In Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, computer science professor Cal Newport admits to his aversion to social media. No Facebook, no Twitter, no way of reaching out or checking in, save the Washington Post that arrives at his doorstep every morning.
What he’s sacrificed in distraction technologies he’s gained in dedicated work time, as well as dedicated free time, something he says also needs to be scheduled in.Newport’s contention is not necessarily the mediums, but how they are used—predominantly for entertainment. We’re familiar with the dopamine hit our brain registers every time a new message appears. The exploitation of our brain’s novelty bias keeps us constantly disengaged from whatever is in front of us. Numerous neuroscientists and psychologists have pointed this out before; their warnings seem to have done little to dissuade addicts from getting their fix.
Newport takes a different approach in Deep Work by creating a program—really, a number of programs, as he recognizes we all have different capabilities for focus—to implement if you’re feeling dissatisfied with your ability to pay attention. Most interesting is his separation of email from the rest of the pack, something I had not considered as all such browsers are essentially labeled “other” while I’m writing.
Newport argues that email is different from other forms of social media and online engagement:
This quintessential activity is particularly insidious in its grip on most knowledge workers’ attention, as it delivers a steady stream of distractions addressed specifically to you.
Those last four words gave me a quick dopamine rush when I read them. My “other” categories are Facebook, Twitter, and email, along with lesser used mediums, iMessages, Slack, and Instagram. Five are used professionally while text is mostly to stay in touch with my wife and friends. While texts are obviously addressed to me and not the world broadly, I had simply lumped email into the other forms of connecting. Watching people walk around streets answering emails was essentially the same as surfing Facebook.
Newport’s argument makes sense. Since email is specific to you, it has a particularly strong hold on attentional resources, which are already limited. Keeping your email program open while working invites all sorts of distractions, making it harder to get back to the task at hand. As Newport notes it takes your brain roughly twenty minutes to overcome the “attention residue” left behind from even seemingly innocuous transmissions that do not warrant much attention at all.
All this…
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