How many of your work hours are wasted on distractions? Probably more than you think. Financial management service Think Money researched the question, and their findings are eye-opening.<\/p>\n\n
According to their 2015 report<\/a>, distractions annually eat up 759 hours per worker. That\u2019s just one hour shy of twenty complete 40-hour workweeks every year!<\/p>\n Now flip the question around. How much time do you spend on deep, focused work? I'm talking time where you\u2019re not interrupted and where you\u2019re working on your top, most important priorities. The answer people constantly tell me is \u201cnot nearly enough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n To get insight on how to fix this, I recently spoke to<\/a> Georgetown computer scientist Cal Newport, author of the book Deep Work: Rules for Success in a Distracted World.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Newport is not what many people would expect in a computer scientist. He\u2019s not on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or other social media, and he doesn\u2019t want to be. \u201cStay away from your inbox,” he advises people taking workday breaks. “Stay away from social media. Stay away from a computer if you can.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019s also \u201cvery worried about artificial intelligence,\u201d due to its potential effects on jobs. Why? Newport warns that because of the tremendous amount of time wasted<\/a> on the job by most of us, not even workers in the knowledge sector will be safe from automation.<\/p>\n What matters is not how your job is classified but how you spend your days. Machines are good and getting better at taking over small, shallow, repetitive tasks, such as sorting information or sending emails\u2013and they do it without distraction.<\/p>\n If that sounds like your job, then Newport has some important advice: Go deeper.<\/p>\n \u201cFocusing intensely without distraction for a long period of time on a cognitively demanding task\u201d is how Newport defines deep work, and he doesn\u2019t think its benefits can be undersold in today\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n \u201cFocus is now the lifeblood of this economy,\u201d he says. Successful people \u201cuse their brain to create new value\u201d making intense concentration \u201crelevant in a way that it hasn\u2019t been before.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s almost like a superpower,\u201d he says of the power of concentration to produce great results. An intense focus on just one important task for a long stretch of time has at least two direct benefits:<\/p>\n Solving a theorem, writing a chapter in a book, writing complex code, and doing jobs involving detailed craftsmanship are all things that Newport calls deep work<\/em>.<\/p>\n As you can see from the craftsman example, deep work isn\u2019t just for knowledge workers. It\u2019s simply work that requires intense focus. But we live in a world that is shot full of distractions.<\/p>\n Newport says the \u201caddiction to distraction\u201d is so widespread that breaking it was one of his aims in writing his book.<\/p>\n In fact, even when we think we are focusing, we usually aren\u2019t. When we work intensely on one problem but do quick \u201ccheck backs\u201d on email, social media, and the like during breaks, we run into the problem of \u201cattention residue.\u201d Those things come back with us when we return to our core work and make it harder to focus on our most important tasks.<\/p>\n With these distraction hurdles in mind, he has three strategies to move out of the shallows and get to deep work.<\/p>\n Because of email, smartphones, social media, and more, most of us have lost our ability to go deep. When we try, the initial results are not good, but Newport wants us to be encouraged. \u201cYou can get better at this,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Many people try it and quit too soon, telling themselves, \u201cI\u2019m just not a focused person.\u201d But if you recognize this as a skill that you have to train into your brain and body, like playing the guitar, you\u2019ll be able to improve with practice.<\/p>\n Newport blocks out weeks and even months in advance to work on problems. Your approach might not be that detailed, but if you are going to focus on the most important things, you\u2019ll need a plan to protect that time. Otherwise, distractions will be more than happy to eat it up.<\/p>\n Every person\u2019s distraction defense system will be different, but turning off notifications on your phone and letting your team know you\u2019ll be offline are good places to start. You might even consider a tool like the Freedom app<\/a>. It\u2019s basically a virtual set of training wheels, helping you learn to focus.<\/p>\n In looking at the lives of many great thinkers and innovators, Newport made a wonderful discovery: \u201cTheir schedules look downright relaxed.\u201d<\/p>\n Innovators understand that the human mind can only focus deeply for a limited amount of time every day. So they devote their best time to their most critical thinking, then use the remainder of their time to recharge.<\/p>\n In fact, one benefit of deep work that Newport touts is that it can help you better enjoy life outside of work. This is true, not just in the sense that you have more time off, but that you make better use of that time because you\u2019ve harnessed the skills to be fully present.<\/p>\n If you manage to banish most distraction from your work life, it will certainly make you more productive. Plus the habits you learn might help to root out unwanted interruptions from your personal life as well.<\/p>\n\t\tA Work Wake-up Call<\/h3>\n
The Power of Deep Work<\/h3>\n
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3 Ways to Banish Distraction<\/h3>\n
1. Practice Concentration<\/h4>\n
2. Protect Your Time<\/h4>\n
3. Leave Work at Work<\/h4>\n