88 books
—
165 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World” as Want to Read:
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
by
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 w ...more
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 w ...more
Get A Copy
Hardcover, 296 pages
Published
January 5th 2016
by Grand Central Publishing
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
Community Reviews
Showing 31-60
Start your review of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
Wholly convincing exploration of why focus is valuable, why it has become rare, and how to cultivate it. Worried that you're an Old Person in an employment sector overrun with Millenials like software tech? You won't be after reading this. The perfect complement to It Doesn't Have to be Crazy at Work. While that book focuses on the org, this is completely focused on the individual. I'm excited to try out the suggested techniques and will report back in a few months on what I've seen in practice.
...more
Alternate title: Legalism for Dummies!
To be fair, I'm not the appropriate audience for this book. I'm a stay-at-home mom, not a "knowledge worker" looking to get ahead in today's economy. Also, I'm a pretty disciplined worker already, so I found most of his conclusions to be fairly obvious things that I already knew. But working deeply is not really a matter of what you know, it's a matter of what you're willing to do day after day, month after month, year after year. That's a heck of a lot toug ...more
To be fair, I'm not the appropriate audience for this book. I'm a stay-at-home mom, not a "knowledge worker" looking to get ahead in today's economy. Also, I'm a pretty disciplined worker already, so I found most of his conclusions to be fairly obvious things that I already knew. But working deeply is not really a matter of what you know, it's a matter of what you're willing to do day after day, month after month, year after year. That's a heck of a lot toug ...more
I enjoyed this book as a pragmatic guide to ordering work and study. Having come of age during the mid-2000s when Facebook was just getting its wheels, I definitely allowed myself to be blindsided by the seduction of constant social updates. I probably spent the better part of the past decade somewhat handicapped by some form of addiction to notifications and updates of some kind. College for me was a time of near-constant distraction. I found that the only way to truly study was to print out th
...more
Deep Work is an incredibly well researched and insightful book. Cal Newport has upped his game as an author — which is no small feat considering his past work has been phenomenal – with this latest effort.
The practical insights and thought that has gone into this book is well worth your time and energy. Newport has painstakingly crafted a tremendous arguments that proposes we spend more time on work that has greater impact in our lives (and the lives of others) and he also offers some tactical w ...more
The practical insights and thought that has gone into this book is well worth your time and energy. Newport has painstakingly crafted a tremendous arguments that proposes we spend more time on work that has greater impact in our lives (and the lives of others) and he also offers some tactical w ...more
If you want to learn how to be more focused in your work, how to get more creative productivity out of the same hours you work now, this is a good book with loads of techniques and ideas. I have adopted several strategies from this book, and was happy to see that several of the techniques I already use to stay focused are listed in this book — kind of a nice "there was a reason that worked!" feeling.
However, the first 100 pages are basically useless. That's why I'm giving it four stars instead o ...more
However, the first 100 pages are basically useless. That's why I'm giving it four stars instead o ...more
So this is a 4 because this book is my mantra and my holy book in the War Against Open Offices. It wasn't super convincing (as I already believe in the God of Personal Privacy), but I did really like the bits about constructing your entire day and making your evening after work productive.
And yes, I picked it up because I am not achieving any of my non-work/non-reading goals and need Life Structuring advice.
I have been preaching the gospel to my colleagues.
(thanks netgalley!) ...more
And yes, I picked it up because I am not achieving any of my non-work/non-reading goals and need Life Structuring advice.
I have been preaching the gospel to my colleagues.
(thanks netgalley!) ...more
I give the content a 4. Many good things to consider and shift. Many concepts I want to discuss and implement.
Unfortunately, Newport only interviews men. It's so frustrating and the book loses value. It would have been so easy to interview some women about their deep work. Could have been so much more. ...more
Unfortunately, Newport only interviews men. It's so frustrating and the book loses value. It would have been so easy to interview some women about their deep work. Could have been so much more. ...more
+ good ideas and examples
+ practical advice
+ engaging language
- author can really do with learning some humility
- too much focus on self-glorification
Recommended as a ‘commute companion’ read
+ practical advice
+ engaging language
- author can really do with learning some humility
- too much focus on self-glorification
Recommended as a ‘commute companion’ read
TL;DR It's better to focus on your work than pretend you do what you are supposed to do.
Also turn off wifi while you try to work. ...more
Also turn off wifi while you try to work. ...more
While always having held focus time dearly, I needed a reminder. In the same way as we feel most passionate about a subject (or value) immediately after finishing a book on it, I knew the importance of deep work to me had drifted... I wasn't clocking the number of hours in flow I used to.
In the same way that reading 'Quiet' gave me permission to be an unapologetic introvert, "Deep Work" reinforced the need to make deep work number one priority most days. It reinforced my habit booking meetings w ...more
In the same way that reading 'Quiet' gave me permission to be an unapologetic introvert, "Deep Work" reinforced the need to make deep work number one priority most days. It reinforced my habit booking meetings w ...more
5 stars for a book that I can NOT stop thinking about. It's a book I don't necessarily fully agree with, but it's also a book that has changed my life in numerous ways in the past few weeks since starting it. My reflections and life changes are ongoing and I have already recommended this title to my entire school district staff because of the massive implications it has on student learning as well as adult success.
Someday I want to sit down with Cal and try to convince him that Instagram isn't ...more
Someday I want to sit down with Cal and try to convince him that Instagram isn't ...more
Technology has the potential to be transformative only if we develop conventions around its usage. Deep Work is an exceptional book which teaches you just that, along with how to increase productivity without having to devote insane hours at work. Even more interesting, and in fact counter-intuitive, is seeing a computer scientist like Newport encourage technological restraint.
Newport makes an excellent case for the non-debatable importance of 'deep work' (distraction free work that pushes one ...more
Newport makes an excellent case for the non-debatable importance of 'deep work' (distraction free work that pushes one ...more
Given that the subject is depth, this is a surprisingly shallow book. The author is a scientist but not does add scientific rigor to this topic. He mainly sticks to the level of anecdote with more "I" "I" "I" than Ricky Ricardo.
I personally got more out of reading the original books he is summarizing: GTD, Flow, 4DX, etc.
The content is not generally BS; it's just not new; e.g. Stop looking at your email all day. The part that seems like BS is the overselling of "Deep Work" as if it's a trick yo ...more
I personally got more out of reading the original books he is summarizing: GTD, Flow, 4DX, etc.
The content is not generally BS; it's just not new; e.g. Stop looking at your email all day. The part that seems like BS is the overselling of "Deep Work" as if it's a trick yo ...more
Writing the review of this book on social media so despised by "deep workers" is probably a hypocrisy ;)
Anyways, this was a mind-opening read, which let me look back into the past, when I used to have a great ability for concentration, deep work and hence: finishing projects and in general doing "much more" than my peers from university/school. This is not to brag, this is to observe, that I seem to have lost this ability in the past couple of years. And I think I am not alone, judging by conve ...more
Anyways, this was a mind-opening read, which let me look back into the past, when I used to have a great ability for concentration, deep work and hence: finishing projects and in general doing "much more" than my peers from university/school. This is not to brag, this is to observe, that I seem to have lost this ability in the past couple of years. And I think I am not alone, judging by conve ...more
WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW!!! This book has changed me to the core haha in a good way!
This book is about completely isolating yourself from any distractions, booking time out of your schedule, and really focusing on your work. No social media, no phones, emails, no noises, nothing. Being able to decipher between deep work and shallow work and what to focus on. Deep work is a skill that must be practiced and to form a habit of.
What I learned from this book:
- Meditation room, isolation is focus - author ...more
This book is about completely isolating yourself from any distractions, booking time out of your schedule, and really focusing on your work. No social media, no phones, emails, no noises, nothing. Being able to decipher between deep work and shallow work and what to focus on. Deep work is a skill that must be practiced and to form a habit of.
What I learned from this book:
- Meditation room, isolation is focus - author ...more
***Initial Thoughts***
Might give another star later, but I almost feel like this book gave me (even more) anxiety.
Yes, we live in a highly distracted world — but now I feel overwhelmed by all the extensive work I need to do in order to achieve deep work, and already guilty because I know there is much I will never implement.
I could accomplish so much more if I wasn’t so susceptible to the internets!!! 😩
Open to a second reading of this one, we’ll see.
Full RTC
...
oh wait
...
Netflix!
👋🏼
Might give another star later, but I almost feel like this book gave me (even more) anxiety.
Yes, we live in a highly distracted world — but now I feel overwhelmed by all the extensive work I need to do in order to achieve deep work, and already guilty because I know there is much I will never implement.
I could accomplish so much more if I wasn’t so susceptible to the internets!!! 😩
Open to a second reading of this one, we’ll see.
Full RTC
...
oh wait
...
Netflix!
👋🏼
On the one hand, I loved this book because it is a good reminder to limit distraction, but on the other hand it seemed not to take in some things about knowledge work that make this even harder, like the use of a computer for writing and the fact that ALL advertising is done online for most small businesses. Still you can't go wrong taking a step back from social media and the terrible distractions of this brave new world.
...more
I think it is a must-read book for any university graduate student. It was great for me. I was about to give it 5 stars until the very last part of the book about not responding to Emails. I think it is very not-nice un unacceptable to ignore people. Every action we take in out life is not supposed to be useful for us. Sometimes we should do somethings to help others and inspire them. This part of the book disappointed me.
In the week I spent reading this book and following its insights, my productivity doubled; I can now finish more work in less time and better quality. Along with the Pomodoro Technique, Nicholas Carr's "The Shallows", and Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning", this book improved my life's quality.
...more
"The deep life, of course, is not for everybody. It requires hard work and drastic changes to your habits. For many, there’s a comfort in the artificial busyness of rapid e-mail messaging and social media posturing, while the deep life demands that you leave much of that behind. There’s also an uneasiness that surrounds any effort to produce the best things you’re capable of producing, as this forces you to confront the possibility that your best is not (yet) that good. It’s safer to comment on
...more
Quite shallow. He uses himself and Carl Jung as exemplars of the method - "I published 4 books in 10 years" and so on - but why should I judge either of them to have made a positive impact, merely because they published a lot?
Lots of cherry-picked anecdotes in the normal bad self-help mode, with no attention to survivorship bias. Deep Work has the same feel as the disgraced Why We Sleep : empirically sloppy exaggeration of a plausibly ultra-important topic. Unlike Walker, Newport is not expl ...more
Lots of cherry-picked anecdotes in the normal bad self-help mode, with no attention to survivorship bias. Deep Work has the same feel as the disgraced Why We Sleep : empirically sloppy exaggeration of a plausibly ultra-important topic. Unlike Walker, Newport is not expl ...more
"Ironically, jobs are actually easier to enjoy than free time, because like flow activities they have built-in goals, feedback rules, and challenges, all of which encourage one to become involved in one’s work, to concentrate and lose oneself in it. Free time, on the other hand, is unstructured and requires much greater effort to be shaped into something that can be enjoyed. Human beings, it seems, are at their best when immersed deeply in something challenging."
The four rules of deep work
1-Work ...more
The four rules of deep work
1-Work ...more
4/1/19
What I learned from reading So Good They Can't Ignore You is that you can actually skim through Newport's books and extract the same information as if you were to read them thoroughly. The only difference is that you have saved yourself from reading an abundance of examples (mainly about white middle/upperclass men) and self congratulatory text, that at the very least, could have been easily whittled down.
Therefore this time, I skimmed through Deep Work and actually finished the book not ...more
What I learned from reading So Good They Can't Ignore You is that you can actually skim through Newport's books and extract the same information as if you were to read them thoroughly. The only difference is that you have saved yourself from reading an abundance of examples (mainly about white middle/upperclass men) and self congratulatory text, that at the very least, could have been easily whittled down.
Therefore this time, I skimmed through Deep Work and actually finished the book not ...more
Whether you read David Allen on stress-free productivity, Brian Tracy on eating the biggest frog first, or almost anything in the domain of personal productivity, the theme is juggling your actions. Newport argues that for people dealing with intense
complexity or creativity you need to carve out significant blocks of time for what he calls deep work.
This isn't about multitasking or task switching. The book focuses on why and how to create an environment where deep work is possible, and shares s ...more
complexity or creativity you need to carve out significant blocks of time for what he calls deep work.
This isn't about multitasking or task switching. The book focuses on why and how to create an environment where deep work is possible, and shares s ...more
Wow!! Exceptional!!
The best book I've read in 2018.
...more
The best book I've read in 2018.
...more
Ironic how easily it was to get distracted while listening to this audiobook, it might be useful just not for me.
For anyone who creates anything for a living, this is an important book.
I read this book a bit over a year ago. Why write a review now? It's a very helpful book. I'm not sure I could have said this a year ago, even though I rated it 5 stars.
Since then, I've constantly been confronted with the idea of flow or focused attention or deep work and I've recommended Cal Newport's books to many people. This one in particular has changed how I think about work, but very gradually. First, I was excited that you can achieve greater success in your projects, almost any project, ...more
Since then, I've constantly been confronted with the idea of flow or focused attention or deep work and I've recommended Cal Newport's books to many people. This one in particular has changed how I think about work, but very gradually. First, I was excited that you can achieve greater success in your projects, almost any project, ...more
Had to put this aside about 70% in, as Newport's patronising rhetoric and corporate, profit-oriented rationale felt just profoundly alienating (and, let's be real, quite nauseating). If you can look beyond those, he elaborates on some valuable ideas.
...more
Few good tips, 4-5 rules and lots of explanation....I don't like books that promise to make you focus but you need to invest like 5-6 hours reading them. Is a contradiction, anyway I will practice one of them today...get bored.
...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Did you apply any of the advice described in this book? | 5 | 30 | Nov 30, 2020 09:54PM |
Readers also enjoyed
Cal Newport is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University, and the author most recently of Deep Work, a book which argues that focus is the new I.Q. in the modern workplace, and So Good They Can’t Ignore You, a book which debunks the long-held belief that “follow your passion” is good advice. He has also written three popular books of unconventional advice for students. Hi
...more
Articles featuring this book
Cal Newport is a computer science professor at Georgetown University and the author of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted...
32 likes · 6 comments
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“If you don’t produce, you won’t thrive—no matter how skilled or talented you are.”
—
98 likes
“Clarity about what matters provides clarity about what does not.”
—
90 likes
More quotes…
