LOS LIBROS QUE INSPIRARON ENGLISH MASTERY. # 3: “Deep Work” (Cal Newport)

“If you love life, don’t waste time, because time is what life is made of” (Bruce Lee)

Esta es la tercera entrada de esta serie de posts, en los que quiero compartir con los lectors del blog aquellos libros que fueron una auténtica fuente de inspiración para mí. Hace poco, en un curso que di para profesores sobre creación de materiales didácticos comenté que English Mastery, como método de enseñanza del nivel C2 de inglés no era un fin, sino un medio. Desde luego que he empeñado más de dos años (van para tres) en intentar que sea el método definitivo para escuelas de idiomas y estudiantes de nivel avanzado, pero también una puerta de entrada (gateway) al conocimiento que hay en la obra de cada uno de estos autores. Si no los conoces todavía, estás de enhorabuena, porque es un privilegio conocerlos por primera vez.

Unit 2 of English Mastery (“The Pareto Principle“) deals with the topics of careers and success, failure, but also time management and productivity. There are three main resources at our disposal: energy, time, and attention. The way we spend those is going to make a world of difference in whether we attain our goals or not, and ultimately, in the type of life we end up living. And in today’s world, where we are bombarded by constant stimulation and instant gratification (in the shape of emails, adds, entertainment, social media, twinkling notifications from a bazillion apps, instant messaging, polarizing news, politics, what have you…), it is extremely challenging to remain focused, impervious to distraction, and get work done. And I guess that the concept of “being productive” or “getting stuff done” might not exactly enthuse the “you only live one, so why bother“, laid-back, slack-ish type of dude, and even strike them as something rather materialistic and superficial. You know, the hustle-culture kind of thing. Ok, I get it. But if you really want (for whatever reason) to create something of actual worth and make a difference in the world (note: any person who devotes their life to helping others- nurses, doctors, teachers, soldiers, firefighters, etc.- is INDEED making a difference), you need to embrace deep work. There is shallow work and there is deep work. With the former, you can afford to go through the motions (as many people do at work when they find their jobs uninspiring), but with the latter, you cannot. Really compelling work (anything involving creativity, music, literature, dissertations, works of art, design, etc.) is going to demand your undivided attention and focus. In the span of two years, I managed to write and publish three books, launch my own website and start-up, and do a ton of blog writing, along with being a full-time teacher and head of studies at the school where I work, while not disregarding my personal, social and family life and fitness, either. And I’m not a prodigy or a genius, nor am I someone gifted with an abnormally high IQ. I am pretty sure I took some valuable lessons from Cal Newport’s book. We tend to underestimate the things we can achieve, provided we focus on the important and ignore the inconsequential, unimportant, trivial stuff. Time, not money, is the MOST valuable asset we have. It is almost CRUEL to waste it.