Finding Deep Work
What happened to the lost art of focus?
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A few days ago, I was deep into a YouTube binge-watch (thanks, ever-spiraling algorithm) and found my way to Lex Fridman’s channel. Fridman, an AI researcher at MIT, is well-known outside of his research for posting 2+ hour video podcast conversations with various public intellectuals. But, what caught my eye was his “A day in my life” video and, in particular, how he structures his day to be most effective. Fridman is, by all accounts, ridiculously productive, and the comments on his channel frequently joke at him being an advanced robot or AI himself.
Sometimes, it’s hard to believe that we all have the same number of hours in the day when we compare ourselves to others. I suspect that’s why the focus on the daily lives of CEOs, celebrities, and fellow humans on the internet has gained so much traction. But, instead of insights, these examinations frequently lead to cultural debates about the nature of work and hustle culture, from whether you really need to get up at 4 am each day to be successful or whether breakfast is really worth eating. That can get petty. But, Fridman’s had some real value because of its emphasis on “deep work.”
As I watched Fridman’s video, what I found insightful was how he structures most of his daytime into “deep work sessions.” These “deep work” sessions are four-hour blocks where Fridman focuses on a single task with little-to-no distractions. He even goes so far as to avoid bathroom breaks, if possible, to concentrate intensely. Fridman is working on some of the most challenging programming concepts out there with his emphasis on AI, and he notes these deep work sessions as times that he makes real progress and finds joy in the struggle. And while I’m not sure I want to follow other aspects of his daily life (7+ mile runs, only eating one meal per day), his emphasis on “deep work” felt refreshing.
“Deep work” isn’t Fridman’s term, but rather originated in 2012 from Cal Newport, a professor of computer science at Georgetown University. In the original blog post introducing the concept, Newport defines “deep work” as “cognitively demanding activities that leverage our training to generate rare and valuable results, and that push our abilities to continually improve.” Later on, Newport also notes that those activities need to be performed without distraction. As he developed the theory further, Newport refined his definition of “deep work” as:
“Professional activity 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.”
Newport contrasts “deep work” with “shallow work,” the type of work that most white-collar workers spend most of their time on. “Shallow work” consists of straightforward, simple tasks, such as email, that anyone can do with a bit of training and happen with some distractions.
You or I likely spend most of our time doing “shallow work.”
But, in 2021, I find the concept of deep work to be particularly striking and “distraction-free concentration” to be almost foreign. In my own life at work, I feel more distracted than ever. On any given day, like many of you, I suspect, I’m juggling emails, Slack messages, phone calls, competing deadlines and projects, and the occasional breaking news announcement. Our modern culture embeds these distractions; According to a 2020 study, the average smartphone user receives 63+ notifications each day. I had to take a step back and reflect:
When was the last time I honestly had an uninterrupted period of deep work?
Truthfully, it’s been a long time since I had consistent deep work sessions day-to-day. I would say that my deep work periods became even more infrequent once I started managing others. That’s also one reason why a culture of endless meetings is particularly problematic, but that’s an edition for another day.
We all deserve and should find ways to have deep work sessions in our daily lives. Some industries are better than others in promoting this type of work, but, for most, shallow work prevails. Yet, with technology optimizing many roles and taking over that shallow work, it’s vital that “deep work” plays a more prominent role. Alongside the increase in connectivity and information technology brings, it’s also led to individuals losing the ability to focus.
As satisfying as it can be to get your email to “Inbox Zero” or answer every Slack, that time spent on those activities is likely distracting from meaningful and rigorous projects. While “deep work” doesn’t provide the short-term gratitude of accomplishing something on a checklist, it lets you work on projects of long-term personal and professional value. And, as I fight the distractions myself, I want to relearn the lost art of focus and schedule “deep work” into my own life.
While we can’t (and shouldn’t) all be like Lex Fridman, there’s value to be found in putting aside the distractions, dialing in, and tackling the challenging projects we each face.
If you’re interested in techniques for practicing “deep work,” I enjoyed this post from Doist and found Cal Newport’s blog a valuable resource as well.
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