Newport did not mention "agile" per se, but in writing "Consider instead a system that externalizes work. Following the lead of software developers ..." he is c

Newport did not mention "agile" per se, but in writing "Consider instead a system that externalizes work. Following the lead of software developers ..." he is clearly referencing that set of systems for organizing work. Agile, in the way that Newport is writing, is a way to shift autonomy and accountability to teams. The team collectively owns the mission articulated by management. Bosses are in the background. The team is an intermediary between bosses and individuals and acts as both a smart way of allocating work committments and throttling device on inbound work requests. Merlin Mann is a straw man for a limiting philopsophy of "doing it all"; systems that externalize work represent a philosophy working deliberately. The unstated assumption is that organizations will perform better this way too. I think the consenus here is that working deliberately and concentrating deeply are ideal ways to work. That is not a new idea to the New Yorker audience either. I think of that what is different in this time of the Big Weirdness is that are we are focused on adjusting tactically and situationally, and that we lose sight of the norms that are sustaining and strategically valuable. What's happening is what's always happened - we're adapting, some organizations faster and better than others. With all that said, turning off most of your feeds for most of the time still seems like a good idea to me.