Sharing what I have learned from what I have read: A blog by Joe Abittan
"The evidence is persuasive," writes Daniel Kahneman in Thinking Fast and Slow, "activities that impose high demands on System 2 require self-control, and the exertion of self-control is depleting and unpleasant. Unlike cognitive load, ego depletion is at least in part a loss of motivation." Yesterday I wrote about our misconceptions regarding individual self-control. … Continue reading Self-Control Depletion, Continued
A little while back I wrote a blog post centered around a quote from Cal Newport, "You have a finite amount of willpower that becomes depleted as you use it." The idea is that our brains get tired, and as they get tired, they become worse at practicing self control. When you are exhausted, … Continue reading Limited Effort
The final quote that I have from Cal Newport's book Deep Work is just a reminder of the pragmatic reality of deep work: "the ability to concentrate is a skill that gets valuable things done." The reason we should take ideas of deep work seriously is because it will help us be better at doing the … Continue reading Deep Work is Pragmatic
How often are you bored? How often do you actually experience boredom without instantaneously having something to do that will keep your mind at least somewhat occupied, even if not occupied by anything important? You have probably had a boring work training that you had to sit through without nodding off, but outside of that, … Continue reading The Value of Boredom
My last post was about training the brain to become less dependent on continuous novelty and to become better at concentrated focus. Training the brain for deep work requires that we wean ourselves from distractions and in some senses rewire our brains to be less dependent on distracting stimuli. Cal Newport describes exactly what … Continue reading Constant Task Switching
"Once you're wired for distraction, you crave it," writes Cal Newport in his book Deep Work. Our technology today is not built nor designed to provide us with the best space for focus, it is not intended to provide us the maximum possible value, and it is not sold to us to truly enhance … Continue reading Wired for Distraction
I like to think of myself as a pretty rational and empirical thinker. I try to understand points where my thoughts will be influenced by bias and my immediate reactions to situations. At these points, I try (not always successfully) to pause to be more reflective and considerate. I generally believe that striving for rationality … Continue reading Unconscious Thought Theory
In the past I have found it incredibly helpful to have fully planned out days. To know what I have going on, what the most important priorities are for my day, and when I am going to buckle down with focus work versus when I am going to sift through emails is a great feeling. … Continue reading What Happens When Your Day Lacks Structure
We live in a world where there are a lot of opportunities to default to something easy and we constantly have the ability to take a quick break to pass a few minutes with mindless distractions. We can fill any quiet moment with music or a podcast, scroll through Facebook in line at the grocery … Continue reading Doing Hard Things Consistently
My last post wrote about the idea that our willpower is limited, and that as we become tired and move through different points of the day, we find ourselves with varying levels of willpower. This post continues on that idea with more thoughts from Cal Newport in his book Deep Work. "Your will, in … Continue reading Developing Willpower Muscles