Finding Purpose in Our Distracted Age
We live in a world of endless information and shrinking attention spans. In this chaos, the pursuit of meaningful intellectual work has become both harder and more vital than ever.
A.G. Sertillanges‘ “The Intellectual Life,” written in 1920s Paris, offers wisdom that feels startlingly relevant today. Though penned by a Catholic friar for a religious audience nearly a century ago, this compact book speaks to universal human desires: the yearning to do good work, wrestle with challenging ideas, and contribute something meaningful to the world.
For modern readers willing to look past its dated references, it provides a clear roadmap for organizing life around intellectual pursuits and creative work.
Start with Simplification
Sertillanges’ first and most crucial lesson is simple: you must simplify your life to focus on what truly matters.
“You must simplify your life,” he writes. “You have a direct journey before you—do not burden yourself with too much baggage.”
This isn’t just about decluttering your desk. It’s about removing the mental and emotional clutter that prevents deep engagement with your chosen work. In our era of endless commitments and digital overwhelm, this becomes a superpower.
For today’s professionals, this means making hard choices:
- Which projects deserve your time?
- Which meetings actually need your presence?
- Which opportunities should you decline?
The goal isn’t to eliminate all complexity, but to create space for work that truly matters. This might mean delegating responsibilities, saying no to interesting but peripheral projects, or restructuring your daily routine to protect time for deep thinking.
Protect Your Deep Work Space
Creating the right conditions for focused work isn’t a luxury—it’s a responsibility that requires intentional design and fierce protection.
Whether it’s a physical office, a quiet corner of your home, or simply a specific time when you can focus, consistency and boundaries are key. The space must be prepared in advance, with materials ready and distractions eliminated.
This extends beyond physical space to mental preparation. Know exactly what you want to accomplish and how you plan to do it. This transforms scattered moments into productive sessions—what modern experts call “deep work.”
Choose Your Life’s Work
Perhaps the most challenging aspect of Sertillanges’ philosophy is his insistence that we must choose our work rather than drift through various interests without commitment.
“Everyone in life has his work,” he argues. “He must apply himself to it courageously and leave to others what Providence has reserved for others.”
This challenges our modern tendency to keep all options open indefinitely. While exploration is valuable, meaningful work eventually requires specialization and commitment.
Sertillanges advocates a two-phase approach:
- First phase: Cultivate broad understanding and explore various interests
- Second phase: Choose one primary focus and dedicate yourself to excellence
This doesn’t mean becoming narrow or ignorant of other fields. Rather, develop expertise in one domain while maintaining general knowledge across others.
For today’s professionals, this might mean choosing between competing career paths, focusing on a specific area of expertise, or committing to a particular creative project. The key is making conscious choices rather than defaulting to whatever demands immediate attention.
Read Strategically, Not Randomly
Sertillanges offers crucial guidance for anyone overwhelmed by information overload: books should be tools for advancing your work, not mere entertainment or random consumption.
“Choose your books,” he advises. “Do not trust interested advertising and catchy titles. Have devoted and expert advisers. Go straight to the fountainhead to satisfy your thirst.”
This advice becomes even more relevant in our age of content marketing and algorithmic recommendations. The goal is to associate with first-rate thinkers whose ideas can genuinely advance your understanding.
Think of it this way: if you could only learn from eight people, who would you choose and why? This exercise helps identify which voices deserve your sustained attention and which merely distract from deeper engagement.
This doesn’t eliminate reading for pleasure, but it does mean distinguishing between recreation and professional development. The latter requires careful curation and deeper engagement with challenging, primary sources.
Move from Consumption to Creation
The most transformative aspect of Sertillanges’ philosophy is his insistence that intellectual life must include production, not just consumption. Reading and learning without creating something new amounts to sophisticated procrastination.
“One cannot be forever learning and forever getting ready,” he writes. “Moreover, learning and getting ready are inseparable from a certain amount of production.“
This challenges our tendency to postpone creative work until we feel fully prepared. Sertillanges argues that production itself is part of learning—we discover what we think by trying to articulate it.
This applies across various forms of intellectual work: writing essays, creating presentations, teaching others, building products, or engaging in thoughtful discussions. The specific format matters less than the commitment to transform private understanding into public contribution.
Regular production also creates accountability and momentum. When we commit to sharing our thinking consistently, we must engage more seriously with our learning. We can’t remain passive consumers but must actively process and synthesize what we encounter.
Build Your Legacy Through Daily Practice
Sertillanges’ ultimate goal isn’t personal satisfaction but contribution to the larger human conversation. This requires moving beyond individual achievement to consider how our work might serve others and advance understanding.
This legacy-building happens through consistent daily practice, not sporadic bursts of inspiration. Great work emerges from sustained effort over time, not from waiting for perfect conditions.
For modern practitioners, this means establishing routines that support regular engagement with challenging ideas and consistent production of original work. It might involve:
- Daily writing sessions
- Weekly reflection periods
- Monthly goal-setting
- Quarterly project reviews
The specific practices matter less than the commitment to continuous growth and contribution.
Why This Matters Today
While Sertillanges wrote for a specific audience in a particular era, his core insights remain remarkably relevant. The fundamental challenges he addresses—distraction, scattered attention, the tension between breadth and depth, the difficulty of moving from consumption to creation—have only intensified in our digital age.
His solutions—simplification, protected time, strategic choices, purposeful reading, and regular production—offer practical guidance for navigating contemporary professional life.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, academic, creative professional, or simply someone seeking more meaningful work, “The Intellectual Life” provides a framework for organizing your efforts around what matters most.
In an age of infinite options, the ability to choose and commit may be the most important skill of all.