Nayelis Ruiz Baez

Professor Rosa

English 101

October 31, 2023

After reading Deep Work, one starts to question how we can integrate it into our own

lives. Newport's ideas and strategies are meant for white-collar workers. But, can these be

applied to the rest of us? Although the book focuses more on office workers, Newport’s approach

can be applied to those who don’t work in those fields. By seeking out the philosophies Newport

suggests, as well as his rules; students, artists, athletes, and even stay-at-home workers can do

Deep Work.

What is Deep Work? In the words of Cal Newport, deep work is “Professional activities

performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their

limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skill, and are hard to replicate.”(3). Deep

Work is the key to a better future regarding work and hard tasks. Cal Newport gives us a series of

strategies, techniques, and rules that can help us do deep work. There are four rules, and these

are some of the strategies Newport suggests that may help those who do not work office jobs.

Rule one is to “Work Deeply”. the author goes into detail about rituals. He explains the

rules on how to set up a ritual and make it a successful deep work session. Newport states,

“Providing with the structure and commitment it needs to slip into the state of focus where you

can begin to create things that matter.”(121). A ritual can bring one's mind to a place of focus.

An athlete might schedule a half-hour stretching session where they pray in the back of the
locker room, making sure they have a refreshing energy drink before their big game as their

ritual.

Rule two is to “Embrace Boredom”, where Newport talks about the importance of not

taking breaks from distraction, and instead taking breaks from focus. The internet has taken a big

portion of everyone’s lives and has shifted how our brains view distraction. To combat this

craving and bring our minds more focus, Newport suggests “internet blocks” where you

“schedule the occasional break from focus to give in to your distractions.”(161). Non-office

workers can also benefit from internet blocks. One can schedule times in the day when we can be

distracted, surf on the internet, or whatever satisfies the craving, but only during these designated

times. An artist could set up their day where every hour they have a ten-minute internet block to

destress from painting, but all the other time is designated to focus on their one task. A Student

who has an important exam can also schedule a ten-minute break from studying to text their

friends about their day.

Today, we live in an “Any-benefit” world, where “You’re justified in using a network if

you can identify any possible benefit to its use or anything you might probably miss out on if you

don't use it.”(186). This is the reality for many young students. Rule three is “Quit Social

Media”, where he discusses the craftsman approach to tool selection. Newport compares social

media to tools, and he states “ Adopt a tool only if its positive impact on these factors

substantially outweighs its negative impacts.”(191). What Newport suggests is that we apply the

“Craftsman approach to tool selection”, where one judges these “tools”, like social media, and

consider them as worthy or not based on their positive and negative impacts. Students can apply

this strategy to their lives and therefore be able to focus more on their studies. Students might
make a list of the pros and cons of the social media platforms they use, some may have pros that

outweigh the negative impacts, but those that don't, are platforms that serve as distractions.

Lastly, rule four is to “Drain the Shallows”. This section deeply talks about the

importance of schedules. A schedule of one’s workday should be detailed and thorough.

Although it may seem like a very structured and unadaptable system for unforeseen

circumstances, Newport lets us know that it is certainly not. By simply replacing blocks and

redoing the schedule even five to six times, There is space for spontaneity and flexibility. When

it comes to scheduling, students should already be experts, it is already a part of their day. But

why not push it further? By adding more to one's schedule and “scheduling every minute of your

day”. Students can schedule studying blocks between classes and make sure they’re taking the

most out of their day. Others, like athletes, may have a similar advantage in the world of

scheduling.

If one wants to create valuable and unique work, one must be able to do Deep Work.

Certainly, those who work in an office can, just like all the examples Cal Newport mentions in

his book. It is different when it comes to other professions. Many do not think this is possible,

but the reason Newport gives this advice and makes many suggestions is so we will be able to at

least perform some. Because deep work does not come naturally, Cal Newport wants to help us

train our brains using these strategies. Non-office workers can use these strategies, mixing and

matching them to their liking to achieve deep work. By creating schedules, performing rituals,

having internet blocks, tool selecting, and many other strategies Newport mentions in his book,

students, artists, athletes, and even stay-at-home workers can do Deep Work.