Book · Focus and productivity · 2016
Deep Work
Cal Newport · 9 parts
The Useful verdict: Read rules 1, 2 and 4, skim the rest. Part 1 argues for focus at length; Part 2 tells you how to do it.
The book in 60 seconds
Cal Newport argues that focused, distraction-free work is becoming more valuable and more rare at the same time. Part 1 makes that case; Part 2 gives 4 rules: work deeply, embrace boredom, quit social media or use it on purpose, and drain the shallows. The goal is to make deep work a scheduled habit, not a mood.
Your time
About 3.5 hours to read the parts that matter, instead of about 7.5 hours for the whole book.
Based on about 303 pages at 40 pages an hour, with skimmed parts counted at a third.
Raja's take
The rules matter less than the setup. I moved my work off the phone and onto paper: a pocket notebook, printed pages, a timer on my desk. It took 2 to 4 weeks before I felt the difference.
Read only these parts
Tap any part. Read: Rule 1, Rule 2 and Rule 4.
Rule 1: Work Deeply
4 ways to schedule deep work, rituals, and the shutdown ritual. The heart of the book.
4 ideas from this book
Pick your depth style
Monastic, bimodal, rhythmic or journalistic: choose the deep work schedule your life can actually hold.
The shutdown ritual
End each workday with the same short routine and a set phrase, so work stops following you home.
Take breaks from focus
Schedule when you go online and stay offline between those blocks.
Schedule every minute
Give every block of your workday a job on paper. Fix the plan when it breaks.
Read it if
You do knowledge work and lose your days to email, chat and meetings.
Skip it if
You can't control your own schedule at all. Start with Indistractable instead.
Used to fix
Fix 1 forI can't focus for long
See the fixQuick answers
Is Deep Work worth reading?
Yes, but not all of it. Read 3 of its 9 parts: Rule 1, Rule 2 and Rule 4. Part 1 argues for focus at length; Part 2 tells you how to do it.
Which parts of Deep Work should I read?
Read Rule 1, Rule 2 and Rule 4. Skim the parts marked skim for their 1 idea, and skip the rest on a first read.
Who is Deep Work for?
You do knowledge work and lose your days to email, chat and meetings. Skip it if: You can't control your own schedule at all. Start with Indistractable instead.
Free PDF
Every chapter verdict, in 1 PDF
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