Focus

Why the ability to concentrate keeps getting more valuable

Why has it become so hard to concentrate on one thing – and why does it pay so well for those who manage it? A walk through the ideas in Cal Newport's Deep Work: deep versus shallow, the four rhythms, and what is disputed.

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What this covers

  1. Deep work versus shallow work
  2. Why deep work is getting rarer and more valuable at the same time
  3. The four ways to structure deep work
  4. Routines and rituals that make starting easier
  5. Learning to tolerate boredom
  6. The craftsman's view of social media
  7. Draining the shallows

What this covers (cont.)

  1. The criticism of the book

Deep and shallow

Deep and shallow work

Deep

Hard to replace

  • Full concentration, without interruption
  • Demands everything you have
  • Creates value that is hard to copy
  • Getting rarer – and therefore worth more

Shallow

Necessary, but easy

  • Email, meetings, updates, logistics
  • Can be done while being interrupted
  • Easy to replace
  • Fills most of the day for most people
Most people spend the bulk of the day in the right-hand column and believe that is the job. Newport's claim is that it is not.

Why it is worth more

Because it is getting rarer. Open-plan offices, always-on chat and a phone in the pocket systematically train us to switch attention every minute. Anyone who can still sit for four hours with one thing has an advantage that grows each year.

Four ways to do it

Newport insists there is no single correct recipe:

Four rhythms – pick the one that fits your life

  1. 1MonasticCut all shallow work, permanently. Few can.
  2. 2BimodalLong stretches deep, the rest open.
  3. 3RhythmicOne fixed block every day, same time. The one most people manage.
  4. 4JournalisticDeep work in whatever gap appears. Takes practice.
Newport insists there is no single right recipe. The question is which of the four can actually be carried out in your week.

Tolerating boredom

The criticism

Key points

  • Deep work is concentrated effort without distraction on something hard. Most of the working day is not that.
  • The ability is getting rarer because we train ourselves in the opposite, and more valuable for the same reason.
  • There is no single correct rhythm. There are four, and you pick the one that fits your life.
  • Concentration is a trainable skill – partly by not filling every pause with a screen.

Key points (cont.)

  • The book suits people who control their own time. Not everyone does.

Questions this answers

  • What is deep work?
  • Why has concentration become so valuable?
  • How do you structure a working day for deep work?
  • Why does being bored matter?
  • Should you quit social media?
  • Does Deep Work suit every kind of job?

Sources

  • Cal Newport – Deep Work (2016)

Spørretimen

Read the whole thing at

www.sporretimen.no/en/episodes/deep-work/