Deep Work
Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
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4.5 • 672 Ratings
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
From a New York Times bestselling author, learn to master one of our economy’s rarest skills–the ability to focus–and achieve groundbreaking results.
Deep work is the power to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce better results in less time–a superpower in our increasingly competitive economy. In Deep Work, author and professor Cal Newport presents four rules for transforming your mind and habits to support this skill:
1. Work Deeply
2. Embrace Boredom
3. Quit Social Media
4. Drain the Shallows
A mix of cultural criticism and actionable advice, Deep Work uses examples from Carl Jung to social media pioneers to demonstrate how great thinkers have focused their minds in a nonstop world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this strong self-help book, Newport (So Good They Can't Ignore You) declares that the habits of modern professionals checking email at all hours, rushing from meeting to meeting, and valuing multitasking above all else only stand in the way of truly valuable work. According to him, everyone should practice deep work: "professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit." Newport calls on psychology and neuroscience, as well as common sense, to back up his recommendations. As to why people don't already work this way, he implicates a cultural narrative that stresses activity over concentration and that encourages workers to follow the path of least resistance. Newport encourages readers to take breaks from technology, recharge with downtime, leave social media, and reply to emails more purposefully. It's tempting to blow off the message as the complaints of an admitted non-technophile, but Newport's disarming self-awareness "Deep work is not some nostalgic affectation of writers and early-20th-century philosophers" and emphasis on a meaningful work practice that's "rich with productivity and meaning" makes for an excellent lesson in focusing on quality rather than quantity at work.
Customer Reviews
Read it !! It’s worth it
This book goes from inspiring to very practical. It’s a well written insight to a new way of thinking about productivity. Anyone interested in doing meaningful or fullfilling work should at the very minimun read the sample. It’s a great read and definitely worth your money !!
Great read and truly something useful that can change your professional career!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was both engaging and insightful, articulating concepts I had intuitively understood but never formally recognized—particularly about when I was most productive during my college and graduate years. As I transitioned into my professional career, I realized how often I became consumed by shallow work, believing it was the core of my responsibilities because it was what I was paid to do. However, this book illuminated the fact that my best work—the most impactful and fulfilling—has always stemmed from dedicating several uninterrupted hours to a single focused project or issue…deep work. It offers clear guidance on how to implement this approach .. this deep work ethic … in a professional setting. A fantastic read—I finished it in under a week!
Excellent book!
A good way to commit a sizable time each day to doing something meaningful and producing usable content.