Once you’ve learned a skill, you need to do something useful to it. Apply the skills to increase your output. And learning challenging new skills requires focused concentration.Ģ. To continue staying relevant over decades, you must continue to learn new skills. This is true of fields as wide-ranging as computer programming, marketing, academic research, and financial investments. ![]() Today’s economy changes so quickly that a technology or best practice that was hot 5 years ago might be obsolete today. In the information economy, people who have the ability to master complex machines and solve complex problems are the ones who will be more valued.ĭeep work allows you to do two things critical to your performance in this economy:ġ. Then we’ll cover the strategies and tactics you’ll need to engage in deep work. First we’ll cover the idea behind deep work, why it’s rare today, and why it’s so valuable. No one trusted him with being a department head then! Nobel laureate and physicist Richard Feynman wanted to escape operational and bureaucratic tasks, so he invented a myth that he was irresponsible.This avoids all the tempting distractions of the computer. Woody Allen doesn’t own a computer, preferring to write on a manual typewriter instead.Bill Gates takes think weeks twice a year, isolating himself to read and think big thoughts.That’s why some famously productive people carve out dedicated time for deep work: It becomes harder to summon the skills to focus and remain undistracted.īuilding deep work takes dedicated practice and focus. If your mind is at a basal level of distraction and anxiety all day, you can lose your ability to do deep work. The ability to do deep work behaves like muscle strength. Thus, the time when deep work is most important is when it is most difficult. Phones, emails, and addictive apps pull us away every few minutes. Ironically, the same technologies that caused the information economy are depleting our ability to conduct deep work. ![]() Your ability to do deep work will determine how much you thrive in this economy. But now skills that succeed in the new economy – like complex problem solving, data analysis, and computer programming – require deep work to learn and execute. The old economy – working in a manufacturing plant – didn’t require deep work for most workers. Over the past decades, the economy has moved away from brute force labor to information. Why It’s So ValuableĪs our economy changes, deep work becomes more valuable. Even among talented technologists, Gates was renowned for his concentration and deep work. He worked with incredible intensity, falling asleep on his keyboard while programming, then waking up a few hours later and resuming. ![]() When founding Microsoft in 1974, Bill Gates was obsessive about creating the company’s first software product. But, what is deep work? It can be transformational. Groundbreaking ideas and meaningful progress come from deep work, not shallow work. These tasks don’t create much value and are easy for others to replicate. In contrast, “shallow work” describes tasks that aren’t cognitively demanding – like answering email, filling out paperwork, and attending unproductive meetings. “Deep work” is focused, uninterrupted, undistracted work on a task that pushes your cognitive abilities to their limit. In contrast, shallow work describes tasks that aren’t demanding such as answering emails.Ĭontinue on to learn more about deep work and why it’s so important. What is deep work and how does it differ from shallow work? Why is deep work so rare and valuable these days? Why does deep work help with learning and productivity?ĭeep work is focused and undistracted work that pushes your cognitive abilities to their limit. Like this article? Sign up for a free trial here. ![]() Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading. This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "Deep Work" by Cal Newport.
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