ralentina reviewed Deep Work by Cal Newport
Poor old Cal has a point
3 stars
I don't why I find self-help book (so often written by straight white men) so reassuring - even if I can see they're flawed and politically dubious. Oh well.
Poor Cal sounds like a bit of nutter - it is not so much his super regimented mechanisms of self control and scheduling that grate, but his assurance that his way will benefit everyone. I made a list of the suggestions that I found relevant: - plan to work deeply in chunks, aiming for 3-4 hours a day. try to make your chunks reasonably long (60-90 minutes). - schedule these blocks in advance, working around shallow work you cannot avoid. Remember that deep work is more important, so call in sick if it needs be. - have rituals for opening and closing blocks of deep work, and for shutting down at the end of the day (something that tells your brain …
I don't why I find self-help book (so often written by straight white men) so reassuring - even if I can see they're flawed and politically dubious. Oh well.
Poor Cal sounds like a bit of nutter - it is not so much his super regimented mechanisms of self control and scheduling that grate, but his assurance that his way will benefit everyone. I made a list of the suggestions that I found relevant: - plan to work deeply in chunks, aiming for 3-4 hours a day. try to make your chunks reasonably long (60-90 minutes). - schedule these blocks in advance, working around shallow work you cannot avoid. Remember that deep work is more important, so call in sick if it needs be. - have rituals for opening and closing blocks of deep work, and for shutting down at the end of the day (something that tells your brain it needs to stop thinking about work). - the internet and social media are the biggest threat to concentration. don't mindlessly browse in your short breaks during sessions. schedule 'browsing times' rather than internet blocks. think very carefully about which social media you need to use, if any. - be mindful, purposeful and ambitious about what you CHOOSE to do in your free time. Don't let it slip past. - reframe time-planning as a way to be mindful, rather than controlling what happens in your day (it is OK to redraw the plan 6 times a day) - Make your progress visible, ideally on a board you see from your work station - Force yourself to finish at 5:30, with few exceptions - Don't take Cal too seriously