Deep work for deep conservation

We’re addicted to Cal Newport’s book Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World at the moment.

Not only has putting Cal’s advice into practice improved our work and personal lives but it’s made us think about how we work in nature conservation. In his book, Cal points out that research has recently shown that people who multitask all the time can’t filter out irrelevancy. Cal also points out that in order to quickly master hard things and produce work at an elite level, then we need to master the skill of deep work.

In nature conservation, it is essential that we can filter out irrelevancy and focus on the important challenges facing us. Addressing biodiversity loss is hard and in order to address it, we need to work at an elite level, both in terms of quality and speed. We, therefore, need to develop a work culture of deep work. A work culture of 9-5:30 working days with no emailing outside of those hours. A work culture of balance - balancing shallow work with deep work. And a culture where we have identified the key factors that determine success in nature conservation and adopt tools only if their positive impacts outweigh the negative.

We think this is an idea worth spreading :-)