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Phones and apps reduce your ability to focus even when they don’t distract you

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Re: Phones and apps reduce your ability to focus even when they don’t distract you

#71

Post by 2ion »

WhyNotHugo wrote: post #39

I'm constantly amazed at how the mainstream population uses phones. Most people tend to have phone with alarming-notifications, so they get informed that they have a message, or email or whatever. The phone interrupts them and directs their attention. They train themselves to be controlled by their phones. I'd go crazy trying to live like that. I have no audible notifications, and vibration only for actual calls. Eve…

I have my phone in do not disturb mode 24/7. The only exceptions are "VIP" contacts from close family...everything else can wait until next morning 8am when I'm checking personal stuff first thing or until around 8pm when I have my evening distraction session.

So. If I do get an audible notification, it's almost always urgent, bad news.

Re: Phones and apps reduce your ability to focus even when they don’t distract you

#72

Post by nondave »

hintymad wrote: post #69
vegetablepotpie wrote: post #8

> Cal Newport said it best in his book Deep Work: the ability to perform deep work is becoming increasingly rare at exactly the same time it is becoming increasingly valuable in our economy. As a consequence, the few who cultivate this skill, and then make it the core of their working life, will thrive. The people who cultivate that skill, stay up late at night while everyone is asleep so they don’t get distracted. T…

I also read Cal Newport and am pursuing the ability to perform deep work. In the meantime, I notice that the marginal return of deep work in a big enough company is questionable, especially for high-level ICs. A high-level IC spends most of the time in discussion and meetings, and people expect such person to make quick decisions or to assert influence within a single meeting. Therefore, the most influential ICs are…

What does IC mean here?

Re: Phones and apps reduce your ability to focus even when they don’t distract you

#73

Post by hinkley »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #53
vegetablepotpie wrote: post #8

> Cal Newport said it best in his book Deep Work: the ability to perform deep work is becoming increasingly rare at exactly the same time it is becoming increasingly valuable in our economy. As a consequence, the few who cultivate this skill, and then make it the core of their working life, will thrive. The people who cultivate that skill, stay up late at night while everyone is asleep so they don’t get distracted. T…

I did exactly this early in my career: Stayed up late, got work done outside of business hours, suffered the consequences. Later I started being more assertive about my time. Meeting request in the middle of my core work hours? Decline as busy, suggest to move it to a lunch meeting or offer to call the person after working hours (Everyone chooses lunch meeting instead of after hours). People tapping me on the shoulde…

> People tapping me on the shoulder to ask a question while I'm wearing headphones? Before they can speak, I politely say that I'm in the middle of something I need to finish and ask if it's urgent. It's rarely urgent, but people quickly learn that it doesn't pay off to interrupt me.

You can often shorten this to, “can you come back in fifteen minutes?” This is less likely for them to try to pick your brain about whether their problem is urgent or not.

Of course it depends on who is asking. If the head of IT is standing there, and you don’t usually hear from IT, then it could be something bad. If your intern looks like they just set the building on fire, also might be important.

Re: Phones and apps reduce your ability to focus even when they don’t distract you

#74

Post by kawfey »

nondave wrote: post #72
hintymad wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also read Cal Newport and am pursuing the ability to perform deep work. In the meantime, I notice that the marginal return of deep work in a big enough company is questionable, especially for high-level ICs. A high-level IC spends most of the time in discussion and meetings, and people expect such person to make quick decisions or to assert influence within a single meeting. Therefore, the most influential ICs are…

What does IC mean here?

Individual contributor.

Re: Phones and apps reduce your ability to focus even when they don’t distract you

#75

Post by adamesque »

nondave wrote: post #72
hintymad wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also read Cal Newport and am pursuing the ability to perform deep work. In the meantime, I notice that the marginal return of deep work in a big enough company is questionable, especially for high-level ICs. A high-level IC spends most of the time in discussion and meetings, and people expect such person to make quick decisions or to assert influence within a single meeting. Therefore, the most influential ICs are…

What does IC mean here?

individual contributor (aka someone judged on their own work output, not the output of a team like a manager or director)

Re: Phones and apps reduce your ability to focus even when they don’t distract you

#76

Post by peruvian »

groby_b wrote: post #21
vegetablepotpie wrote: post #8

> Cal Newport said it best in his book Deep Work: the ability to perform deep work is becoming increasingly rare at exactly the same time it is becoming increasingly valuable in our economy. As a consequence, the few who cultivate this skill, and then make it the core of their working life, will thrive. The people who cultivate that skill, stay up late at night while everyone is asleep so they don’t get distracted. T…

If you work on a team, being reachable is part of your work. There are (few) opportunities for solo thinking, and Cal is lucky to find one. I hope you find one for yourself. But as a team, the answer "I can't reach the expert because they secluded themselves" is not acceptable. Because as a senior figure on a team, you job is to become a force multiplier for others, not a solo force. Not to do work that magnanimously…

This is my main issue with Newport's work. It's all great advice but not much of it applies to a regular office worker.

Re: Phones and apps reduce your ability to focus even when they don’t distract you

#77

Post by tester756 »

20 yo with flip phone and used smartphone maybe for 2 days, ama?

when it sucks:

* sending photos - rarely needed for me, but when I need it I "kinda really" need it, but you can probably work around it by buying better flip phone

* not seeing emojis in SMS

* when you need quick access to internet e.g for map, some info. I never needed it(I try to remember pathes/ways either via map or google maps or just ask people at the place), but I'm sometimes worried that I may need it

Re: Phones and apps reduce your ability to focus even when they don’t distract you

#78

Post by throwaway888abc »

vegetablepotpie wrote: post #8

> Cal Newport said it best in his book Deep Work: the ability to perform deep work is becoming increasingly rare at exactly the same time it is becoming increasingly valuable in our economy. As a consequence, the few who cultivate this skill, and then make it the core of their working life, will thrive. The people who cultivate that skill, stay up late at night while everyone is asleep so they don’t get distracted. T…

Really well formulated. Love your explanation and pointers of worker dilemma.

Re: Phones and apps reduce your ability to focus even when they don’t distract you

#79

Post by birdyrooster »

Swizec wrote: post #12
vegetablepotpie wrote: post #8

> Cal Newport said it best in his book Deep Work: the ability to perform deep work is becoming increasingly rare at exactly the same time it is becoming increasingly valuable in our economy. As a consequence, the few who cultivate this skill, and then make it the core of their working life, will thrive. The people who cultivate that skill, stay up late at night while everyone is asleep so they don’t get distracted. T…

> Do you spend your time marketing your self to others and letting people know your accomplishments, or do you spend the time doing work that will benefit others? I like the luck surface area analogy for this. Take a rectangle. Side A is "Quality of work". Side B is "How many people know about it". The surface area – A*B – is your luck and opportunity. If you do amazing work and nobody knows about it, your luck is ze…

A square is nothing more than the conjoined triangles of success.

Re: Phones and apps reduce your ability to focus even when they don’t distract you

#80

Post by birdyrooster »

beckingz wrote: post #18
Swizec wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Do you spend your time marketing your self to others and letting people know your accomplishments, or do you spend the time doing work that will benefit others? I like the luck surface area analogy for this. Take a rectangle. Side A is "Quality of work". Side B is "How many people know about it". The surface area – A*B – is your luck and opportunity. If you do amazing work and nobody knows about it, your luck is ze…

The conjoined rectangle of success.

Damn you for beating me to this joke format. And I’m not deleting it.
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