur of email and social media, not giving enough thought to the work that matters most to us.??

We all know this feeling, although just a few of us are doing anything about it. This needs to change because attention management is the key skill of our age - now more than ever. We need skills to be able to focus if we want our work (and life) to be significant and meaningful.

The Deep Work Hypothesis

You can think of deep work as the ability to focus without distraction. It happens when you are so deeply engaged with a task that uses all of your mental resources and don’t notice time passing. But if you're able to do it well, you'll be rewarded with a sense of deep satisfaction that comes from making progress on challenging projects.

Deep work isn't mindless or effortless; instead, it requires intense concentration and mental stamina (in particular), for sustained periods of time since there are times when the level of concentration will drop.? ?

It is not easy to develop these traits. You will need to gradually increase your capacity by practicing habits that support depth, such as focusing intensely on a single task without being distracted by other things, including social media notifications. Rather than switching back and forth between distraction and work, lowering your ability to perform the latter, keep off distracting websites and apps for a predetermined amount of time. Simply make ‘offline’ your default.

A New Way to Measure the Depth of Your Work

The depth of your work is defined by the amount of time you spend focused on one task, with no interruptions from other thoughts or activities.

It's simply the ratio between time spent on a task, and all other activities in a single day. The important thing here is that the quality of the experience should be consistent across time periods - even though there are many distractions present during those periods such as drops in level of concentration.

Mastery Requires Deep Work

The only way to get better at something is to practice. And the more you practice, the quicker you'll improve in that area. This is true for any skill, from playing chess to dancing ballet, playing a musical instrument or using data analysis software.

When you're learning something new, there are two possibilities:

• The first is that you're learning to do it by habitual repetition. You repeat the same mistakes over and over again until you finally get it right. This is what most people think of as "learning" - and it's not very interesting.
• The second possibility is that you're actually improving your ability to do something in a new way. This requires deep work. It means spending time on the task itself, not just repeating the same thing over and over again. If you want to become a better dancer or musician, this is how you do it.

In both cases, there's a simple rule: if you want to get better at something, practice!

Craftsmanship and Deep Work Need Each Other

Deep work is like meditation. It's not something you can just learn or practice one day and be able to do on demand going forward. There needs to be some kind of foundation upon which you can build your skills and abilities. And that foundation is called "deep work."

In order for craftsmanship to happen, deep work must first happen. And in order for deep work to happen, craftsmanship must first happen. These two things are not mutually exclusive; they're both needed for each other to succeed. They're like a circle where each piece feeds into the other and builds on itself.

High-Quality Works Demands Depth

Deep work is an investment in yourself. The payoff is that you get a better understanding of yourself, your priorities, your strengths, and where your weaknesses are.? As you learn to do it, the returns increase exponentially. The more time you invest in deepening your craft and improving your performance, the better you get at doing it.

The following are some of the benefits of developing deep work skills:

• You'll be able to produce higher-quality work because you're focused on fewer things
• You'll have greater control over your time schedule so that your life feels less stressful
• The quality of your relationships will improve since you will have more time with your friends and family.

The Deep Life Is a Good Life

It’s a life of meaning and engagement, of challenge and accomplishment. It’s not just about work; it’s about everything you do in your life. It’s about the way you spend your time and the people who influence that time. It’s about the projects you take on and how you complete them. It’s about how well you treat yourself, how much kindness you show others, and how hard you work at being kind to yourself when faced with challenges or setbacks or failures.

The Deep Life is a good life because it contributes to all the other parts of our lives: family, friends, community, co-workers, business partners, clients etc. Because it contributes to our health, relationships and wellbeing. Because we are happier when we are living the deep life. And because many of us know that deep work can be done at any age and with multiple kinds of work that fit into different stages of life.

Value Creation

Deep work is the kind of activity that’s both rare and valuable. It creates real value for companies and makes you more productive, creative, and drives you to be more insightful.?

But deep work isn’t just about making money or feeding your ego. It can also be about cultivating better interpersonal relationships. If you're a parent who spends time with your children each day after school or on weekends, you’re doing deep work. As long as it doesn't require emailing or talking on the phone while they're around, especially if they're at an age where they need parental supervision. Your focus during these moments helps teach your kids how to concentrate when they grow up focusing much on their responsibilities—and it builds memories that will last forever!

Deep work has the potential to improve our lives more than any other skill you could learn. It’s incredibly valuable for students, entrepreneurs, and professionals alike because it teaches us to focus on matters that are important and gives us control over how we spend our time.

It's hard to imagine a better learning discipline than deep work: it makes you smarter, more productive and ultimately happier. If your goal is deep work mastery, then you need to start thinking like a craftsman. Focus on learning the skills that will get you closer to your goals every day; focus on practicing these skills as often as possible; focus on doing your best work with what you have right now.

Written by Clifford Sangai