Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

by Cal Newport

Overview

Master one of our economy’s most rare skills and achieve groundbreaking results with this “exciting” book (Daniel H. Pink) from an “exceptional” author (New York Times Book Review).

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 its opposite. Dividing this book into two parts, he first makes the case that in almost any profession, cultivating a deep work ethic will produce massive benefits. He then presents a rigorous training regimen, presented as a series of 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 takes the reader on a journey through memorable stories-from Carl Jung building a stone tower in the woods to focus his mind, to a social media pioneer buying a round-trip business class ticket to Tokyo to write a book free from distraction in the air-and no-nonsense advice, such as the claim that most serious professionals should quit social media and that you should practice being bored. Deep Work is an indispensable guide to anyone seeking focused success in a distracted world.

An Amazon Best Book of 2016 Pick in Business & Leadership
Wall Street Journal Business Bestseller
A Business Book of the Week at 800-CEO-READ

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781455586691
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	01/05/2016
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	11,087
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Cal Newport is a computer science professor at Georgetown University and a New York Times bestselling author of seven books, including, A World Without Email, Digital Minimalism, So Good They Can't Ignore You, and Deep Work, which have been published in over 35 languages. He is a regular contributor to the New Yorker, the New York Times, and WIRED, a frequent guest on NPR, and the host of the popular Deep Questions podcast.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part 1 The Idea

Chapter 1 Deep Work Is Valuable 21

Chapter 2 Deep Work Is Rare 49

Chapter 3 Deep Work Is Meaningful 72

Part 2 The Rules

Rule #1 Work Deeply 95

Rule #2 Embrace Boredom 155

Rule #3 Quit Social Media 181

Rule #4 Drain the Shallows 215

Conclusion 257

Notes 265

Index 289

Editorial Reviews

As a presence on the page, Newport is exceptional in the realm of self-help authors. He is not an obvious maniac. His writing isn't befouled by stylistic abuses. He has not granted himself a job title featuring the word "guru" or "maven." Partly for these reasons and partly because his diagnoses rang true, I bought in to Deep Work. Six pages 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. A hundred pages in, I asked my brother to change my Twitter password so that I could no longer log in to my account.

The New York Times Book Review - Molly Young

11/09/2015
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. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"As a presence on the page, Newport is exceptional in the realm of self-help authors."—New York Times Book Review

"DEEP WORK accomplishes two considerable tasks: One is putting out a wealth of concrete practices for the ambitious, without relying on gauzy clichés. The second is that Mr. Newport resists the corporate groupthink of constant connectivity without seeming like a curmudgeon."—Wall Street Journal

"As automation and outsourcing reshape the workplace, what new skill do we need? The ability to do deep work. Cal Newport's exciting new book is an introduction and guide to the kind of intense concentration in a distraction-free environment that results in fast, powerful learning and performance. Think of it as calisthenics for your mind-and start your exercise program today."—Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive and When

"DEEP WORK makes a compelling case for cultivating intense focus, and offers immediately actionable steps for infusing more of it into our lives."—Adam M. Grant, author of Originals and Think Again

"Cal Newport is a clear voice in a sea of noise, bringing science and passion in equal measure. We don't need more clicks, more cats, and more emojis. We need brave work, work that happens when we refuse to avert our eyes."—Seth Godin, author of This is Marketing and The Practice

"Cal Newport offers the most well-informed and astute collection of practical advice I have seen for reclaiming one's mental powers."—Matthew B. Crawford, author of The World Beyond Your Head and Why We Drive

"Just when you think you already know this stuff, DEEP WORK hits you with surprisingly unique and useful insights. Rule #3 alone, with its discussion of the 'Any-Benefit' mind-set, is worth the price of this book."—Derek Sivers, founder, Sivers.org

"Here lies a playbook for professionals of all stripes to achieve true differentiation in a crowded talent marketplace. Cal Newport's latest shows why he is one of the most provocative thinkers on the future of work."—Ben Casnocha, co-author of The Start-Up Of You

"Deep work is the killer app of the knowledge economy: it is only by concentrating intensely that you can master a difficult discipline or solve a demanding problem."—The Economist

"This is a deep, not shallow, book which can enrich your life."—The Globe and Mail

"In this strong self-help book, Newport 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."—Publisher's Weekly

"[A] worthwhile distraction."—ValueWalk

"A wonderfully entangled, intertwined, and erudite series of strategies, philosophies, disciplines, and techniques to sharpen your focus and dive deep into your work."—800-CEO-READ

"DEEP WORK is now one of my all-time favorite books, and I'm not joking when I say it was a life-changing read for me. I think it can be for you too."—Brett McKay, author of The Art of Manliness

"What emerges most powerfully is the sense that it's wrong to think of deep work as one more thing you've got to try to cram into your schedule. Truly committing to it, Newport suggests, transforms the rest of your time - so you'll crank through shallow work faster, be more present in your home life, and eliminate time wasted switching between tasks. Depth, in short, isn't at odds with a full life - it facilitates it. I'm persuaded."—Oliver Burkeman, The Guardian

From the Publisher