Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
About
Most people have totally lost the ability to go “deep”—spending their days instead in an erratic blur of e-mail and Facebook and twitter and so on and so forth—not even realizing there’s a better way to living life than behaving like a hamster on a wheel—constantly searching for the next dopamine hit…
News flash: there is a better way.
A much, much better way. And it can help you grow your mindset, your finances, and your ability to produce massive progress in pretty much every arena of your life…
What’s this “better way,” you ask? Deep Work.
Doing 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.
DEEP WORK is an indispensable guide to anyone seeking focused success in a distracted world. And in this book summary, you’ll learn some of the biggest ideas on how to sharpen your own focus, and hone-in on what matters most to you.
Crucial quotes
“Don’t take breaks from distraction. Instead take breaks from focus.”
“Deep work is so important that we might consider it, to use the phrasing of business writer Eric Barker, ‘the superpower of the 21st century.’”
“The Deep Work Hypothesis: The ability to perform deep work is becoming increasingly rare at exactly the same time it is becoming increasingly valuable in our economy. As a consequence, the few who cultivate this skill, and then make it the core of their working life, will thrive. The book has two goals, pursued in two parts. The first, tackled in Part 1, is to convince you that the deep work hypothesis is true. The second, tackled in Part 2, is to teach you how to take advantage of this reality by training your brain and transforming your work habits to place deep work at the core of your professional life.”
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