Deep Work
By Cal Newport
- Release Date: 2016-01-05
- Genre: Management & Leadership
Description
Millions of copies sold!
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 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.”—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
Reviews
Transformative book written with care, dedication, and “deep” levels of focus
5By ibra117ah.Great read and truly something useful that can change your professional career!
5By sajeveI 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!Slightly underwhelming but motivating
3By a.juste88The overall ideas and writing of the book are good. I did feel that did not offer much in the way of new approaches. The stories that went along with the strategy were entertaining and helped tie things together.Excellent book!
5By xxMacA good way to commit a sizable time each day to doing something meaningful and producing usable content.On point!
5By PicknanupI have been struggling to continue working in a job i have had for over 30 years. This job has always provided challenges and great satisfaction until recent years. I now realize this is because I have allowed far too much shallowness into my routine and cannot focus on anything meaningful. This book woke me up to this fact and I have already made significant changes (before I even finished reading it!). So far I am much happier and, as I continue eliminating distractions, I expect to only be more satisfied in my work. Thank you Cal for a wonderful wake-up-call! JoeHighly recommend
5By Wero_98Great read. I would gift this to all the people close to me so that they could understand the long term impact of deep work.Read it
5By ilya the speedy russianA great read if you find yourself feeling like you’re constantly distracted and want to develop better work habitsAwesome title and book
5By Themig6I am 55 years old and I consume books constantly. This ranks in my top 5 ever. Could not put it down and have never read a book so fast. Excellent advise, blunt but the truth everyone needs to hear.Excellent
5By Rover2021DawsExcellentJust what I needed at the right time
4By DwellmanThis book is being read at a time I am inundated with huge volumes of distraction at work, and in home-based projects. Email, social media, endless calls, meetings, supposed emergencies, etc. Now I have ideas on how to tackle the noise and will set up ways to measure my successes—or lack of successes.Similar to Digital Minimalism, but still relevant
4By robdog151Lots of great examples and ideas to being more focused. I can tell Cal greatly benefits from Deep Work and I plan to implement these tactics.Good Reminder. Wish book was more concise.
1By KEUttCertainly a good reminder of why depth in work matters. Book was only average in insights and riddled with personal stories. Main points could be written in 20 pages or so. In fact, reading all the words in this book would be classified as “shallow work”.Life changing
5By Terrance BI decided to make the goal of finishing this book while on vacation after hearing so many great things. It certainly didn’t disappoint. I now have the appropriate mindset of taking my mindshare back (think social media and distractions) that gives me that deep, slightly disturbing feeling that leaving these distracting habits behind is what will propel me forward in the things I wanted to do. Without going too specific, if you seek what I seek, (control of your mind, time, and space) the chance to do work that you’ll be proud of when your time’s up, don’t waste it. Start by reading it here.Definitely study this book—it will make a big difference in your life.
5By Blockbuilder 59I listen to a lot of self-improvement books. I judge the value of a book by how much it helps me make powerful, positive changes for good in my life. I can honestly say that this book has been by far the best book in that regard. I work in a professional services industry where the concept of “deep work” is often considered something that “computer” people do. By employing the principles detailed in this book I have been able to make some amazing progress on one particular project which is enabling me to really stand out nationwide in the niche area in which I specialize. My practical advice to someone considering this book is to buy it and really pay attention to to the key ideas that Cal Newport discusses. Then, once you have the ideas in mind, really think about how they can apply to your particular situation. There are a lot of industries where people neglect the principles taught in this book. Those who do study these “deep work” concepts and focus on applying them will begin to see themselves standing out above their peers in new and impressive ways. As a matter of full disclosure, this is not some paid review and I don’t know Cal Newport nor have any relationship with him (although I would like to meet him someday, shake his hand, and thank him for writing such a powerful book).Amazing Tips, Has extraneous content
5By OptimizedPranThe beginning of the book is just amazing. He clearly outlines what deep work is and the techniques you can use to integrate it in your life. Towards the end, there ends up being a long drawn out conclusion involving content about how to manage your emails which I found to be slightly minute and beside the point. The concepts of attentional residue, and focusing on one thing for extended periods of time to push your cognitive limits is a concept that is not even thought of by most people. Training you cognition is a huge thing to prioritize in life. It also has me thinking about how I will learn things from now on. Rather than focusing on simply having the skills in my classes, I will instead focus on understanding it at the deepest level by mastering the most cognitively demanding components.Great points, but a difficult read
4By Sohrab SI enjoyed the valuable points in this book, but I found it to be difficult to read. I kept having to start back at the beginning of a paragraph to grasp the point, which became fatiguing. In addition to this, I appreciate and agree with Cal’s points on social media (and how it inhibits our ability to work deeply), but he states that friends made over social media are assumed to be light in nature. My anecdote: I’ve made several very close friends over social networks. He lost me at this part.Clear & Aspirational
5By Deep WorkThis is one of the best books I have ever read on the topic of focused work. The blend of storytelling and strategizing is seamless, and helps the reader start to gameplan on how they will integrate the concepts into their own practice. I believe this is a timeless book that, at least in my case, will continue to add value to my practice of deep work for the rest of my life. Thank you Dr. Newport.Amazing book
5By Steve7782This is a fantastic book. It literally should be required reading for everyone in the workforce. It has transformed my work habits and made me massively more productive. I'm a huge fan of Newport now, and can't wait to read his other books.Good book
4By bhanu7265I really enjoyed reading this book.
