Big Idea Daily | Deep Work
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Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted Worldby Cal Newport |
“Deep work is not some nostalgic affectation of writers and early-twentieth-century philosophers. It’s instead a skill that has great value today."CAL NEWPORT |
BIG IDEA #1
Deep Work = a Workout for Your Neurons
FROM THE BOOK"To understand the role of myelin in improvement, keep in mind that skills, be they intellectual or physical, eventually reduce down to brain circuits.
This new science of performance argues that you get better at a skill as you develop more myelin around the relevant neurons, allowing the corresponding circuit to fire more effortlessly and effectively. To be great at something is to be well myelinated.
This understanding is important because it provides a neurological foundation for why deliberate practice works. By focusing intensely on a specific skill, you’re forcing the specific relevant circuit to fire, again and again, in isolation. This repetitive use of a specific circuit triggers cells called oligodendrocytes to begin wrapping layers of myelin around the neurons in the circuits— effectively cementing the skill. The reason, therefore, why it’s important to focus intensely on the task at hand while avoiding distraction is because this is the only way to isolate the relevant neural circuit enough to trigger useful myelination.”
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Brian's Notes
“To be great at something is to be well myelinated.”
Myelin.
This is the secret sauce to greatness we learned about in Dan Coyle’s Talent Code (which Cal references in the book).
In my chat with Dan, he told me a story about LeBron James and how he deliberately practiced developing his inside game with Hakeem Olajuwon. He slowed everything down, intensely focused on certain moves like he was a 7th grader picking something up for the first time.
It’s IMPOSSIBLE to imagine LeBron kinda sorta showing up, munching on an Oreo while dribbling with the other hand, stopping to respond to his latest text then going back to passively dribbling the ball. He’s INTENSELY FOCUSED.
Likewise, of course, WE are not going to create *anything* of value when our attention is fragmented by the latest push notification or email or whatever. We. Must. FOCUS!!!
Remember: Deep work = distraction-free concentration that stretches your cognitive capabilities to their limit while improving your skill and creating new value that is hard to replicate.
Big Ideas
01: DEEP WORK
02: A WORKOUT
03: ATTENTION RESIDUE
04: THE FOUR RULES
05: ROUTINES
“High-Quality Work Produced = (Time Spent) x (Intensity of Focus)"CAL NEWPORT |
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