We all know ‘Great’ results requires great efforts. But what could be great efforts?
You need to remember that efforts that is great on the collective basis would be considered something extra ordinary and not on subjective basis.
For example: A person who starts working out would need great efforts to just hit the gym regularly, from their point of view. But people who have already surpassed the basic foundation will not consider going to gym as a great effort.
So the beginner, first would need to come to the level where the mass average is and from their the extra effort you put in would lead to great results.
Let me give another example:
For college students doing your the essential reading might seems great efforts on subjective basis but it is the least you have to do to understand the subject.
Now if you go par and start doing the extra reading then you are indulging in something which you could say great efforts, because 95% of the people wont do it.
Great results would only come with you do things that others are not doing. Like reading books which others are not reading.
I would recommend watching “Think Better’ by Shane Parrish video where he mentions inter alia that you must read books which others are not reading. As only then would be exposed to information which other people don’t know.
Now what actions produce great results?
For producing ‘great’ results you need to dive into the subject matter with a very high level of concentration.
You need to be so much inside the material that nobody around you could disturb you.
If you have read enough about your ideals I am sure everyone of them would get into a ‘zone’ while reading.
It is like forming a bubble around you and staying inside that bubble for hours.
And when you form a such a bubble, I believe it tends to produce ‘great’ work.
Example of people who practice this…
Bill Gates
Bill Gates is quite famous for having ‘Think Week’ two times a year where he disconnects from the world and spends his time thinking on ideas for a week.
He carries lot of books and notepads with him and keeps on making notes.
It is said that [Think Week eventually led to Microsoft to launching Internet Explorer in 1995]
(Trust me that time, it was a huge thing.)
Christopher Nolan
Well its possible that you might have not heard his name but you have definitely watched his movies. Batman Trilogy, The Prestige, Inception, Interstellar, etc.
I believe one of the reasons for making such amazing movies is the level of his concentration.
He doesn’t own a smartphone and allows no smartphone on the set.
He believe in something called ‘task bubbles’. Here is what it means in his own words:
“Phones have become a huge distraction, and people work much better without them. At first it causes difficulty, but it really allows them to concentrate on what they’re doing. Everybody understands. I’ve had a lot of crews thank me. When you’re on a set, you’re trying to create a bubble of alternate reality. When people are so absorbed in a conversation that they don’t even notice what’s going on around them. Creativity flourishes in those bubbles, but they’re fragile: other people can burst them“(Source)
This shows that how much concentration matters to Christopher Nolan.
Cal Newport
He is a computer science professor at Georgetown University and one of the books which he has written is ‘Deep Work’.
Well I am not going to talk much about the book here and let that work be left for you.
In brief, his book dives deep into developing high performance work which is generated through great concentration level and to achieve that you would need to put in great efforts.
One of the ways which he suggests is by ditching your smartphone.
Inshort
For producing ‘great’ results you would need to have a level of concentration where you create a bubble around you. That is where ideas will flourish. Plus, you would need to avoid doing things which could break such bubbles as these things are very fragile.