Main Takeaway
Newport's book is an excellent read on the current state of knowledge work, and more broadly on anyone in a white collar role. In particular, I think there is a large amount of overlap between those of us who serve in ministry roles and the strains and pressures on attention that Newport notes.
This book is one I would quickly recommend to anyone whose work requires thoughtful prodcution of content. This is true for pastors, academics, ministry strategists, and even the growing number of knowledge workers in our church pews.
This is a good article to consider when processing this book.
Key Subjects Worth Exploring
- Deliberate PracticeDeliberate Practice
[[Note in progress. This note needs exanded.::lmn]]
The term Deliberate Practice was coined by K. Anders Ericsson in a 1993 article for the Psychological Review. The primary point of the study was that expertise is not necessarily natural born but is instead the result of deliberate practices.
The theoretical framework presented in this article explains expert performance as the end result of individuals' prolonged efforts to improve performance while negotiating motivational and externa... - Solitude and Mindfulness