Review: Deep Work by Cal Newport
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Deep Work is one of those books that today’s society really needs to read and to take seriously. The workforce suffers from shallow work when deep work is what is required to drive innovation and productivity. Cal Newport defines deep work, why it is important and then how to set up your life to maximise deep work; even in today’s typical work environment. It provides great strategies on how to maximise deep work (i.e. focus areas such as email reduction, leveraging technology sensibly, and eliminating social media) and provides some case studies such as Bill Gates and his ability to gain complete focus on what he is doing. This is one of my favourite books so far for 2007 and worth a read!
Three key takeaways from the book:
1. Embracing boredom is one of many approaches to get into deep work. Thinking this way actually makes a lot of sense.
2. Something I have read James Clear mention is the concept of deliberate practice. Deliberately practicing tasks in a sequence AND in the same way helps developing a framework that enhances the ability to working deeply.
3. Leverage the concept of thinking days or weeks where you can find isolation, be away from the usual distractions and cut out work that limits your ability to think, create and accomplish. It also helps with reflection and creativity.