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  • Deep Work

  • Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
  • By: Cal Newport
  • Narrated by: Jeff Bottoms
  • Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (4,588 ratings)
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Deep Work cover art

Deep Work

By: Cal Newport
Narrated by: Jeff Bottoms
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Summary

Popular blogger Cal Newport reveals the new key to achieving success and true meaning in professional life: the ability to master distraction.

Many modern knowledge workers now spend most of their brain power battling distraction and interruption, whether because of the incessant pinging of devices, noisy open-plan offices or the difficulty of deciding what deserves their attention the most. When Cal Newport coined the term deep work on his popular blog, Study Hacks, in 2012, he found the concept quickly hit a nerve. Most of us, after all, are excruciatingly familiar with shallow work instead - distractedly skimming the surface of our workload and never getting to the important part. Newport began exploring the methods and mind-set that foster a practice of distraction-free productivity at work, and now, in Deep Work, he shows how anyone can achieve this elusive state.

Through revealing portraits of both historical and modern-day thinkers, academics and leaders in the fields of technology, science and culture, and their deep work habits, Newport shares an inspiring collection of tools to wring every last drop of value out of your intellectual capacity. He explains why mastering this shift in work practices is crucial for anyone who intends to stay ahead in a complex information economy and how to systematically train the mind to focus. Put simply: developing and cultivating a deep work practice is one of the best decisions we can make in an increasingly distracted world.

©2016 Cal Newport (P)2016 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Engaging and substantive.... Deep Work accomplishes two considerable tasks: One is putting out a wealth of concrete practices for the ambitious, without relying on gauzy clichés. The second is that Mr. Newport resists the corporate groupthink of constant connectivity without seeming like a curmudgeon." ( The Wall Street Journal)
"Cal Newport is a clear voice in a sea of noise, bringing science and passion in equal measure. We don't need more clicks, more cats, and more emojis. We need brave work, work that happens when we refuse to avert our eyes." (Seth Godin, author of Linchpin)
"As automation and outsourcing reshape the workplace, what new skill do we need? The ability to do deep work. Cal Newport's exciting new book is an introduction and guide to the kind of intense concentration in a distraction-free environment that results in fast, powerful learning and performance. Think of it as calisthenics for your mind - and start your exercise program today." (Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive)
" Deep Work makes a compelling case for cultivating intense focus, and offers immediately actionable steps for infusing more of it into our lives." (Adam M. Grant, author of Originals)

What listeners say about Deep Work

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Useful insights into ring-fencing your focus.

Narrator was a bit slow but the audible app allowed me to play at 1.5x.
In 3 bullets.
* cut or batch low value (social media etc) tasks to low energy times of work day.
* schedule deep valuable work in time blocks early in the day.
* protect down-time for productive habits like reading, exercise, family time & getting out into nature.

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113 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Is it possible to be repetitive and contradictory?

Extremely repetitive! If you ever want an example of how to say the same thing in many different ways, with a few fancy words thrown in then this is for you. If you want to save yourself the time and money here’s the synopsis.

If you want to get something done that means focussing, if you want to focus you need to remove all distractions. Prioritise your goals, remove anything that doesn’t allow you to achieve them so you can achieve a ‘deep’ undisturbed level of focus. Seriously, that’s it.

Hope this prevents others wasting their time

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38 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

well written, well read, and extremely useful

I almost didn't buy this but after hearing a recommendation I decided to give it a try, glad I did. If you're drowning in the day to day minutiae and struggling to get the important stuff done this book is a must.

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33 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Useful but repetitive and light on substance

I really wanted to love this book and so went into it with an open heart. But I found the information quite minimal, repetitious and a little scattered in it's organisation. It's like collated research around several main points, of which there are sub-points that the author has found interesting. But you cannot get away from the academic nature of the author and therefore the slight feeling of drawing on his academic authority as a means of asserting his ideas. There is not enough real world application for me.

I felt like this could easily be boiled down into a long blog post on these main areas. This would make sense in the broader scope of the book, as it is about not wasting time and being focused on quality work. So I'd rather read a concise, well researched blog post than listen to hours and hours of repetition of similar topics.

If you have read a few things and done some of your own research on or around 'deep work' you do not need to read this book, but it may be interesting to you. I would say knowing that the human brain has a limit to daily focus until it needs a recharge and a break is the most useful point I took away from this, and now try to make sure I work on 3 hours of focused work first thing, then do the 'shallow work' later on in the day. If this helps me then my free credit was worth it! But not quite as much of a bombshell as I expected...just common sense.

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24 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

This book improved my productivness.

Any additional comments?

I would recommend this book to anyone who is suffering from constant procrastination and have difficulty with focusing on their work.

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18 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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lots of advice. great read.

I wrote down quite a bit reading that book that I will use instantly. I wouldn't say I was a virgin to Cal's ideas. on a recent project I hid away in a conference room to complete the project with complete focus. no emails or Im. but admittedly I am more reactive to the demands of others than I am to my own made up goals. couple of things I'm going to enforce are more deep thinking moments. and the daily timeblocks allocated time. the thought of ownership for each 30 mins is good. and also saying no to things. I can often day yes to a lot of things. my thinking is that you never know which stone the gem is lying underneath. but after reading this book I need to be more defensive of my time. as a coder I have lots of ideas but email and calls keep me from acting on them.

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16 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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loved it

This is the third book by this about author that I've read and I loved them all. Cal's advice is always practical, well explained and to the point. I recommend highly.

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14 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Interesting

The key messages I think are that email and social media in particular tend to be distracting and use up a lot of your time. Periods of abstinence will increase your productivity. Perhaps a whole book was a long way of making this point but it was made very well

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10 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Appropriate for Internet addicts

Appears to be targeted at professional knowledge workers, but the advice is more appropriate for teenagers who are not focussed enough to keep off the Internet while at work. Not based on research, but on a few examples of high flying individuals (mostly academics) who allegedly used the prescribed methods

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9 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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not captivating enough

it is full of truths but id did not captivate me enough to finish it

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5 people found this helpful