Deep Work by Cal Newport Book Review

We know very well that we can be in a good position if we want to. We can achieve what we want to achieve. But something is stopping us. But we are not sure what is stopping us.

When someone races past us, we often feel that we should have been in that place. If they are like us, what did they do to get to the winning point? And why couldn't we go there?

All these questions are answered in Cal Newport. We want to do a lot of things in life. There are a lot of material and personal aspirations for us. And we never want to waste time by being idle or by watching various stuff across the internet.

But we waste our time by being idle or doing unnecessary things. How do we stop that and achieve our goal?

We have a lot of distractions. We are bombarded with notifications from various apps and end up using them, thus resulting in earnings for the app company. We are aware of that now.

So, the person who doesn't waste his time on unnecessary things will be happy in his job. On the other end, there will be people who lose their jobs because of wasting time.

Three types of people will be successful. The first type is the one who knows technology and machines and will be able to keep pace with technological advancements. The second type is the one who is the best in everything because the competition is going to be tough. The third type is the one that has money for investment and for production.

To know technology and to be the best in your job, you need focus and a life without distraction. First, let's look into what the terms focus and distraction actually mean?

When we do something regularly, our mind gets used to that, and we become very skilful. Distraction also works on the same principle. For example, when we brush our teeth for the first time, we might not do it properly. But over some time, we become an expert in that.

The neuron which moves from A to B takes time to learn. When we do something regularly, a substance called Myelin is deposited on the neuron. This is science. The Myelin helps in quick and clear passing of the wiring.

For this to happen, the task has to be repetitive. Doing work with focus and without any disturbance will be difficult on the first attempt because the wiring is not strong yet, but if you put the effort into making the wiring strong, you can learn to focus on your job without any distractions.

There is a quote which I read once. If someone works beyond the stipulated time, the person is not a hard worker. He doesn't know how to manage time. That is the truth. If you work with focus, you might be able to finish the work sooner.

When we are constantly distracted, it is known as attention residue. Suppose I leave a conversation in between to attend a phone call and if I re-join the conversation later, the residue of the task which I just completed remains in my mind. Just like how the plate has impressions of the food that we have eaten, the mind has impressions of the completed task.

As long as the residue of the earlier work remains, you won't be able to give your 100 per cent focus to the present work. Have a scheduled time to complete your work without distractions; when you do that, the quality of your work will be better, and you will be able to finish the work soon.

To form a habit in your brain, the other activities that you do apart from work are also important. For example, if you are a fitness expert or a gymnast, apart from what you do in your arena, what you do outside of it is also very important.

If you eat junk food on all days of the week except one, you won't become healthy. If you can focus only for a limited period and get distracted at other times, your mind won't be really focused, and you can't work well.

When a thought distracts you, don't plunge into action immediately. Wait for 5 minutes and then decide your plan of action. Then the brain will get used to completing one work first before jumping to the next.

We have only limited willpower and can resist temptations only for a short period. Our environment should have only minimal distractions because you can resist certain distractions for a short period.

Once you lose your willpower, you will get easily distracted. So, decide on your place, time, and type of work that you are going to do. And if you have to attend a phone call in between, schedule a proper time for that.

Suppose your work time is 4 to 5 pm. But if you have to check a mail in between at 4:30, try to delay it for a while and complete the work on hand before checking the mail. This will train your brain to remain focused for a stipulated time.

A small experiment was conducted where young and old people were shown images simultaneously. Both positive images of joy and negative images of sadness were shown. The hypothalamus of the young brain fires up for both types of images with an instant reaction. While the brain of the older image fired up only for the positive image.

This doesn't imply that a young person's mind grasps both the positive and negative while the older mind grasps only the positive. Focusing on what is needed is a choice. When we are mature enough to disown negativity, we see positivity in everything. Even if we see something negative, we are mature enough to ignore that.

The positivity and negativity in your world depend on what you are focusing on. If our work is our Ikigai, we will be satisfied with what we do. For you, a wheel is just a wheel. But for the one who did it, it is a piece of art.

Though your work might look simple on the outside, though your work may not be your Ikigai, if you love the way you do your work, your mind will be peaceful because the human brain thrives on small challenges.

Completing the challenges gives satisfaction to the brain. If you are in your comfort zone, your brain won't be satisfied. If focus is difficult for you, working without distraction will give great satisfaction for you. Keep trying for that; it will satisfy your brain and help you focus.

From dawn to dusk, a person will keep fighting against his temptations. He has to fight the temptation to focus on what is important and do it. You have to keep fighting throughout the day even as your willpower keeps depleting. You have resisted temptation in the morning, but as the day goes by the resistance will diminish.

To channel and resist the temptation, we have to create a ritual. If you assign yourself tasks for specific periods during the day, you won't need extra motivation or willpower to do a particular task, as you are used to doing the task daily during a particular time.

When something becomes a habit, we can do it easily. We won't be spending too much of our memory power or mental energy on that. So, your work has to become a ritual or a habit; make it one. So, that you don't have to fight your willpower all the time.

Just like how you tell people when you have accomplished something, have a visible scorecard for things that you do. That scorecard will give you all the motivation that you need. This is one of the tips.

Sometimes you might not be able to finish the work on time and might have to extend till the work is completed. But once you are done, you should be determined to not think about work again. If you haven't finished your work and have to carry it forward, write down how and when you are going to complete it, in a notepad.

If you don't write it down, thoughts about the task will keep bothering you. Once you write it down, your mind will be chilled, and you won't be thinking about the task.

Though we will be focused on driving while going somewhere, the brain will coordinate the various things happening on the road. All of this will consume a lot of energy, but a leisurely walk gives time to the brain to reset. That time is very important.

Even an expert can't remain focused for 4 hours; just 1 hour of focused work consumes a lot of energy. After that, if you need rest, you shouldn't do anything. The mind should be chilled and shouldn't think about anything. You have to give time for that. You have to give time for your mind to be bored.

This will enable your brain to restart at full capacity. However, you want to do a lot of things if you feel that a day isn't sufficient. If we don't have a plan, we will end up doing random things.

After I read this book, I made out a list of things to be done. But still felt like there wasn't sufficient time. So, I had to make changes to my lifestyle. The moment I decided to complete work within the stipulated time and decided to do other things later I spent quality time on work and had quality time to rest.

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