This week's reading marked the beginning of the second half of Deep Work as stated by the author. It's at this point that Cal Newport begins to go more into depth about how the reader can actually begin to use the deep work technique. As the sections continue he begins to list the different mindsets for approaching its integration. One in particular that he mentions is that of monastic philosophy which, in simple terms, essentially boils down to clear-cut scheduling for sessions of deep work and minimizing any obligations considered to be shallow in order to attain maximum effort for it. However, Newport does mention some things in this section of the book that appear to contrast earlier assumptions about Deep Work. For example, he mentions how Deep Work isn't solely restricted to having absolutely no distractions at all since people like Carl Jung were able to use it effectively whilst being able to keep up with the shallow tasks demanded by his job, basically he was able to balance the two without completely eliminating one. Another thing mentioned that isn't really a contrast is that Newport acknowledges the importance of taking a break in order for someone's concentration to be recharged which he explains is important for an individual to consistently be able to focus on demanding tasks.
A very recurring criticism that my group has about this book is the repetitiveness of the information being presented to the reader by Newport. The common thing that gets repeated over and over goes along the lines of, "Deep Work is important because it helps you maximize work and is also important". Now this on it's own isn't really a problem but it does become less and less bearable the more it's restated in different wording.
I can understand your frustration with the author's repeated ideas. Even through the few blog posts I have read about Deep Work over our few weeks of book club meetings, I can definitely see a pattern that has repeated throughout the book thus far.
ReplyDeleteI am reading Moonwalking with Einstein, which is also starting to seem a bit repetitive, but it hasn't been as bad as Deep Work seems to be. I'm sorry to hear that this aspect of your book has made you unsatisfied with it. If you're feeling unmotivated to find a better book, I would highly recommend Defending Jacob by William Landay.
- Annika H
I would be interested to learn how to maintain this state of concentration without being distracted by small, external things. However, it also seems like it may be less than beneficial because of the incredible concentration required, as this may result in less awareness of your surroundings. Overall, I'm interested in how this would be implemented.
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