Resisting Resistance

Going through the motions seems like a fairly common habit. We monotonously follow the same routine, whether at home or work. Cal Newport describes the principle of least resistance as doing what is easiest at the moment in his book, Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World. Often, this means we will simply react to our situations rather than plan ahead and create goals. He states there are two main reasons for this: faster responses and reactions allow us to carry out our responsibilities sooner and the culture of connectivity offers an environment that allows us to respond to arising issues rather than pre-planning. Delays in your responses force you to think and plan for these issues, which can make these obstacles seem more challenging at the moment. David Allen's Getting Things Done task-management method is a fifteen-element flowchart for organizing competing obligations, which is a daunting task and we weren't all meant to be fortune-tellers. As a result, the mindset of least resistance prevents us from facing the present discomfort of concentrating on planning, but at the expense of future satisfaction and productivity.

Named after Jorge Hirsch, the h-index calculates the value of your impact in your field based on publications and citations as a form of measurement for the "metric black hole" of productivity. Newport argues that knowledge workers are becoming increasingly dependent on visible busyness as a means of demonstrating productivity values, something he calls "busyness as a proxy for productivity." In such a mindset, productivity is measured by the appearance of busyness (i.e. checking and responding to e-mails, constant connection through an instant messaging app, or asking for the opinions of nearby colleagues) rather than tangible results. Since the value of a deep work mindset is rooted in quality and mastery, it seems antiquated and anti-technological in an increasingly technology-centric environment. However, it offers participants a greater connection to their projects, resulting in a higher quality of craftsmanship.