Deep Work and the 30-Hour Method for Learning a New Skill (2018)
It&#x27;s easy to dismiss &quot;Deep Work&quot; articles for their use of buzzwords and pop-psychology, but this sort of structured language really does help drive the point home for some people.<p>The core concept of Deep Work isn&#x27;t really controversial. Everyone knows that hard problems require focus, but that doesn&#x27;t seem to stop people from surrounding themselves with notifications and distractions. It also doesn&#x27;t stop many companies from burying their employees under a deluge of Slack notifications and must-respond-immediately e-mail expectations.<p>Once you start putting a name on it (It&#x27;s not focus, it&#x27;s &quot;Deep Work (TM)&quot;!) it becomes an easier sell to many (though not all) of the people who need to hear it. Attaching an explanation, a methodology, or a movement to something really does seem to amplify the importance.<p>It&#x27;s the same effect that makes &quot;Dopamine fasting&quot; more poignant than suggesting that people take a day off of watching TV, checking their phones every 10 minutes, and browsing time-waster websites all throughout the day. They&#x27;re the same thing in concept, but once you attach a catchy name and&#x2F;or a semi-scientific explanation to something, many people start taking it more seriously.<p>In my time mentoring junior devs, one of the biggest predictors of future success was a person&#x27;s ability to sit down, focus, and get work done. Many college grads are coming from an environment where their classes are neatly divided into 1-hour classes spread throughout the day. They&#x27;re pulled in many directions by their phones, social engagements, activities, homework, and classes. They get in the habit of only focusing for 1-2 hours at most before going on to the next thing. Once they graduate and have to sit in one place and work on one thing for 8 hours a day, many of them struggle. If I try to lecture them on the importance of sustained focus and minimizing distractions, I sound like an out of touch old guy. If I instead say &quot;Hey, we practice Deep Work here. Let me get you a copy of a Deep Work book so you can join us&quot; then they&#x27;re on board.<p>So you may not like the branding. You may not like seeing the same topic rehashed over and over again. But practically speaking, I don&#x27;t care how it&#x27;s accomplished. As long as it gets more people to take sustained focus seriously (both employees and managers alike) then I&#x27;m all for it.