You Can’t Force Focus. You Need To Train It, Like a Muscle.
What I’ve learned from the book ‘Deep Work’, including a technique to deal with technology distractions.
“Why do you need to learn how to focus? You just do it when you need to. No need to read a book about it.”
That was my mom’s reaction when I told her about the book I was reading — Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, by Cal Newport.
I admit, a book with the words ‘work’ and ‘rules’ in the title doesn’t sound very enticing.
So why was I reading a book about focus?
The truth is, I was getting frustrated with how hard I find it to concentrate on difficult work tasks, or how I’m incapable of waiting for anything for longer than 10 seconds without reaching for my phone.
‘Focus’ is often seen as something we can force ourselves to do when we need to. Unfortunately, in the world we live in, it’s not that simple anymore. Our primitive brains are no match for advanced technology and all the distractions around us. It has become a skill that we need to learn, and like any other skill, it takes effort.
As Cal puts it:
It’s common to treat undistracted concentration as a habit, like…
