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Overview

This book is about improving your productivity and focus - by doing deep work.

Deep Work: Professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit.

... in congitively demanding fields "Deep Work" is highly valuable and becoming increasingly rarer.

The anecdotes Newport presents book are convincing and the tips are practical although the approach may not suit everyone.

Useful Takeaways

  1. There is a difference between deep and shallow work
    • Shallow work is common and produces little of value
    • Deep work is rare and often produces high quality work
  2. You should get used to being bored more often
    • Being distracted (checking social media, etc) decreases your ability to focus
  3. Be intentional with how you spend your time. Consistent high quality work doesn't happen by accident.

Summary

People who quickly learn new things and produce high quality work will thrive in today's economy, and these things are more easily done when pursuing "deep work".