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[SUMMARY] by Alex Denning - Deep work in practice: reimagining my workflow for radically less distraction
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<h1 style="text-align: center;">Deep work in practice: reimagining my workflow for radically less distraction</h1> <h2>[WHAT]</h2> <ol> <li>by Alex Denning - Deep work in practice: reimagining my workflow for radically less distraction</li> </ol> <h2>[WHY]</h2> <ol> <li>] </li> </ol> <h2>[WHERE]</h2> <ol> <li><strong>] READ THE FULL ARTICLE</strong></li> <ol> <li>] <a href="https://alexdenning.com/deep-work-in-practice/" target="_blank">https://alexdenning.com/deep-work-in-practice/</a></li> </ol></ol> <h2>[WHEN]</h2> <ol> <li>] 2016-10-18</li> </ol> <h2>[EXAMPLE- SUMMARY]</h2> <ol> <li>] 1 of the more embarrassing and self-indulgent <strong>challenges of our time is the task of relearning how to concentrate.</strong> The past decade has seen <strong>an unparalleled assault on our capacity to fix our minds steadily on anything.</strong> To sit still and think, without succumbing to an anxious reach for a machine, has become almost impossible. ] OP has discovered that he has a serious problem with "deep work"</li> <li>] Deep work refers to <a href="http://calnewport.com/blog/2012/11/21/knowledge-workers-are-bad-at-working-and-heres-what-to-do-about-it/" target="_blank">Cal Newport’s thesis</a> (he expands on it vastly in <a href="http://calnewport.com/books/deep-work/" target="_blank">his excellent book</a>) that:[Deep work is] <strong>cognitively demanding activities that leverage our training to generate rare and valuable results</strong>, and that<strong> push our abilities to continually improve…</strong> [. Deep work results in]<strong> improvement of the value of your work output…</strong> [and] an <strong>increase in the total quantity of valuable output you produce.</strong></li> <li>] This is contrasted with<strong> “shallow work”, the tasks that “almost anyone, with a minimum of training, could accomplish”</strong> such as checking emails, ? planning ?, social media etc. </li> <li>] I read Deep Work more or less in one sitting on <a>a twelve hour flight from Tokyo</a> and<strong> it summarised much of my pre-held thoughts on productivity </strong>I just hadn’t adopted to the same extent as Prof. Newport advocates. I think the basic thesis is very strong and<strong> I’m yet to find a better blueprint for work in the modern economy.</strong></li> <li><strong>] Deep work requires prolonged periods of concentration on hard problems.</strong> For me that typically means writing of some kind and project planning. w<strong>e’ve experienced an unparalleled assault on our capacity to fix our minds steadily on anything in recent years and this is a problem.</strong></li> <li>] the US output per hour (a standard measure of labour productivity) has decreased from an annual rate of 3% between 1945 and the 1970s to 0.5% since 2010. The latest annualised productivity growth rate was minus 0.4%.</li> <li>] <strong>The internet “is designed to be an interruption system”,</strong> and we are “addicted to distraction”, <strong>Social media and apps use the same principles as slot machines: intermittent reinforcement.</strong> When you pull to refresh Twitter or Facebook or your email you don’t know what you’re going to get – it may be nothing or it may be a really cool email. The randomness makes the action of checking addictive. <strong>Technology companies know and use this and we are ill-equipped to defend ourselves.</strong></li> <li>] identified two problems ] The type of <strong>work that is valuable in the modern economy involves long periods of serious work and focus.</strong> <strong>] We are easily distracted</strong> and find prolonged period of focus difficult. </li> <li><strong>] Trying to break the “distraction habit” is hard</strong> and this is what I’ve been doing and what has worked for me: ] Delete social media apps from my phone (that aim to be addictive). I can still access from the mobile browser if I want, but its inconvenience puts me off. ] Ban my phone from the toilet. Yup. This is actually a big one. ] Stop keeping my phone near my bed. Check your email before you get out of bed? If you can’t reach it, you can’t. ] Stop carrying my phone in my pocket. Keeping it in my bag instead makes it less convenient and me less prone to picking it up. </li> <li><strong>] at work -</strong> ] Recognise when I’m doing deep work and need to focus (this is useful for stopping yourself when you’re tempted to change tab). ] Install Timewarp for Chrome. This doesn’t aggressively block websites (although you can if you wish), but puts up a timer for selected sites, showing you how much time you’ve spent on a site that day. Much more useful than sweary alternatives*. ] Put my phone on do not disturb and keep it off my desk. ] Use full screen mode in app and browser. ] Remove the bookmarks bar from Chrome. ] Close my email app and only open at set times. ] Listen to more classical music.</li> <li>] <strong>long time fan of the Pomodoro Technique</strong> and relied on it almost exclusively for the last two years of my degree, but <strong>I’ve not found it such a useful ally in the quest for deep work.</strong> It’s a prop for concentration rather than an outright fix </li> <li><strong>] How do I get deep work done?</strong> consider 1] <strong>Your work schedule</strong> and 2] <strong>what you’re working on</strong>. 1] set aside time for working out what you’re working on, so when you sit down to work it’s just a case of getting on with the deep work. 2] The second appears simple but is more complex to fix: you need to be working on projects interesting enough that they can demand your attention. Something to think about.</li> <li><strong>] Embracing Deep Work </strong></li> <ol> <li><strong>] Distraction is a problem.</strong> <strong>We’re probably reliant on or addicted to the internet</strong> more than we’d like to admit. Fixing this will be a work in progress, but acting now, recognising the problem and consciously trying to fix it is as good a first step as any. Certain apps are especially bad for this. </li> <li><strong>] Deep work requires prolonged focus on hard things. </strong></li> <li>] Reducing distractions in general and at work is helpful. </li> <li>] <a style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #ae2525; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 1px solid #ae2525;" href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/timewarp/mmmhadpnjmokjbmgamifipkjddhlfkhi">Timewarp</a> for Chrome is helpful. </li> <li>] Plan your schedule in advance. </li> <li>] This is all a lot easier if you’re working on interesting and important things.</li> </ol></ol> <h2>[HOW-TO]</h2> <ol> <li>] </li> </ol> <h2>[REFERENCE]</h2> <ol> <li> ] SRC=<a href="/view/article?id=5331" target="_blank">best-of-hacker-news-2016-10-18</a> - hn(#)/<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12734671" target="_blank">comments</a>(#)</li> <li>] <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25744928-deep-work" target="_blank">http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25744928-deep-work</a> </li> </ol> <p> </p> <p> </p> <hr /> <table class="comment-tree" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-color: #f6f6ef;" border="0"> <tbody> <tr id="12734960" class="athing comtr "> <td style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #828282;"> <table border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td class="default" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #828282;"> <div style="margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: -10px;"><span class="comhead" style="font-size: 8pt;"><a class="hnuser" style="color: #828282; text-decoration: none;" href="https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=amerine">amerine</a> <span class="age"><a style="color: #828282; text-decoration: none;" href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12734960">1 day ago</a></span> <a class="togg">[-]</a></span></div> <br /> <div class="comment" style="font-size: 9pt; max-width: 1215px; overflow: auto;"><span class="c00" style="color: #000000;"><span class="c00" style="color: #000000;">This is the first I've heard the term "deep work". Is this a more common term or something coined recently?</span></span> <div class="reply"> <p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a style="color: #000000;" href="https://news.ycombinator.com/reply?id=12734960&goto=item%3Fid%3D12734671%2312734960">reply</a></span></span></p> </div> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </td> </tr> <tr id="12734991" class="athing comtr "> <td style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #828282;"> <table border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td class="ind" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #828282;"><img src="https://news.ycombinator.com/s.gif" alt="" width="40" height="1" /></td> <td class="votelinks" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #828282;" valign="top"> </td> <td class="default" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #828282;"> <div style="margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: -10px;"><span class="comhead" style="font-size: 8pt;"><a class="hnuser" style="color: #828282; text-decoration: none;" href="https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=throw20160915">throw20160915</a> <span class="age"><a style="color: #828282; text-decoration: none;" href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12734991">1 day ago</a></span> <a class="togg">[-]</a></span></div> <br /> <div class="comment" style="font-size: 9pt; max-width: 1215px; overflow: auto;"><span class="c00" style="color: #000000;"><span class="c00" style="color: #000000;"><a style="color: #000000;" href="http://calnewport.com/books/deep-work/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://calnewport.com/books/deep-work/</a></span></span> <div class="reply"> <p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a style="color: #000000;" href="https://news.ycombinator.com/reply?id=12734991&goto=item%3Fid%3D12734671%2312734991">reply</a></span></span></p> </div> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </td> </tr> <tr id="12735218" class="athing comtr "> <td style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #828282;"> <table border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td class="ind" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #828282;"><img src="https://news.ycombinator.com/s.gif" alt="" width="80" height="1" /></td> <td class="votelinks" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #828282;" valign="top"> </td> <td class="default" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #828282;"> <div style="margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: -10px;"><span class="comhead" style="font-size: 8pt;"><a class="hnuser" style="color: #828282; text-decoration: none;" href="https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=henrik_w">henrik_w</a> <span class="age"><a style="color: #828282; text-decoration: none;" href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12735218">1 day ago</a></span> <a class="togg">[-]</a></span></div> <br /> <div class="comment" style="font-size: 9pt; max-width: 1215px; overflow: auto;"><span class="c00" style="color: #000000;"><span class="c00" style="color: #000000;">+1 for the book - really good!</span></span> <div class="reply"> <p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a style="color: #000000;" href="https://news.ycombinator.com/reply?id=12735218&goto=item%3Fid%3D12734671%2312735218">reply</a></span></span></p> </div> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </td> </tr> <tr id="12737197" class="athing comtr "> <td style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #828282;"> <table border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td class="ind" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #828282;"><img src="https://news.ycombinator.com/s.gif" alt="" width="40" height="1" /></td> <td class="votelinks" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #828282;" valign="top"> </td> <td class="default" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #828282;"> <div style="margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: -10px;"><span class="comhead" style="font-size: 8pt;"><a class="hnuser" style="color: #828282; text-decoration: none;" href="https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=qntty">qntty</a> <span class="age"><a style="color: #828282; text-decoration: none;" href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12737197">1 day ago</a></span> <a class="togg">[-]</a></span></div> <br /> <div class="comment" style="font-size: 9pt; max-width: 1215px; overflow: auto;"><span class="c00" style="color: #000000;"><span class="c00" style="color: #000000;">This is the blog post that (I believe) coined the term:</span></span> <p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><a style="color: #000000;" href="http://calnewport.com/blog/2012/11/21/knowledge-workers-are-bad-at-working-and-heres-what-to-do-about-it/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://calnewport.com/blog/2012/11/21/knowledge-workers-are-...</a></p> <div class="reply"> <p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a style="color: #000000;" href="https://news.ycombinator.com/reply?id=12737197&goto=item%3Fid%3D12734671%2312737197">reply</a></span></span></p> </div> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p> </p> <p> </p> <table style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-color: #f6f6ef;" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td class="default" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #828282;"> <div style="margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: -10px;"><span class="comhead" style="font-size: 8pt;"><a class="hnuser" style="color: #828282; text-decoration: none;" href="https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=J-dawg">J-dawg</a> <span class="age"><a style="color: #828282; text-decoration: none;" href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12736334">1 day ago</a></span> <a class="togg">[-]</a></span></div> <br /> <div class="comment" style="font-size: 9pt; max-width: 1215px; overflow: auto;"><span class="c00" style="color: #000000;"><span class="c00" style="color: #000000;">I only heard the term "deep work" yesterday, listening to Cal Newport on James Altucher's podcast.</span></span> <p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 0px;">It's a pretty good introduction and he talks about his own approach to work. He's also a professor of computer science!</p> <p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 0px;">They talk about his other book first (also interesting), so you need to skip a little way ahead for the deep work stuff.</p> <p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><a style="color: #000000;" href="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-james-altucher-show/id794030859?mt=2&i=375568891" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-james-altucher-show/...</a></p> <p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><a style="color: #000000;" href="http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2016/09/cal-newport/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2016/09/cal-newport/</a></p> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>