The term “Deep Work” has nothing to do with geographical depth or so-called intellectual/philosophical discourse. In fact, it is a much more simple concept. The phrase was coined by Cal Newport- a professor of Computer Sciences at Georgetown University, in his book titled “Deep Work”. Though the term is newly coined, it refers to a condition that is often talked about when it comes to mastering a skill or learning something new.
For example, most athletes would refer to it as being “in the zone”, and most psychologists refer to it as the “flow state”. All of these terms basically refer to when a person is able to work at a high level of cognitive function/focus for long periods of time without distractions. The kind of work one can accomplish in this state is one that requires a depth of skill and is not easy to replicate. An example of this could be doing research or producing art.
In contrast, Cal also introduced another term he called “shallow work” which he classified as non-demanding and easily replicable tasks that anyone can do e.g. replying to emails.
Now, why would this concept become so relevant nowadays? This is because it has become harder for people to do Deep Work. Mostly because of smart-phones and social networking sites like Twitter that work to sap people of their attention spans. Another reason is that advent in technology especially communications technology has changed the world economy towards one that values deep work more.
The importance of better technology and communication.
A few decades ago, the most important factor in determining who worked where was the proximity to the workplace. People had to move from their hometowns and villages in the countryside and move towards more populated towns and big cities in order to get jobs. This was because jobs were not available in smaller areas and if so were considerably low-paying in general. That was the norm for decades. See the case of Amazon workers.
However, with the advent of better means for communication, the requirement for individuals to be in close proximity to their workplaces has gone down quite a bit. That factor has been reduced considerably every year with faster internet speeds and better services for working online.
Because of this, the dynamic of the job market and the economy have shifted. The determining factor for an individual getting a job has shifted more towards the merit of that individual rather than where that person lives.
For example, a company operating in Lahore would have preferred individuals to work for them who already lived there. Otherwise, they would have to pay for their accommodation and rent among other expenses related to them moving from city to city. Now, however, the same company can hire contractors and employees from Karachi, Islamabad, or even Hong Kong. This is because the nature of most jobs has also changed alongside the skills required in the economy.
An employer in Newyork can hire a data analyst from Rawalpindi and transfer data and work online, and it would not impede the speed of the work nor would it cause any problems with payment, thanks to the development of online payment options throughout the globe. It could become even easier once cryptocurrencies start coming more into the mainstream and there is less regulation on the transfer of money from across the world.
This leads to a situation where the market becomes incredibly competitive. You could be contesting for jobs that would be contested by people literally from around the world. The only basis of selection left would be whoever is the most skilled and can get the job done fastest.
This means that most individuals looking to be competitive in the global job market will need to develop skills faster than the competition. The only way of doing that in a world filled with distraction is to cut out the noise and perform as much Deep Work as possible.
Multi-tasking has been proven to be a myth, more or less, and it makes much more sense for an individual to develop the skill to adapt the fastest to a global economy whose needs are constantly changing.
COVID-19, the final push?
Covid-19 has pushed the world economy towards the kind of future where geographical proximity does not matter. With a complete lockdown across the globe for months now, most companies that are still running are having their employees work from home.
As an example, 42%, almost half of the US labor force is currently doing work from home. The virus essentially forced the world to reconsider how the economy was functioning and force us into a world where the importance of city centers is greatly reduced. Living in urban centers comes with its comforts but with most of the city’s population working from home, it makes it infeasible to be paying higher taxes and higher rents. When you do not need to live in the big city for your job, it makes more sense to move out to where the air is fresher and more importantly, the rent is lower.
With the need for having physical workspaces being shown to be minimal, it cuts a lot of costs for businesses. They no longer have to rent office spaces when most of their employees are working from home.
How that works with Pakistan.
Although Pakistan is nowhere near the technological advancement that is required for most businesses to operate on this model, we still see people shifting into the new economy. For example, Pakistan was ranked the 8th fastest growing freelancing economy in the world by Payoneer, an online payment company.
More and more of the young population is learning skills like SEO content creation, Graphic Design etc, and participating in online marketplaces like Upwork and Fiverr to earn money. Bringing in foreign exchange vital for our economy as well.
In conclusion
The global economy is shifting more and more towards work from home jobs and businesses have their pick of the market due to better communication technology and faster internet speeds. In this situation, it is prudent for our youth to learn new skills and adapt to the changing marketplace where skills and adaptability begin to matter more and more.
It is the need of the moment for us to learn how to employ Deep Work in order to be more productive and less distracted during our work as the world shifts from 9-5s to a more goal-oriented workplace.
