Deep Work

Working deeply is one of the most valuable skills in the

contemporary world and "Deep Work" is a manifesto on
this working style. Deep work is a skill that is becoming
increasingly rare with technological advances, mobile
computing, and our increasing reliance on social
networks. Working deeply means developing the ability to
focus on tasks that require great cognitive attention
without being distracted. In "Deep Work", Cal Newport
will help you learn how to develop deep focus so you can
produce at the highest level and highest performance.
Work hard to achieve professional success. 12min has a
fantastic microbook for you!

Multitasking Is Killing Your Productivity

Deep Work is the skill that will help you do a lot more in
less time and learn complex new skills quickly. To survive
in the contemporary world, it is essential.

Increasingly, we, information professionals, fragment our

attention thanks to the constant access to virtual tools,
such as social networks, emails and the internet itself.
Succumbing to these distractions makes us unable to work
deeply and makes us work superficially. Deep Work must
be mastered because superficial work does not exploit our
full potential and is easily repeatable and replaceable by
other people.

If you are like most of us, you probably do many things at

once and believe that this is the best use of your time. The
bad news is that this logic is wrong because working on
many things in parallel is not synonymous with
productivity. It is necessary to abandon the multitasking
mode in which we are used to operate. A University of
Minnesota study, conducted in 2009, proved that by
switching between task A and task B, people's attention
remains attached to the first task, which impairs
concentration and causes both tasks to be complete with a
worse performance.

Another study, by McKinsey Consulting, shows us that the

modern professional is extremely distracted. They spend
about 60% of their time using online communication tools
and surfing the internet. Almost 30% of the professional
time is dedicated to answering emails. This allows us to
complete small tasks and feel busy, when in fact we are
destroying our productivity by a lack of focus

Key Skills For Deep Work

To be able to work in depth, two skills are essential. The

first is the ability to quickly master difficult and complex
things. The second is the ability to produce in high
performance, both in quality and speed.

To learn difficult things quickly, you need to focus

intensely and without distractions. Learning is an act of
'deep work, ' and if you feel comfortable going deeper into
the job, you will be comfortable mastering the
increasingly complex systems and skills needed to succeed
in our economy. If instead, you feel uncomfortable with
depth and constant distraction, you should not expect
these skills to be easy for you. You need to understand the
following equation:

Work produced with high quality = (time spent) x

(focus intensity)

To produce at your maximum level, you need to work for

long periods with maximum concentration in a single
task, free of distractions.

Entering Deep Work Mode

There are different strategies for entering 'deep work'

mode, and they all need your attention. There is no single
strategy, but some general tips can help.

The first approach is monastic. It is based on removing all

sources of distraction and isolating oneself from the
world, as a monk would do.
The second approach is bimodal. It is based on setting a
long period of focus and leaving the rest of your free time
to other things.

The third is the rhythmic approach, which is based on

creating the habit of working deeply in blocks of 90
minutes, for example, blocking out your agenda.

The last approach is journalistic which is based on

allocating whatever free time arises in your day to enter
the deep mode.

Regardless of which method you choose, it is important to

know that you have to be methodical to get into deep
work. You will not be able to steadily go deep into work if
you do not create a process for it.

Deep Work Must Be A Priority

Many trends in the contemporary world diminish people's

ability to do deep jobs, such as open offices without
private rooms, instant messaging platforms, and the need
to stay present on social networks. Undoubtedly, these
trends bring some benefits, such as quick responses to
conversations, the possibility of remote work and better
communication in companies, but, on the other hand,
they hamper deep work.
In addition to the trends described above, other
distractions occupy workplaces. One is the culture of
connectivity, whereby we need to respond to emails and
messages quickly and all the time. So why do so many
people preach the culture of connectivity, even though it is
likely to undermine employees’ well-being and
productivity? The answer can be found in the Lesser
Resistance Principle, which currently guides behavior in
the workplace. According to him, in a business
environment, without clear feedback of various behaviors
impacts, we tend to act according to the behaviors that are
easier at the moment.

Apparently, in today's business world, many professionals

are turning to the old definition of productivity to try to
solidify their values in their professional lives.
Information professionals tend to seek greater visible
occupation because they lack a better way to demonstrate
their value. This tendency can be called "Occupation as a
sign of productivity."

In the absence of clear indicators that indicate what it

means to be productive at work, many professionals are
looking for an industrial indicator of productivity: to do
many things visibly. That ends up hurting the
professional, as it ends up producing many small
superficial activities and becomes easily replaceable.
Therefore, today, 'deep work' which should be a priority in
the corporate environment, does not happen. The fact is
deep work is difficult, while superficial work is simple and
easy. That means that, in the absence of clear goals, the
visible occupations surrounding a task are prioritized,
making people focus only on the surface.

Deep Work Is Fulfilling If You Get In The 'Flow'

Unlike artisans facing relatively well-defined but difficult-

to-execute professional challenges, it is not easy to define
precisely the tasks that need to be performed by experts in
today's world. Everything seems to end up in some emails
and PowerPoint presentations. Besides, is it possible for
the skilled professional to perform in his work, just as the
artisan performs in his manual labor?

This connection between depth and purpose is not very

clear in specialized work, but it does not mean that it does
not exist. The objective here is to understand that deep
work can generate as much satisfaction in the information
economy era as it did in the artisanal economy.

To enter 'deep work' mode, you need to understand the

concept of flow the author brings. Flow is a state of mind
in which a person's body or mind is 'stretched' to its limits
in a voluntary effort to conquer something difficult and
fulfilling. The more flow experiences happen in a week,
the greater will be someone's satisfaction and happiness.
That is interesting because it runs counter to the popular
wisdom that it is rest that makes people happy. Deep work
is a state of continuous flow, and this flow brings
happiness. With this, we have a powerful psychology
argument for depth. Decades of research validate that of
delving into something helps us to organize our minds
and thus enriches our lives.

Deep work is the key to extracting purpose and meaning

from your profession. Also, taking deep work in your own
career and directing it to cultivate your skills is an effort
that can transform your work and make it no longer a
distracted obligation but a fulfilling and satisfying task.

Routines And Rituals To Enter 'Deep Work'

The key to developing deep work is to add routines and

rituals in your life to minimize how much willpower you
need to maintain a state of uninterrupted concentration.
For example, if in the middle of a distracting afternoon
surfing the internet, you suddenly decide to shift your
attention to a task with a cognitive requirement, you will
need a strong will to move away from the web. Such
attempts often fail. On the other hand, with clever
routines and rituals - such as separating a quiet time and
place for your deep tasks - you will need far less of your
 willpower to start and keep working. In the long run, you
will succeed in these deep endeavors much more often.

To get the most out of your deep work, build rituals in

your workday. Decide:

 Where are you going to work and for how long? If

possible, choose a unique place to go deeper, such as an
empty conference room or a quiet library.
 How will you work after you've started? Your ritual needs
to have rules and processes to keep your efforts
structured. For example, you can institute a ban on any
use of the internet or keep a metric such as 'written words
every 20 minutes' to maintain your concentration.
 How will you support your work? Your ritual needs to
ensure that your brain receives the support it needs to
operate at a high level of depth. For example, the ritual
may specify that you start with a cup of coffee or make
sure you have access to enough food to maintain your
energy or even integrate light exercise like a walk to help
clear your mind.

Also, plan your downtime. Idle time helps your brain rest
and makes your deep work hours more productive. There
are three other reasons for you to provide a little idleness
to your work:

 Improved downtime. Providing time for your brain to rest

allows your unconscious to work on the more complex
 professional challenges. So the habit of 'turning off' is not
necessarily reducing the amount of time you spend on
productive work. On the contrary, it is diversifying the
kind of work you are capable of accomplishing.
 Idle time recharges the energy needed to work deeply.
Your attention is a finite resource. If you do away with it,
you will have trouble concentrating. The main idea of this
theory is that if you take some time off from this activity,
you will be able to restore your ability to direct your
attention and your focus.
 Work replaced by idle time is not so important. Your
ability to work deep in one day is limited. After reaching
your maximum load during your workday, you should not
be afraid to stop and rest. After all, you will not be able to
continue working efficiently, and your efforts will be
confined to low-value tasks performed at a slow speed.

Practice Productive Meditation

Once your brain has become accustomed to an ultra

distracted world, it is difficult to adapt it to function
deeply. If every moment of potential boredom in your life
- for example, if you need to wait five minutes in queue or
sit alone in a restaurant until your friends arrive - is
relieved by a quick glance at your cell phone, your brain
has reached a stage where you are not ready to work
deeply - even if you practice concentration regularly.
Therefore, you should practice productive meditation. Its
goal is to get you to be physically busy, but not mentally,
such as walking, driving or showering - and focus your
attention entirely on a well-defined professional problem.
Depending on your profession, this problem may be
writing an article, trying to define a business strategy, or
preparing a talk. Just as in full meditation, you need to
continue to attract your attention to the problem. To be
successful with productive meditation, it is important to
recognize that, like any other form of meditation, you
need to practice a lot to do well.

As a beginner, when you begin your productive meditation

session, the first reflection of your mind will bring more
interesting, disconnected thoughts. When you notice that
your attention is getting away from the problem,
remember that you can think about these things later and
redirect your attention to the problem again.

Liberate Yourself From Social Networks

Identify the key factors which determine success and

happiness in your professional and personal life. Adopt
tools like Facebook and Twitter if their positive impacts
on these factors outweigh the negative ones.

You do not have to leave the internet completely, but you

must reject the distracted state of being always connected.
 There is a middle ground, and if you are interested in
developing a deep work habit, you need to fight to get
there. Keep in mind the following points:

 Apply the Pareto rule to your internet habits. This

rule states that, in many contexts, 80% of results are due
to only 20% of efforts.
 Abandon social networks for 30 days. Do not
formally disable these services and do not mention online
that you will be leaving: just stop using them. After thirty
days of network isolation, ask yourself the following
questions: Would the last 30 days have been better if I
had used these service? Did the people care that I was not
using this service?
 Do not use the internet for fun. Giving your mind
some significant task during all your working hours, you
will end the day more satisfied and will start the next day
more relaxed. If instead, you allow your mind to wander
for hours on the internet, this productivity does not
happen.

To summarize, if you want to eliminate the addiction of

entertainment sites by draining your time and attention,
give your brain a quality alternative. Not only will this
preserve your ability to withstand distractions and focus,
but it will also help you experience what it means to live,
not just exist.
Eliminate Superficial Work

Treat superficial work with suspicion, because its damage

is often underestimated and its importance
overestimated. This type of work is inevitable, but you
must keep it confined to a point where it does not hinder
your ability to make the most of your deep work efforts,
the ones that make the most impact.

Start by programming every minute of your day:

A combination of organized programming and the

flexibility to reschedule things if necessary will allow for
more creative insights than a more traditional approach,
with an unstructured and open day. Without a framework,
it's easy to let your time slip into superficiality - email,
social networking and the internet. This kind of
superficial behavior, while pleasurable at the moment,
does not lead to creativity. On the other hand, with a
structure, it is possible to define regular blocks of time to
generate new ideas or to work deeply on some challenge
or brainstorm for a fixed period of time. That is the kind
of commitment that drives innovation.

Quantify depth of each activity:

One advantage of scheduling your day is that you can

determine how much time you are spending on surface
activities. Once you understand where your activities are
 on the scale of depth or superficiality, spend your time in
the deep end.

What percentage of my time should be spent on shallow

jobs? If you have a boss, have a talk with him about it. You
will probably need to define for him what "shallow" and
"deep" jobs are. If you are self-employed, ask yourself this
question.

Finish your work at 5:30 p.m.

That is a fixed commitment to productivity, suggested by

Cal. Having a set time to end the workday makes it
necessary for you to be able to find productivity strategies
that allow you to complete everything that needs to be
done at the right time and the right speed.

 Make it difficult to send messages to your

email: The idea that all messages, regardless of reason or
sender, arrive in the same inbox, and that there is an
expectation that each message needs a response, is
extremely unproductive. Creating a sender filter is a small
but very useful step to improve this situation. Sender and
folder filtering for strangers is a good way to take control
of your time.
 Devote yourself more to the emails you send and
respond: Responding to emails with a quick response
will, in a short time, give you a little relief because you will
be getting rid of the responsibility brought by the
 message. However, this relief is short-term, as the
responsibility will continue to come back to you in each
new email you send, taking your time and attention. To
handle it, the best way is to take a break before
responding to each email and be precise in the content of
your messages, to ensure that they do not keep coming
back forever.
 Do not reply to all your emails. Develop the habit of
letting little bad things happen. If you do not, you will
never find time for big and important things. You should
be content to realize that, as MIT teachers have
discovered, people are quick to adjust their expectations
to their specific communication habits. The fact that you
do not respond to your messages is probably not a central
event in your life. Do not respond to emails that do not
relate to your interests or agenda, nor those that are
ambiguous or difficult.

Final Notes:

Deep life's not for everyone. It requires hard work and

drastic changes in your habits. For many, there is a
comfort in the artificial occupation of responding to
messages quickly or posting on social networks, but deep
living requires you to leave a lot behind. There is also a
difficulty that surrounds any effort to produce the best
things that you are able to produce, as this forces you to
confront the possibility that your best (yet) is not so good.

But if you are willing to dodge these comforts and fears,

and strive to use your mind in its fullest capacity to create
important things, then you will find that depth creates a
life rich in productivity and meaning.

12min tip: If you liked this microbook, how about

continuing to improve your productivity with “Focus” by
Daniel Goleman?