Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
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- Create Date：2021-04-20 11:58:00
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Cal Newport
- ISBN：1455586692
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Summary
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 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。
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。
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。
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。
Reviews
Shauna
，
This is mostly written for people who work in tech startups， or are entrepreneurs in thought work jobs。 He spends a lot of time discussing social media， email， and office politics。 Also a lot of time is dedicated to writing your schedule to "block out" deep work time。 What never happens， is getting down to the *what* i am to do， to work deeper once I've shut off my phone， gotten some quiet time to work。 There is very little of the *how*， mostly this is the *why* of deep work。 Since I was convinc This is mostly written for people who work in tech startups， or are entrepreneurs in thought work jobs。 He spends a lot of time discussing social media， email， and office politics。 Also a lot of time is dedicated to writing your schedule to "block out" deep work time。 What never happens， is getting down to the *what* i am to do， to work deeper once I've shut off my phone， gotten some quiet time to work。 There is very little of the *how*， mostly this is the *why* of deep work。 Since I was convinced going in， this wasn't entirely necessary。 However， this book could be very helpful if you work in an office。 。。。more
Jacob Van Sickle
，
Although Newport repeats a lot of popular psychological studies found in pop-productivity books， he breaks new ground with his emphasis on “Deep Work。” This book will help anyone in the knowledge economy， particularly if you have to spend a lot of time creating new material。 If you regularly teach， this book will benefit you greatly。 I would read it （or listen， as I did） alongside When by Daniel Pink。
Holly Goligthy
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My brain kind of resist to understand this， maybe i would try read this again next year， if i remember
Jonathon Ham
，
I haven’t read a lot of self help in the last 2-3 years， but this was brilliant I’m starting my masters in May and couldn’t think of a better book to read to prepare for it Main take away is limit your internet surfing time， commit to what you’re working on， remove distractions and focus。。。 all of this makes sense， but the book does a great job of laying out why and how to achieve all these goals It also makes me want to build a cabin in the woods so I can go there and work projects out
Charlotte Wenner
，
Loved this very practical guide to making the most of one's time in order to actually realize one's gift and potential。 A must-read for anyone who just can't seem to find the time to do what really matters。。。whether it be writing a book （like me until recently） or other creative dream。 Starting my 30-day digital detox （which I learned about in Digital Minimalism） gave to read this second Newport book。 Time well spent。 Loved this very practical guide to making the most of one's time in order to actually realize one's gift and potential。 A must-read for anyone who just can't seem to find the time to do what really matters。。。whether it be writing a book （like me until recently） or other creative dream。 Starting my 30-day digital detox （which I learned about in Digital Minimalism） gave to read this second Newport book。 Time well spent。 。。。more
Karen
，
I won't be adopting all of Newport's suggestions， but the principle of making time to focus for what needs focus， and accepting that some kinds of work will never be achieved without it， is very important。 I recommend this book for all， even if its extremes are not practical or desirable for your role。 The principles are worth reflecting on。 I won't be adopting all of Newport's suggestions， but the principle of making time to focus for what needs focus， and accepting that some kinds of work will never be achieved without it， is very important。 I recommend this book for all， even if its extremes are not practical or desirable for your role。 The principles are worth reflecting on。 。。。more
Mohamad Kalaaji
，
My expectations were a lot higher for this book， Although it packs a good amount of info about the subject yet kinda makes you lose interest due to the overstatement of the fact over and overAs for the tips， I have read numerous books that offer the same advice or something really similar so they are not new to me， my expectations to find advice that would change my perspective on this bookIf I have read this book when I first started reading 3 years ago， I would have hailed it as the most infor My expectations were a lot higher for this book， Although it packs a good amount of info about the subject yet kinda makes you lose interest due to the overstatement of the fact over and overAs for the tips， I have read numerous books that offer the same advice or something really similar so they are not new to me， my expectations to find advice that would change my perspective on this bookIf I have read this book when I first started reading 3 years ago， I would have hailed it as the most informative and innovative book and would have dissed the rest yet the opposite is done here: there is nothing special about it at allIs it a hype？ Yes and no， if you are relatively new to these kind of books then it would serve you right but if you have read similar books then not much of a difference honestly 。。。more
Daniel
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After reading the book， Cal Newport has convinced me that a life devoted to deep work is the best kind of life there is。 I’m looking forward to applying some of these teachings to my own life。 Great read。
Daniel Wagner
，
I really like the concept of deep work and scheduling/prioritizing it into our days。 As the book admits， implementing these changes is easier for entrepreneurs and freelance workers。 I think organizations have a lot that they can learn from these practices as well。
Lou
，
yeah it's alright， just abt distinct enough from digital minimalism - probably more useful if you're already off facebook - if you go into this book with a facebook account， I can imagine ur main takeaway would be "quit facebook" yeah it's alright， just abt distinct enough from digital minimalism - probably more useful if you're already off facebook - if you go into this book with a facebook account， I can imagine ur main takeaway would be "quit facebook" 。。。more
Raanaar
，
من این کتاب رو بعد گوش دادن به پادکست بی پلاس خریدم و به نظرم خوندنش ارزش داره چون بعضی نکاتی که تو کتاب هست تو پادکست نیست و اینکه نیمه ی دوم کتاب که راهکار میده نسبت به نیمه ی اولش بهتر و روون تره。
Emil
，
This book resonates so well with my own observations from the past months。 Shallow work is like weed that will overtake the whole garden if you don’t pay attention。The content is well structured and full with practical advises。 Also， it accepts the reality and the different contexts that people have。 So， it doesn’t try to pitch you an unrealistic dream。Highly recommended！
Camellia
，
This is one of those books you should read while having your stickies and highlighters around （preachers of the pristine state theory， feel free to cringe）！ I consider myself a "knowledge-worker"， and this book definitely strikes a chord or two。 Terminology aside， Deep vs Shallow work has always been an intriguing concept for me that I only retrospect upon on the occasional epiphany involving a grand idea （whether it comes to fruition or not， although， is a separate discussion）。 This book really This is one of those books you should read while having your stickies and highlighters around （preachers of the pristine state theory， feel free to cringe）！ I consider myself a "knowledge-worker"， and this book definitely strikes a chord or two。 Terminology aside， Deep vs Shallow work has always been an intriguing concept for me that I only retrospect upon on the occasional epiphany involving a grand idea （whether it comes to fruition or not， although， is a separate discussion）。 This book really gathers all those random insights floating in the air across time， and puts it in black and white for all to absorb。 Except for the minor drawback of sounding preachy once in a while， I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has been stuck in the mundane work-life stupor for a while。 。。。more
Patricia
，
This book relates to an interesting and attractive concept， for sure。 It was good in pushing me to think deeper about how I'm actually spending my time now。 I'll probably return to this when I've figured out how to feasibly apply Newport's ideas into my life （granted， he does provide plenty of suggestions）。 Wasn't the biggest fan of the conclusion though。 This book relates to an interesting and attractive concept， for sure。 It was good in pushing me to think deeper about how I'm actually spending my time now。 I'll probably return to this when I've figured out how to feasibly apply Newport's ideas into my life （granted， he does provide plenty of suggestions）。 Wasn't the biggest fan of the conclusion though。 。。。more
Steven
，
More nuggets of decent advice from ivy league neoliberal hellworld。
Sidharth Manohar
，
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。
Atif Sayyed
，
This book is a must read for all those who want to excel in their work。It provides numerous methods to increase ones productivity。It gives scientific insights about why deep work is important and what are its benefits。In the information age where there are many distractions， deep focused work is rare to find。 But once achieved， you'll experience its benefits sooner。It has personally and professionally helped me a lot。 This book is a must read for all those who want to excel in their work。It provides numerous methods to increase ones productivity。It gives scientific insights about why deep work is important and what are its benefits。In the information age where there are many distractions， deep focused work is rare to find。 But once achieved， you'll experience its benefits sooner。It has personally and professionally helped me a lot。 。。。more
Fereshteh Noori
，
Needs some work to put the solutions in to your life， also some of them are not designed for normal people with normal income！！！
coffee
，
Great insights， but way too wordy—the book could be reduced to five pages and still give the entire picture。
Sherrinda
，
Eye opening book about distraction in today's world and what to do if you want to focus and do deep work。 Eye opening book about distraction in today's world and what to do if you want to focus and do deep work。 。。。more
Maeve
，
The broad themes of this book were moderately useful and are tactics I will apply going forward - spending more time working deeply， less time on social media， scheduling blocks for productivity in your day。 I didn’t find anything necessarily groundbreaking in this book but it was a quick read to enhance the importance of focus and ways it can be applied。
Vincent Deeney
，
A solid book with suggestions and some stories about how we should become more focused and step away from distractions that eat away at our time。 If you have read other books on this topic I don't think there is that much in here that might be totally new （other than his own personal take on it） however unless you are applying this type of structure to your life I think re-reading isn't a bad thing。 A solid book with suggestions and some stories about how we should become more focused and step away from distractions that eat away at our time。 If you have read other books on this topic I don't think there is that much in here that might be totally new （other than his own personal take on it） however unless you are applying this type of structure to your life I think re-reading isn't a bad thing。 。。。more
Ali
，
نیتونم بگم که کتاب بدی بود。 ولی چیز خاصی هم نداشت。 شاید حتی بیشترش برای موفقیت در شغل شما به عنوان یک مدیر در یک سطح بالا هستیعنی این مورد حتی به کار کدیران میانی هم نمیادپس اگر مدیر یه شرکت خفن هستید بخونیدکتاب چیز جدیدی داخلش نداشت。 نصف کتاب زیاد بود و چرت و پرت。 به نظرم کل حرف کتاب این بود کار ها رو عمیق انجام بدید فقط هم کارهای عمیق رو انجام بدید。 من دیگه سراغ این کتاب نمیرمنکته ی اصلی اینکه خیلی جاها چون من قبلش کتاب خرده عادتها ر خوانده بودم انگار داشت بهم القا میکرد که برو و کتاب زیر رو د نیتونم بگم که کتاب بدی بود。 ولی چیز خاصی هم نداشت。 شاید حتی بیشترش برای موفقیت در شغل شما به عنوان یک مدیر در یک سطح بالا هستیعنی این مورد حتی به کار کدیران میانی هم نمیادپس اگر مدیر یه شرکت خفن هستید بخونیدکتاب چیز جدیدی داخلش نداشت。 نصف کتاب زیاد بود و چرت و پرت。 به نظرم کل حرف کتاب این بود کار ها رو عمیق انجام بدید فقط هم کارهای عمیق رو انجام بدید。 من دیگه سراغ این کتاب نمیرمنکته ی اصلی اینکه خیلی جاها چون من قبلش کتاب خرده عادتها ر خوانده بودم انگار داشت بهم القا میکرد که برو و کتاب زیر رو دوباره بخوانخرده عادتها؛ راهی آسان و اثبات شده برای ایجاد عادتهای خوب و از بین بردن عادتهای بد 。。。more
Apurva Chauhan
，
Denarian like me must put his hands on this， because the book worth every second you will devote in it！ • If this doesn't motivate you to read this book，my review might change your approach ;） First and foremost， this is not wholly a Social media Detoxing sort of book， rather a perfect guide to time-management， proper scheduling of time to squeeze maximum out of it and also a setting perspective in this aggravating or manipulating times of hyper connection and rapid response systems where media Denarian like me must put his hands on this， because the book worth every second you will devote in it！ • If this doesn't motivate you to read this book，my review might change your approach ;） First and foremost， this is not wholly a Social media Detoxing sort of book， rather a perfect guide to time-management， proper scheduling of time to squeeze maximum out of it and also a setting perspective in this aggravating or manipulating times of hyper connection and rapid response systems where media companies are persistently vying for our attention。 ▪︎ DEEP WORK Professional activities performed distraction freely， that push cognitive capabilities to their limits。 These efforts create new value， improve skill and are hard to replicate。- The reason to run after it is， its increasing rarity and absolute valuablility in the current economy， exertion of it is the only yardstick to THRIVE。- equation to measure it out : High quality of work produced = （Time spent） × （intensity of focus）Which benefited Adam Grant to produce his best possible stuff at an elite level。 What is stymieing us from it ？We pine for unhindered attention but an opaque region which is resistant to measure， simultaneously prevents the clarity of it and beckons us toward distraction。 Moreover， the clear feedback on the bottom line of these behaviours again induce us to fall for what is easiest in the moment。 （Example to paraphrase Deep work）Deep work can easily be observed in the work habits of Art workers。 Comparing their pursuit with us can also reorient us to our salient aim。 What's the remedy？○ Make it a part of your daily life （Rhythemic philosophy）○ To attain this， ritualise your work habits by working at your room with closed doors， whilst banning your internet use， commiting to work for a specific length of time， and by promptly accomodating your requirements。○ Most accruing i found is to keep a daily Deep Work count。 Now come to the most anticipated part of the book 'Social Media'。Here I would quote the exact justification penned by the author: Social Media tools aren't necessarily， as advertised。 They are just tools， developed by private companies， funded lavishly， marketed carefully & designed ultimately to capture and sell your personal information and attention to advertisers。 How to deal with them （Not that all ad nauseam stuff: screentime， muted notifications and blah blah。。）○ Choose your network tool so solemnly。○ How？ First， identify your ultimate goal。 Second， also list out sub goals you will make to fulfill it。 Third， now check for the peculiar impacts this tool would create on your longings。Succinctly， clear that WHY for you tool。To avoid the trap， you better come with the quality alternative than this。 Strict schedule will get you all the outcomes。 The author doesn't want to alienate ourselves from this services， other than that he tells us to cut that veneer which strangling this reality and wallowing us in the quagmire of shallows。 （Highly recommending to all those who wants absolute control over their time） 。。。more
djcb
，
A book about how to maintain the kind of deep productive "flow" state of work ， avoid distractions such as social media and some random time-management tips。 And a bunch of anecdotes。Now， it's good to read a book like this now and then， but this one probably would have fared better as a magazine article。 A book about how to maintain the kind of deep productive "flow" state of work ， avoid distractions such as social media and some random time-management tips。 And a bunch of anecdotes。Now， it's good to read a book like this now and then， but this one probably would have fared better as a magazine article。 。。。more
Mary
，
Read for work book club。 A solid blog post gone too long。 I also don't think I love Cal。In sum:- Successful people often have a fairly rigid schedule and only work for a few highly focused hours a day （this is also covered in a book I think about a lot， Daily Rituals by Mason Currey）。- Being able to focus entirely on one task takes practice and you have to set aside structured time to become good at it， but once you do， your other skills will improve dramatically and life will be better。- To bec Read for work book club。 A solid blog post gone too long。 I also don't think I love Cal。In sum:- Successful people often have a fairly rigid schedule and only work for a few highly focused hours a day （this is also covered in a book I think about a lot， Daily Rituals by Mason Currey）。- Being able to focus entirely on one task takes practice and you have to set aside structured time to become good at it， but once you do， your other skills will improve dramatically and life will be better。- To become better at deep work， eliminate distractions like your phone， social media， email， etc。 since your brain will always choose the less attentive path。 Practice not looking at your phone when you're out and about， to "embrace boredom" and encourage more thoughtful interaction with the world outside of work。- It also helps to set strict time blocks for yourself。 When you're not working， really don't work （no email， no Slack）。 。。。more
Maria Akatieva
，
Key ideas I did like:- don’t just follow your dream no matter what （cos in the most of cases this is just a pop culture motto， not everyone has it， not everyone has to have it and not everyone is realistic about it because at the moment when you come up with a dream you usually have no understanding of how it works and whether you will enjoy the process and the result）- accumulate your career capital by mastering your skills （you will be more objective figuring out whether you like something or Key ideas I did like:- don’t just follow your dream no matter what （cos in the most of cases this is just a pop culture motto， not everyone has it， not everyone has to have it and not everyone is realistic about it because at the moment when you come up with a dream you usually have no understanding of how it works and whether you will enjoy the process and the result）- accumulate your career capital by mastering your skills （you will be more objective figuring out whether you like something or not at the stage when you're good at it） - once you have career capital you can exchange it into freedoms and make almost any kind of occupation pleasant for you。 "Almost any" here means that not absolutely any kind of occupation can become meaningful for anyone even after mastering it， your beliefs and general life ideas still matter a lot。- "mission" can be found in process after several efforts and different bids， try and keep trying （so cheesy but so true）。 Only when you are at the frontline you can comprehend how much can you offer to the world。What I did not like:- tell me this book was written before 2020 without telling me it was written before 2020， lol。 I mean that advice like "work day and night at several projects at the edge of your possibilities and you will succeed" could be given only before "burnout" became a thing。 。。。more
Aarav Balsu
，
This book was quite useful and I agree with all of its points。 I plan to incorporate （and have already done so in some form over the pandemic） deep work cycles into my day。 It was short， succinct， and used good examples。 I finished it in a day （tbh about 4 to 5 hours）。
Shah Saint-Cyr
，
This is book is great for the concepts needed to zone out & lock into focus for accomplishing super goals。 I have a lot of things that are on my plate。 It would be crazy to assume that I am of a few。 There are a lot of distractions that inconvenience my tasks list & calendar。 It's nice to know that it's not just our own faults。 We have to do a better job to filter the noise & replace it with white noise。 This book reveals concepts that many great overachievers have used to set the bar at their h This is book is great for the concepts needed to zone out & lock into focus for accomplishing super goals。 I have a lot of things that are on my plate。 It would be crazy to assume that I am of a few。 There are a lot of distractions that inconvenience my tasks list & calendar。 It's nice to know that it's not just our own faults。 We have to do a better job to filter the noise & replace it with white noise。 This book reveals concepts that many great overachievers have used to set the bar at their highest levels。 This is definitely a book that I am going to keep in my library， earmark， and highlight。 。。。more
Nick Karrick
，