The productivity of Deep Work

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Introduction

To live meaningfully, we need to be able to take risks. Often, this means that we want to take up challenging personal projects. However, our time is limited, which can make this difficult.

Embracing Deep Work

Recently, I read "Deep Work" by Cal Newport. It is a good book, but listening to the audiobook version might be a more convenient and effective way to absorb its content. The content is written in clear way, making it easy to understand. Although certain parts may seem a bit extreme to some people.

The book contains more strategies about stopping escapism, and provides many examples. I do not agree with everything, but the general ideas are valuable. However, it is nothing new, and much of it is similar to how the Stoics thought.

Escaping escapism

Escapism seems to be everywhere. It exists in various forms like social media, gaming, movies and more. These activities may seem harmless, but the time spent on them can be significant, and may surprise you. If eliminating them seems challenging, consider minimizing their impact by restricting usage to the late evening and avoiding daily use. By doing so, you can regain control over your time and prioritize activities that matter.

Consider the pros and cons. The majority of those tools are designed to make you addicted. People claim that constant attention switching has a lasting negative effect on your brain. So, ask yourself: Do you aspire to greatness or settle for mediocrity? Think about this for everything, even for security.

More information about security: Digital privacy obsessions


The negative impact of social media is widely known. In this video, the founding president of Facebook admits to intentionally making it addictive. The inventor of infinite scroll has mentioned that he regrets his creation. Unfortunately, none of the existing social media alternatives addressed such problems. They still incorporate addictive elements like infinite scroll. Such elements generate revenue.

Sean Parker - The secret behind Facebook

Find hobbies

This is contradictory to the above, but it is nonetheless important. Engaging in physical activities can help to clear one's mind. Think about your values carefully and seek balance. Instead of mindlessly consuming media.

A good way to find out if a task is meaningful is by using Nietzsche's "will to power" concept. If an activity does not make you more creative or powerful, then it is likely a task you can safely avoid.

Cutting out shallow tasks

Shallow tasks, such as email, tend to distract us from the important work. Either do them less, schedule them for the late evening, or eliminate them altogether. Especially if they don't align with your goals.

Embracing boredom

Contrary to popular belief, boredom can be a great for productivity and creativity. Embracing moments of boredom can allow our minds to wander. We lost something by not experiencing boredom. It can harm creativity and other important skills.

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