+1 #151: Digital Sabbaticals

Let’s revisit Cal Newport’s Deep Work for another genius idea.

At the risk of repeating myself even more than normal (yes, it’s deliberate!): Deep Work is where it’s at.

As we’ve discussed: Deep Work is simultaneously more RARE and more VALUABLE. Unfortunately, way too many people are spending way too much of their time flitting around in Shallowville.

So…

One of the best ways to go Deep, of course, is to unplug from all the nonsense distractions by turning off the wi-fi and the smartphone.

But here’s the thing.

Cal tells us that most of us take a sabbatical FROM technology to go Deep—whether that’s Deep into Work or Love or Play or Training or whatever.

But…

And this is a BIG but…

What we REALLY want to do is take a sabbatical from going DEEP to going Shallow. Plugging in to our technology should be the exception not the rule.

We should take a sabbatical from our Deep Work and Deep Love and Deep Play and Deep Training and all that Deep Living to jump into technology to use it for all it’s worth—WITHOUT getting sucked into the vortex that threatens to (literally) waste our entire lives.

As Cal so perfectly puts it: “Don’t take breaks from distraction. Instead take breaks from focus.”

And, he says: “I propose an alternative to the Internet Sabbath. Instead of scheduling the occasional break *from distraction* so you can focus, you should instead schedule the occasional break *from focus* to give in to distraction.”

Amen.

Today’s +1.

Go Deep.

In every aspect of your life!!