Deep Work

Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

295 pages

Published Nov. 6, 2016 by Grand Central Publishing.

ISBN:
978-1-4555-8669-1
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
908704985

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (80 reviews)

One of the most valuable skills in our economy is becoming increasingly rare. If you master this skill, you'll achieve extraordinary results.

Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It's a skill that allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce better results in less time. Deep work will make you better at what you do and provide the sense of true fulfillment that comes from craftsmanship. In short, deep work is like a super power in our increasingly competitive twenty-first century economy. And yet, most people have lost the ability to go deep-spending their days instead in a frantic blur of e-mail and social media, not even realizing there's a better way.

In DEEP WORK, author and professor Cal Newport flips the narrative on impact in a connected age. Instead of arguing distraction is bad, he instead celebrates the power of …

8 editions

Review of 'Deep Work' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Mi è piaciuto molto. Newport si fa araldo di uno stile organizzativo quasi marziale. Complicato se si vuole implementare al 100% e più adatto ad alcune mansioni che non ad altre.
Pone però spunti interessanti sui tempi moderni e come le distrazioni sono quasi totalmente integrate nel nostro modo di intendere il lavoro.

Review of 'Deep Work' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Some good tips about methods of work, but ultimately glorifies hustle culture and productivity performance. While these tenets may benefit individuals, they will ultimately fail to meaningfully change the society we live in (apparently this is a superfluous moral argument). I picked this up because I thought Digital Minimalism was ok, but this one is blatant in its lack of critique of the reasons why meaningful engagement (read deep work) occur. For-profit businesses that operate not on common good, but on extractive tactics that steer people away from meaningful dialogue, create further polarization and care little about the health of people or planet is but one of these reasons that is acknowledged, but not questioned. The other is the assumption that everyone has an infinite amount of potential leisure time to recapture by being more effective at concentration. I hope someone extracts the good parts of this book and re-aligns …

A plea for focused work - from a very privileged perspective

3 stars

I read this book because I wanted to learn more about making use of deeply focused work. This book delivered only partially. There are some interesting pointers on how to integrate more highly-focused work into your life and how to expand your mental capabilities... but a lot of them will be exponentially harder for neurodivergent people, and the suggestions for integrating more "deep work" are probably not feasible for people who have caretaker responsability or people in precarized work. Nearly all of his success stories are people who have a pretty high degree of privilege to begin with.

In the first part, I got annoyed with his sales pitch for deep work - I already knew it was something potentially beneficial and open-plan offices are horrible. Maybe he needed to make this sales pitch because corporate culture is so invested in inhumane, focus-destroying work practices?

I also don't get his …

Review of 'Deep Work' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Distractions are plenty in the digital world. What we trade off to distraction is not just our attention. This book makes you realise why Deep Work is essential to produce anything creative. And distractions are the antithesis of Deep Work. Mentioning habits of people who consistently produced acclaimed deep work, this book might nudge you to plan your life around and away from distractions.

Review of 'Deep Work' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Structuring, blocking, and processes for work. The author was ahead of his time on social media and productive work rituals. He’s also probably the reason I can never find contact info on personal websites now.

If you’re wondering how a full length book can be written around the statement “Do better work”, so was I. But there are many helpful strategies to adopt for your own time management and professional accessibility. Some methods may be difficult if you’re not on the same level as Richard Branson, like “if you want to contact me, pay up”, or “tell me how badly you need to contact me, then fill out this survey, and we’ll see”. But some were very helpful, like shutdown rituals, fixed schedule productivity, and taking a break from focus with productive meditation outdoors.

Review of 'Deep Work' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I found this book more valuable than nearly all other productivity/business books I've read.

You'll really want to practice active reading/listening while taking this book in though.

This book meanders through many different ideas/studies/analogies. I would have forgotten most of the insights I had while reading this book had I not been taking notes.

As I continue to improve my work habits, I plan to reflect on the mountain of notes I took while listening to this audiobook.

Review of 'Deep Work' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Although it gets repetitive a bit in the middle, the gist of the book can be summarized as - Do deep work instead of the shallow. You have to actively work on your habits to keep yourself from spiraling into the distraction laden life that the current online culture has inculcated. All this sounds like common advice and a touch of self-help vibe in the title of this book may make you skeptical to pick it up, but the advices and strategies Cal Newport suggests is applicable to everyone in the 21st century. If you can't make it through the entire book, read at least few of his blog posts on Cal Newport: Blog .

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