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The Digital Workplace Is Designed to Bring You Down

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Summary

Digital theorist Cal Newport argues that the digital workplace has been a failed experiment. He suggests that the answer is to completely change the way organizations collaborate, move away from the hyperactive hive-mind work flow, and offer explicit alternatives for the assignment and organization of work. He argues that technology has made it so that people have more on their plates, leading to an exhaustion culture. He suggests that slow productivity, which involves doing fewer things, working at a natural pace, and obsessing over quality, is the way to create valuable and meaningful work. Finally, he argues that managers need to set up knowledge workers to succeed and focus on the production of things rather than visible activity as a proxy for productivity.

Q&As

What is Cal Newport's theory on a new way to work?
Cal Newport's theory on a new way to work is that individuals need to understand that even minor context shifts are productivity poison and that organizations need to replace the hyperactive hive-mind work flow with explicit alternatives for the assignment and organization of work.

What advice does Newport have for people who have difficulty focusing?
Newport's biggest piece of advice for people who have difficulty focusing is to treat it like a dentist appointment and to have a rule of zero context shifts during a period of cognitively demanding work.

How can companies move away from the "hyperactive hive-mind work flow"?
Companies can move away from the "hyperactive hive-mind work flow" by implementing office hours, where individuals can defer half a dozen different quick conversations to these office hours, and by replacing ad hoc back-and-forth messaging with explicit alternatives for the assignment and organization of work.

How has technology impacted knowledge worker productivity?
Technology has impacted knowledge worker productivity in that it has made certain activities easier, such as typing, so companies have fired a bunch of support staff, but then the workers who were being supported had to do all this on their own, resulting in their productivity going down. Additionally, the communication revolution has caused context shifting, which has meant that miraculous advances in computing and mobile-computing technology have not moved the needle on nonindustrial productivity.

What is the concept of "slow productivity"?
The concept of "slow productivity" is about identifying alternatives to traditional economic productivity, which requires people working toward a singular measurable output with a transparent process. Slow productivity is based on, at the large time scales, the production of things you're proud of and that have high impact, but on the small time scale, there's periods where you're doing very little. It is about doing fewer things, working at a natural pace, but obsessing over quality.

AI Comments

👍 This article provides an interesting perspective on the effects of the digital workplace and how it has impacted knowledge workers. Cal Newport's advice on how to manage productivity is insightful and valuable.

👎 This article is overly long and difficult to follow. The argument of Cal Newport is also not backed up by any evidence.

AI Discussion

Me: It's about how the digital workplace is designed to bring you down, and how we need to shift our thinking towards slow productivity. It argues that the hyperactive hive-mind work flow of emails, Slack, etc. can be incredibly draining and unproductive, and that we need to move away from that in order to be more productive.

Friend: That's really interesting. It makes sense that a lot of people feel overwhelmed by their digital workspace, and it's understandable why we need to move away from that kind of work flow. But I'm wondering how realistic it is to expect organizations to make such a drastic change in the way they collaborate? It seems like a lot of companies are already so entrenched in their current systems that it would be difficult to make such a big shift.

Me: That's a great point. The article does acknowledge that it's hard to make this kind of change, and that it will probably take a long time. But it also suggests that it's worth it in the long run, both for the workers and for the organization as a whole. Companies need to recognize that the individual productivity of knowledge workers is just as important as the organizational productivity, and that we need to find a balance between the two.

Action items

Research and implement office hours for your team to reduce context shifting and increase productivity.
Create a system for tracking and measuring productivity that is not based on visible activity.
Develop a plan for introducing new digital tools and technologies to your workplace that is based on the principles of slow productivity.

Technical terms

Digital Workplace: A digital workplace is a virtual environment that allows employees to collaborate, communicate, and access resources from any location.
Instant Messaging: Instant messaging (IM) is a type of online chat that offers real-time text transmission over the Internet.
Work-Flow Software: Workflow software is a type of business process management (BPM) software that automates and manages the flow of tasks and processes within an organization.
Project-Management Software: Project management software is a type of software used to plan, organize, and manage projects. It is used to track and monitor the progress of a project, as well as to manage resources, budgets, and timelines.
Context Shifts: Context shifts are changes in the environment or situation that can cause a disruption in focus or productivity.
Hyperactive Hive-Mind Work Flow: Hyperactive hive-mind work flow is a term used to describe a work environment where collaboration is mainly done through ad hoc back-and-forth messaging.
Nonindustrial Labor Productivity: Nonindustrial labor productivity is a measure of the output of nonindustrial labor, such as knowledge workers, relative to the inputs used to produce it.
Knowledge Work: Knowledge work is a type of work that requires the use of specialized knowledge and skills to complete tasks. It is often done by professionals such as engineers, scientists, and lawyers.
Visible Activity: Visible activity is a proxy for productivity, where visible work is seen as being more productive than unseen work.