Working Deep

During the pandemic, I picked up a new hobby - listening to audio books. I also decided for each audio book I read, I will jot down a few take-home points that resonate with me and post those on my LI account. This is mostly for me - to help me remember and practise my writing skills - but I thought this may be a good way to inject some vitality into my account, instead of just repost/like/comment on articles others created. So if you happen to stumble across this and are interested, I welcome you to keep reading, but kindly excuse any grammatical mistakes.

The recent book I finished is Deep Work - Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World - by Cal Newport. It was brought to my attention by my boss. So here are my take home lessons: 

1. Definition of Deep Work - Single task, free from distraction, extended periods of time. For knowledge workers, Deep Work is way more valuable, powerful and satisfying than shallow work.
2. Based on neuroscience evidence, “to be great at something is to be well myelinated!” (one of my favorite quotes from the book).  Going deep allows you to use specific brain circuitry and isolate/train that specific circuit, so it becomes well myelinated which then makes you proficient. I guess it is kind of similar to body builders training particular sets of skeletal muscles. 
3. Three arguments for deep work - neurological, psychological and philosophical.
4. Rule #1: Practise 4Dx (4 Disciplines of Execution) for Deep Work. I learnt about 4Dx during Business Bootcamp at work, so this chapter is a good refresher and see how it can be applied to Deep Work.
5. Downtime is good!  Downtime aids insight, especially when processing large, complex and conflicting information (based on unconscious thought theory). Also recharges the energy needed to work deeply. Apparently you can only spend at most 4 hours consecutively on Deep Work. 
6. Rule #2:  Distraction: “Once you are wired for distraction, you crave it!” (another quote from the book). After reading this, I started to examine my own habit of using social media. Indeed, I found myself a lot less disciplined than I previously thought. For example, if waiting for something or someone, I automatically take out my phone to check for messages. When faced with a tough assignment, I tend to check my emails more frequently rather than bite the bullet to think deep. Newport suggested doing something else. Develop productive meditation habits and use network (email, social media, etc) tools wisely.  Network tools are made to be addictive, so don’t fall slavery to them.  Don’t succumb to a “any benefit” mindset, but use a craftsman's approach instead, curating these tools.  
7. Rule #4: Treat your time with respect - “When you are stingy with time, you use them wisely.”  “Take breaks from distraction, not from Deep Work”. Apply fixed schedule productivity, this means turning off the computer after you put in a day’s work.  Apparently by applying deep work properly, one can excel in the job and still find time to enjoy life! 
8. Another favorite quote (this time Newport is quoting from Tim Ferriss): “Develop the habit of letting small bad things happen, If you don’t, you will never find time to get big things done!” This quote somehow makes me think of a stress-reducing habit I learnt from a professor, that in giving a presentation, I allow myself 3 small mistakes to happen, so I don’t get too nervous and overly stressed about the final result. 
9. This book was written for knowledge workers, and in the author’s mind, knowledge workers include the likes of writers, journalists, and scientists, anyone whose job is to spend most of their time coming up with original articles or innovative designs. When I observe my husband, who has written a handful of theology books, and is currently at the start of his next writing project, I noticed funny enough, he employs a lot of the advice in the book without ever reading it. So I guess there is some universal theme running through this book.