High Quality Work Produced = (Time Spent) x (Intensity of Focus)
One of the biggest components of “deep work” is time. The idea here is that it takes time planning, mapping and executing work with deep concentration to truly produce quality work. But how are we supposed to manage time when our time isn’t something that can be easily and freely regulated? This week I completed a workbook that aimed to teach me I cannot manipulate time, but I can change my habits to make better use of the time I have. I found, much to my horror, that I spend a large amount of my available time absorbed in various parts of the Internet.
In the digital age, it’s become harder to assign value to work. Not all work can be tracked with an assembly line-style progress. Some things take careful planning that leads to a process full of trials and errors. As knowledge work grows, it makes more complex demands of the work force. This makes it harder to gauge the value of an individual’s efforts because not every traction is easily categorized as “work” or “not work”. Cal Newport refers to this as the metric black hole. Knowledge workers are now moving towards more visible forms of busyness to prove the value of their work. Constantly answering emails and completing small tasks gives the illusion of being busy and getting a lot done, known as busyness as proxy to productivity (Newport), but what exactly does it accomplish in the aggregate?
The need to be in constant contact for work – the principle of least resistance – does more harm than good. It may allow for work to be “easier,” but easy is not always good as it cuts down on the need to plan and decide how time should be spent.
I found a good way to combat all these distractions, as I learned from the workbook, is to use mind mapping. A Mind Map is an outline that represents tasks, concepts, or elements linked to a central concept or subject that allows the user to build an intuitive framework around a central theory. It helps create specific goals and illustrates the steps and choices you need to make to achieve them, arranged in line with your brain’s natural way of processing information. Mind mapping, and planning in general, helps cut down on the need for quick solutions by assisting with problem solving and enables you to work more efficiently. Having clear goals and plans allows for more proficient work in a culture of distracted busyness.
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Newport, C. (2016). Chapter 2: Deep Work is Rare. In Deep Work (pp. 49–71). New York: Grand Central Publishing.
“What Is a Mind Map?” MindMapping.com, 2021. Retrieved February 7, 2021 from, https://www.mindmapping.com/mind-map
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