Deep Work 2.0

Deep work is a term Cal Newport uses to describe the activities performed in a state of absolute distraction-free concentration to push our cognitive capabilities to their limit. I never read the book because the idea is just so simple: schedule a time when you perform real work, no social media, no notifications, just you and the work in front of you.

When I first heard about Deep Work, it was not a new concept to me. I had already practiced deep focus sessions regularly – usually early in the morning. But it made me definitely more serious. No matter how disciplined I attempted to be, the infinite dopamine from social media and constant notifications from my phone every more often crushed my flow state. Years ago, I tried and then purchased the blocking software Cold Turkey (for Mac and PCs) and an Android app called Digital Detox. Both apps are absolutely great (yes: one-time purchases!). What they allow you to do is block anything you want (for example social media and YouTube) and at the same time make it extremely difficult (if not impossible) to circumvent them.

Recently, I felt quite unhappy about the lack of progress towards the goals I had set for myself. One part of the equation certainly was the birth of our daughter. Yet, I still managed to schedule at least one Deep Work session each day. What was the missing link? I realized that it is not only social media, YouTube, or news websites anymore – LLMs are now equally distracting as social media.

Today I created a new blacklist filter in Cold Turkey where I now block all LLM apps and URLs. Could be I’m one of the first persons in the world to do so, but I realized that – for my ADHD type brain – having AI accessible non-stop is an equal distraction as social media feeds: a source of noise and cheap dopamine.

I realized that using LLMs blindly leads to procrastination, analysis paralysis, decision fatigue, unoriginal thought, loss of free will, decline of deep thinking capacity, atrophy of overall cognitive function, writing skill decline.

To be totally honest: Instead of working, I prompted. Instead of writing, I prompted. Instead of thinking, I prompted.

My personal insight is that I must be just as intentional and selectively about using AI as I must be with social media. Instead of using it all the time, I limit it now to very specific tasks where it adds exponential value to the work.

Let’s be clear: I’m not avoiding AI. I’m also not badmouthing it. I believe AI is one of the greatest technologies humans have invented. What I can tell from my personal experience and observations: AI can be a powerful lever or a heavy burden. Therefore, I believe, it is time for Deep Work 2.0: Deep focus sessions where you intentionally do not use AI at all – at least not actively (i.e., only use pre-prompted conversations or Deep Research reports that you saved as a PDF or Markdown file for your Deep Work 2.0 session).

What if not only distractions, social algorithms, but also (pretended) AI efficiency is a deadly enemy of our flow state?