Cal Newport’s blog entry shares Nobel Prize winning physicist Richard Feynman’s take on the importance of focus. Bottom line—to do great physics, you need long stretches of time to concentrate without being interrupted.
I’m not suggesting students should take the strategy to Feynman’s extreme by refusing to accept any other responsibilities unrelated to the task at hand (that’s easier to do when you’ve won the Nobel Prize). But if a genius like Feynman couldn’t do great work while being interrupted, it’s unlikely that a high school student can do homework or study for an exam effectively when you’re constantly replying to texts and emails.
The best work happens interruption-free.