{"id":30862,"date":"2021-04-02T10:29:27","date_gmt":"2021-04-02T14:29:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=30862"},"modified":"2021-04-04T13:17:26","modified_gmt":"2021-04-04T17:17:26","slug":"what-is-deep-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-deep-work\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Deep Work and Why Is It So Important?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is deep work and how does it differ from shallow work? Why is deep work so rare and valuable these days? Why does deep work help with learning and productivity? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deep work is focused and undistracted work that pushes your cognitive abilities to their limit. In contrast, shallow work describes tasks that aren’t demanding such as answering emails. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue on to learn more about deep work and why it’s so important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

What Is Deep Work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDeep work\u201d is focused, uninterrupted, undistracted <\/em>work on a task that pushes your cognitive abilities to their limit<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast, \u201cshallow work\u201d describes tasks that aren\u2019t cognitively demanding – like answering email, filling out paperwork, and attending unproductive meetings. These tasks don\u2019t create much value and are easy for others to replicate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Groundbreaking ideas and meaningful progress come from deep work, not shallow work. <\/strong>Shallow work is incremental. But, what is deep work? It can be transformational.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When founding Microsoft in 1974, Bill Gates was obsessive about creating the company\u2019s first software product. He worked with incredible intensity, falling asleep on his keyboard while programming, then waking up a few hours later and resuming. Even among talented technologists, Gates was renowned for his concentration and deep work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why It’s So Valuable<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As our economy changes, deep work becomes more valuable. Over the past decades, the economy has moved away from brute force labor to information. The old economy \u2013 working in a manufacturing plant \u2013 didn\u2019t require deep work for most workers. But now skills that succeed in the new economy \u2013 like complex problem<\/a> solving, data analysis, and computer programming \u2013 require deep work to learn<\/a> and execute. Your ability to do deep work will determine how much you thrive in this economy.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ironically, the same technologies that <\/strong>caused <\/em><\/strong>the information economy are <\/strong>depleting <\/em><\/strong>our ability to conduct deep work<\/strong>. Phones, emails, and addictive apps pull us away every few minutes. Thus, the time when deep work is most important is when it is most difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ability to do deep work behaves like muscle strength. If your mind is at a basal level of distraction and anxiety all day, you can lose your ability to do deep work. It becomes harder to summon the skills to focus and remain undistracted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building deep work takes dedicated practice and focus. That\u2019s why some famously productive people carve out dedicated time for deep work:<\/p>\n\n\n\n