Deep Work

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport is not a book written for educators, but it is one that I found extremely interesting and timely. Newport is a college professor and writer, and to give a peek into his background, his previous books are How to Become a Straight-A Student, How to be a High-School Superstar, How to Win at College,   and So Good they Can't Ignore You. To say that he is focused on achievement would obviously be an understatement, and you might expect that in his writing that he would come across as some sort of driven maniac. 
He doesn't. Instead, Newport lays out a very reasonable case for changing how we approach work. He shares neuroscience and examples illustrating the importance of extended focus and attention, and the impact of constant distraction. Some of my key takeaways are:

• Attention is an act of executive function, and the more we practice paying attention the better we get. The negative corollary is that the more we engage with distractions, the harder it gets to choose to pay attention when we need to. Put another way, paying attention is practicing impulse control, and research connects strong impulse control to a variety of positive life outcomes. 
• Our attention is our most valuable resource, and we should always be aware of what we are choosing to use it on. What we choose to attend to now determines who we will be in the future. (The book Social by Matthew Lieberman makes a similar point, but refers to deep value of personal attention, which is the most powerful resource we can give to each other.)
• Engaging in focused, challenging work is deeply meaningful, and correlates strongly with life satisfaction. (This is not news to teachers that have engaged students in significant project-based learning.)
• Dealing with distractions requires conscious effort, and putting in place specific strategies and structures to protect our attention (and sometimes making choices that seem contrary to current social expectations). 
• The concept of "attention residue" will be in just about every presentation I do on neuroscience and learning from now on.

Newport has suggested strategies and "rules" for engaging in deep work. He is not advocating for changing the workplace (or classroom), though. He expects few people will be able to develop the discipline to actually put his ideas into practice, so those who do will have a tremendous advantage over everyone else. Being a more optimistic sort, I am hopeful that educators will begin to understand the ideas behind his book, and start looking at how we structure our students' time in classrooms. Are we creating environments that train students to pay shallow attention to many different things, or are we giving them the opportunity to practice and develop the skill of focused attention over an extended period of time? Are we spending so much effort trying to engage them that we aren't helping them learn how to be engaged? Are we allowing teachers the opportunity to engage in deep work? I have a lot to think about after reading this interesting book, and I encourage you to read it as well. 

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