Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
The bestselling modern classic that sparked a worldwide conversation about the value of concentration--and the true costs of fractured attention.
"I'm handing you the answer to the overwhelm you feel, and his name is Dr. Cal Newport." --Mel Robbins, The Mel Robbins Podcast, author of New York Times bestsellingThe Let Them Theory
Deep Work-- the ability to focus without distraction on cognitively demanding tasks--is one of the most important abilities you can cultivate in our current moment. It's a skill that allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce quality results in less time.And yet, most people have lost the ability to go deep--spending their days in a frantic blur of emails, online meetings, social media, and AI slop, not realizing there's a better way.
In Deep Work, bestselling author and professor Cal Newport makes the case for reclaiming focus as a critical skill in our digital world, providing step-by step instructions for achieving this goal, including four rules for transforming your daily habits:
1. Work Deeply
2. Embrace Boredom
3. Quit Social Media
4. Drain the Shallows
A mix of cultural criticism and actionable advice, Deep Work offers a vitally important message: in our age of constant distraction, focus is a superpower. With inspiring examples and clear rules, Deep Work will teach you to introduce this ability in your own life.
"As a presence on the page, Newport is exceptional in the realm of self-help authors ... Six Âpages in, I powered down my laptop. Twenty pages in, I left the house to buy an alarm clock so that I wouldn't have an excuse to sleep next to my phone."--Molly Young, The New York Times
"One of the few books I would call life-changing." --Tim Maurer, Forbes
"I've read lots of books about productivity and lots of books about distraction. For me, Deep Work is among the best, on both counts." --Joshua Rothman, The New Yorker
"[Deep Work] has changed how I live my life. Particularly, it's led me to stop scheduling morning meetings, and to preserve that time for more sustained, creative work." --Ezra Klein, The Ezra Klein Show
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Community Reviews
It's difficult to argue with Newport's logic. Being a member of the tech industry, I can affirm his observations ring true, plus they're backed up with research. Unfortunately, most businesses are structured in a manner that promotes shallow work by making it easily disguised as productivity. Plus, burnout from shallow work can drive a person straight to complacency. After reading through all Newport's suggestions, I'm ready to start applying this approach to my own work in hopes of making all my projects more rewarding.
This was an engaging, motivating read that encompasses everything I'd expect in a self-improvement book. I feel smarter and more prepared after reading it and I'm excited to start applying Newport's methods.
When next you need to get into a deep mode:
• shut down your social media notifications;
• make sure not to switch to the next task until you have finished the ongoing one. There will be an attention residue — working in a semi–distraction state, which is counterproductive;
• spend less time on the Internet and no time playing games on your telephone/ computer;
• exert maximum productivity from the hour's work, and maximum recovery from your downtime.
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