We live surrounded by distractions. It’s that WhatsApp message that can’t wait. It is the chapter that you have pending of your favorite series. It is that infinite scroll that transports you from top to bottom in your social media profiles. It’s that email that comes while you’re eating. Technology has brought about an enormous change in the way we communicate, in our personal relationships and, of course, also in the way we work. How many activities do we do at the end of the day without an interruption? And what does each of these interruptions mean for our brain? Cal Newport, Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University, discusses the impact of distractions and provides some tips for overcoming them. He has explained it in Céntrate (Península), a book in which he covers the concept of deep work, which is something as simple, and at the same time as complicated, as being able to concentrate without distractions on complex tasks that require our full attention, during intervals prolonged of time.
Newport does not accept interviews, nor can we find him on social networks, which shows that he makes a show of what he promulgates. Or, at least, she appears to be. But below we are going to try to explain to you what this concept of deep work is and how to achieve success in what you are doing by following four basic rules.
Superficial work VS deep work
In a hyperconnected world that encourages multitasking, focusing on what we are doing is not easy. We watch series with the mobile in hand, while we tweet or read about what we are watching. We work with the background sound caused by the emails reaching our inbox. We eat with our eyes lost in the news or responding to messages that have accumulated for us. Teleworking, extended due to the coronavirus pandemic, has put on the table the difficulties that we often have to concentrate on a task. Because learning to focus all our attention on a single task is a long and complex process that we are not always aware of.
In recent years, multiple scientific studies have found that when we multitask, the result is always negative: we have less memory, our productivity is reduced and, in the end, we do neither one thing nor the other well. In addition, multitasking causes the false feeling of having to finish what we are doing first; something that translates into stress and discomfort.
Newport believes that the damage caused by surface work is too often underestimated, yet its importance is overestimated. Is it better to do many things, even badly, or to do less, and do them well? Cal Newport argues that one of the most valuable skills in our “knowledge” society must be hard work, which would come to define the ability to concentrate without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. In his book Focus he argues, with supporting data, that this ability is becoming increasingly rare and requires our intent and attention. And it is that, the capacity to produce a truly significant work demands that we dedicate time to concentrate on the things that we consider important or priority; which requires that we pay attention to it but also our commitment to achieve it, reserving its time and space.
The four rules of productivity
Newport’s objective is to achieve greater productivity, a highly demanded value in our context. Some research finds that switching from one thing to another causes a crash that results in a loss of up to 40% of productive time. This is why he proposes four basic rules that will serve to strengthen our ability to concentrate and that will help us learn to isolate ourselves from technological distractions; which, according to the expert, will help us achieve professional success but also happiness.
The four rules to transform our habits (and our mind) and avoid distractions are:
Work in depth
The goal for Newport must be that deep work becomes a regular and fundamental part of our daily rhythm. For this, it proposes to establish a work ritual based on our needs. Some keys to this ritual would be to establish where to work and for how long; how to work once we start; or how to hold the job.
Deep work, and a more conscious life, requires us to leave behind multiple activities such as social networks, Internet searches and, in short, everything that takes up our time.
Open the doors of boredom
Working in depth involves training the ability to concentrate, accept boredom and set priorities. Newport believes it can be helpful to set times for activities that take time away from ourselves, work, family, or play.
An example that he proposes is to program in advance the moment in which we are going to use the internet and then avoid at all costs surfing outside of that schedule. “I suggest you have a notebook next to the computer when you are working. Write down the next time you can use the internet there. You will not be able to enjoy any type of connectivity until that time arrives, no matter how tempting it may be. The idea behind this strategy is that avoiding the use of a distracting service does not, by itself, reduce the brain’s ability to focus. What teaches your mind not to tolerate the absence of novelty is the constant switching between high-value activities with little stimulation and low-value activities with abundant stimulation, at the slightest sign of boredom or cognitive challenge. This constant change weakens the mental muscles in charge of organizing attention-grabbing sources. By scheduling limited internet use (which means limiting distractions) you minimize the number of times you give in to distraction, thereby strengthening your attention selector muscles,” he writes in Focus.
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Get away from social media
The media and blogs use catchy headlines and easy-to-digest content to monopolize our attention. Social networks also know how to hook us so that we visit them several times a day. These spaces are designed to capture and hold our attention for as long as possible. The third rule that Newport proposes focuses on us being more strict with the time that social networks and certain online sites occupy in our lives.
The expert recalls that networks and the Internet are not bad tools in themselves, but rather it is the use we make of these tools that makes the experience negative. “These sites are especially harmful when the working day is over, as they become a central element of our free time. Whether you’re standing in line or waiting for the plot of a TV series to get more interesting, or finishing a meal, these sites work like a cognitive crutch to eliminate any chance of getting bored,” he notes.
Remove the superficial
Where do we place our attention when we are working? For Newport, if surface work takes away space from deep work, it’s about not using deep work time to carry out surface activities. If we want to have more of our own time and be really productive in our tasks, it is essential that we eliminate superfluous work and conscientiously organize our days.
And be very specific with the activity that we are going to develop within a certain time, accepting that we cannot dedicate more than four hours to deep work because our mind is not prepared for it. “Deep work is exhausting because it takes us to the limit of our abilities. Performance psychologists have extensively studied the amount of such effort an individual can put in on any given day,” he explains. This means that once we have reached our deep work limit for the day, we will get less compensation if we try to do more. This translates into the popular saying that less is more. Or, perhaps, in the proverb that says Whoever covers a lot, squeezes little.
The door is open if we want to overcome distractions and focus on what matters to us, but do we want to go through that door? Cal Newport reminds us that deep life free of interruptions is not for everyone because “it requires a lot of effort and drastic changes in habits.” We are willing? Can we really? If the answer is yes, try deep work.