Here's why your hard work isn't paying off
I've been on a kick, recently, of suggesting this one important book to anyone who will listen.
The book Deep Work by Cal Newport*(affiliate link) is a must-read book. I first read it back in 2016. And it kinda rocked my world. I read a decent amount of non-fiction books around topics like psychology, mindset, thinking bigger, etc. Most are really good, but this book stood out. I see this as a foundational book for developing the most effective and efficient work flow to become the best you can be in anything you decide to tackle.
Deep Work is valuable
The first point Cal makes is that Deep Work is valuable. In an age where knowledge work (design, animation, development, etc.) is on the rise and manual labor like factory jobs are being replaced by machines, the ability to quickly learn difficult things is increasingly more important.
Distracted work (the shallows) is where most of us spend our lives. Checking your email, Twitter and Slack every 10 minutes is scientifically proven to slow your cognitive ability to produce your best work and/or to learn something new.
Deep Work is rare
The same systems that make Deep Work valuable also provide an endless amount of distractions and addictions (notifications, likes, etc.). This leads to fewer and fewer people doing deep work.
This is a HUGE opportunity
If you can develop the skills of staying focused, carving out un-interruptible time each day to become the best artist in a niche or learn a complex piece of animation software you will begin to rise above the crowds of your shallow work peers.
The second part of the book goes into detail about how to set up such a life (whether you work from home or in a corporate environment).
I want to see you become the best you can. You have important work to make. It would be a shame to go another year trudging along in the shallows only to find you haven't made much progress. I want to see you succeed.
That's why I write these blog posts. I want to see you dig deep and do the best work you possibly can.
→ Read Part 2: 5 ways to stop getting distracted
*Note: The link above is an affiliate link. That just means that if you end up purchasing after going to Amazon with that link, I'll get a small commission on the purchase, but you don't pay anything extra.