Less Distraction, Better Work

Fred Dorsimont
Jul 30, 2017 · 4 min read

Don’t let technology and immediacy control you, and place your concentration on creating more work of value

Great thinkers like Mark Twain understand the value of protecting themselves from distraction to focus on their work

Particularly useful episode of The Hidden Brain this week, on the notion of ‘Deep Work’ — cultivating our attention and what we gain by immersing ourselves in meaningful work. Key points below:

In an era of constant connectedness, we’re all expected to respond instantly, be always on and do multiple things at once. And when one’s phone buzzes or notifications pop up one’s screen, who doesn’t stop what they’re doing to look and respond?

The world of work provides no relief either. Spending time reading emails and toggling between tasks have become proxies for productivity. John Wooden warned us that we should never mistake activity for achievement but “no one’s ever made a fortune from being really good at receiving and sending emails.”

And even if most of us think we should be less distracted by technology, we tend to treat it lightly — it’s just a minute to check emails, right?

Well, not exactly, as this behaviour takes a toll on our productivity. “When trying to concentrate on a task, an unread email in your inbox can reduce your effective IQ by 10 points.”

We think we can multi-task and that a short interruption will do the trick, but we’re mistaken. “It’s the switch itself that hurts, not how long you switch for.”

And after an interruption, it takes time to go back to a normal level of productivity. A phenomenon called attention residue — “it is difficult for people to transition their attention away from an unfinished task and their subsequent task performance suffers.” Our level of concentration drops for a while before the attention residue clears out.

We have created an environment prioritising convenience and simplicity, based on ‘shallow work’ — emails, meetings and other rituals of the modern workplace — at the expense of effectiveness and productivity. And with a negative impact on our well being it seems, as some research mentioned by Newport indicate.

It doesn’t have to be like that though. Newport believes Deep Work is the answer. He defines it as:

“Professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skill, and are hard to replicate.”

The ability to deep work is increasingly important. We live in a world that relies on knowledge as key source of capital. Getting the most of our brain’s power is therefore essential, whether you want to be productive or looking to accomplish great things.

For it to work, there’s no quick fix. Deep concentration requires some planning, organization and solid work habits. And great thinkers can be a source of inspiration here. Mark Twain, for instance, used to work from a wood cabin at the end of his property. The cabin was so far they had to blow a horn to let him know dinner was ready. As David Brooks said: “[Great creative minds] think like artists but work like accountants.”

You don’t have to be chasing a Nobel prize to benefit from deep work though, and Newport comes with some suggestions of how to re-organise our lives and give ourselves more time for less interrupted, deeper thinking:

· He’s never had a social media account

· He is very organised with his time, planned in advance, and doesn’t let his mood dictate how his day unfolds

· He has become comfortable with “annoying” people, i.e. not prioritising tasks like answering emails at the expense of more meaningful work

· He keeps a tally of how much uninterrupted work he does a week, with some target to achieve

· Last but not least, he has a ritual at the end of the day, making sure his unfinished work doesn’t spill over the rest of his day — the phrase “schedule shut-down complete”

To people who say this is a barrier to creativity, Newport makes it clear it is the exact opposite. Adding structure and control can be the key to get the most interesting work produced. Inspiration can be scheduled.

“Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work.”
― Chuck Close

Last but not least, Newport talks about Deep Work as a management hack. Even in a context of middle management and team work, opportunities exist to protect some of your time — for instance, managing people’s expectations that you can be disrupted at any given moment in the day. Less convenient perhaps, but more productive.

Sources:

- Computer scientist Cal Newport, in ‘You 2.0: Deep Work’, Hidden Brain episode 24.07.17, http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510308/hidden-brain

- ‘Why the modern world is bad for your brain — Daniel J Levitin Q&A’, https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jan/18/modern-world-bad-for-brain-daniel-j-levitin-organized-mind-information-overload

- ‘Why is it so hard to do my work? The challenge of attention residue when switching between work tasks’, Sophie Leroy, in the Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes journal, July 2009.

- ‘Deep Work Book Summary’ — Just Finished: https://medium.com/just-finished/deep-work-33db8bf14cdd

- In the research, two groups of medical professionals in an hospital have different ways of working: the first one relying on emails to be replied to as soon as possible, the second one consolidating questions before meeting. The second group was not only more productive but also feeling happier

- ‘Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World’, Cal Newport, Piatkus, January 2016: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0349411905

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade