In this article I’m going to outline my key takeaways from the most seminal book I have ever read on productivity. It’s by a professor of computer science (among other things) called Cal Newport.

I first heard of this book around 2016. Since then it’s been in my wish list until recently when I decided to start my own business. This is good timing because it is now - more important than ever – how I structure and spend my work time.

Is spelt on the cover in all caps. There is something alluring in the title. Promise of guidance for reaching a flow state, where we can experience the fulfilment from a good day’s work.

First a definition:

What is deep work?

Work which requires distraction-free concentration and pushes you to use the very best of your cognitive abilities. The output is of higher-value. Example for me: writing this article.

What is shallow work?

Repeatable tasks which can be completed, well-enough while multitasking (more on this soon) other shallow tasks. The output is of lower-value. Example for me: adding today’s business expenses onto an Excel sheet.

Deep work does not absolve the necessity of shallow work, but it is the place where meaningful growth occurs.

Here are my key 10 takeaways from the book:

1. On Getting Good at Something

A marker for how good we are at something is how well the neurons around the parts of our brain required for that task activate. If you are trying to get good at a complex skill while multitasking (next point), you are diluting the neural pathway by having other neurons fire at the same time.

2. On Multitasking

In addition to neurons, MRI scans show that when we are working on a specific task, blood moves to the part of the brain responsible for the resolution of that task. When multi-tasking on tasks which require different parts of the brain to “light up” – blood does not get divided. Rather it shifts rapidly between the parts.

As if that was not bad enough. As it shifts, residue is left so even if you finish one task, you’ve lost some of your capacity to anything you recently considered. For each task you register (finished or not), you are committing some of your available RAM for the day. Do you compulsively check emails throughout the day?

3. On the Workplace

This one you know already; busyness and productivity are not the same thing.

We feel stressed from being busy
We feel good from being productive

The latter is because we feel like we’ve done something worthwhile with our time. The challenge is that being productive takes concentration and therefore is inherently difficult. Busyness on the other hand is easier and more apparent. By constantly replying to instant messages, emails and being in meetings – no one can accuse you of not giving it your all. But you’re working harder and not smarter. We need to revaluate how we measure our performance indicators. It’s not that those things don’t provide value, in some cases they are essential. But they are usually not what drives progress.

4. On Technology

You know how kids these days think a floppy disk is just a 3D-printed “save” icon? If you started work after the personal computer revolution – like I have – you will also be at a loss when comparing life before and after PCs. Cal paraphrases Neil Postman’s concerns that we stopped evaluating the trade-offs of implementing new technologies. The mindset is:

“If it’s the latest tech, we will use it.”

We stopped considering that each deployment also introduces negatives. Another refreshing perspective is Evgeny Morozov’s, who points out that while many new tech offerings are free – they are provided by for-profit companies “ran by twentysomethings who are often making things up as they go along.”

5. On Life and Meaning

We are, what we mostly do. At my last job, I spent 8-11 hours a day, mostly thinking about computer problems. There was not any other single thing that I spent more of my day thinking about. Most of my thoughts were about computers, so I became a computer-man.

If you spend the majority of your day in a flow-state, where you appreciate the significance of your efforts, your life will become inherently meaningful. On the contrary, if the majority of your day is spent scrolling through feeds, never focusing long enough to feel your actions purposeful – then your life will feel meaningless.

6. Work is Better than Play.

I once interviewed Julian Bell, a painter, writer and lecturer from the UK. He encouraged me to think of work as a positive thing. Not as:

“I have to go to work ☹” but instead
Work! ✓

Here, Cal mirror’s this by saying that work has inbuilt goals and success metrics which when achieved, provide us with a much greater joy than any leisure activity without clear goals can.

On occasion, after an hour or so of work, I feel the need to go have a break. I usually end up sitting on my sofa and scroll through feeds. Thinking back, it never provides me with any real satisfaction, despite being my “free time.” If anything, I usually see something that gives me some low-level anxiety.

“Oh look a fancy new thingy – I want, I want.”

7. On Shutdown Rituals

Does regularly doing overtime produce advantages in the long-term? The book introduces the unconscious thought theory (UTT) which hypothesizes the following: decisions which require evaluating large amounts of information are best considered by the unconscious mind as it has more mental bandwidth.

***Diagram adapted from Dijksterhuis A. and Nordgren L.F. A theory of unconscious thought. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2006***

Having a clear cut-off point for your day’s work – and giving your unconscious mind time to process the decision - diversifies the type of thinking you deploy to solve a task. It also gives your conscious brain the time it needs to fully rest for the next day’s work. An example used is that master chess players and top-tier violinists, can only practise deeply for – at most – four hours a day. Seeing how limited our stores for deep work are makes regeneration that much more important.

8. On Boredom

If you are committed to develop concentration, then your efforts don’t end at the work desk. To succeed you will need to integrate it as a lifestyle. Being focused at work only to splurge your attention once your home will negate your efforts. The example used is that athletes still take care of their bodies, even when they are not in the gym training.

The reason you should let yourself be bored, is because by running from it, you teach your brain to never tolerate a lack of novelty.

This task is hard	What can I do that is easy
Deep work	Going on Instagram
This task is easy	What can I do to make it more interesting
Sunbathing	Going on Instagram

The constant gear switching, robs you of your ability to hold one train of thought consistently. Whether that task is easy or hard.

9. Deep work is fulfilling

We used to have a dog. It was part Sheppard. It had a natural need to work. It felt best when it had worked. People are the same. Our minds are super computers craving mental exercise. You have the potential to do great things with your mind, if that potential is not fulfilled, your mind will feel shitty – you will feel shitty. Give your mind the impression that what it is doing is meaningful and this will permeate all areas of your life. You will sleep better, you will be happier, your relationships will improve. Use it or lose it.

10. On death.

To summarise, decide on how many hours of deep work per week your job requires, then schedule them in. Having hard limits will force you to value your time. What’s more, you will get into the habit of reviewing what it is that makes sense to work on, with the time you have left.

I take this analogy drastically further. In your limited time remaining of being alive – what makes the most sense to work on, considering the time you have left.

“For we are mistaken when we look forward to death; the major portion of death has already passed. Whatever years be behind us, are in death’s hands.”

— Lucius Annaeus Seneca

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