1 Sentence Synopsis
Cal Newport discusses the importance of regular sessions of “deep work” (distraction-free concentration), arguing that this way of working produces neurological, psychological and philosophical benefits and is needed for the jobs of the future.
🖼️ Contexts
This book is consistently recommended in productivity circles but I wasn’t compelled to read it until I heard Newport discuss his career in an interview last year. I found his style of writing—combining dense research and storytelling—compelling and breezy. One of the aspects I like most about this book are the many “breadcrumbs” of interesting research and literature he cites throughout that are a joy to follow up on (see “brain tickles” below).
🔑 Key Takeaways
“Deep work” is defined as “professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive abilities to their limit” producing value and skill acquisition that is hard to replicate in other ways. “Shallow work” is non-cognitively demanding in nature, consisting of tasks that can be done while distracted (emails, etc.)
Uninterrupted, carefully curated distraction-free “deep work” can be done up to four hours per day (but rarely more). While learning or applying new skills, only 1-2 hours of “deep work” can usually be accomplished per day.
Routines, ritual and location play a big role in enacting “deep work.” Banning internet use during sessions, or instituting a metric (like words per day), or even changing locations—having a special place where deep work is done—can provide useful constraints. “Start up” and “wind down” rituals (like, a cup of coffee and a walk) are also beneficial for signaling the shift for your mind and body.
It is important to aim for a small number of “wildly important goals.”
💯 Strong Lines
Why deep work matters: “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.
On the challenge of deep work in our tech-driven society: “Deep work is at a severe disadvantage in a technopoly because it builds on values like quality, craftsmanship, and mastery that are decidedly old-fashioned and nontechnological.”
On the pitfalls of modern work culture**:** “On our worst days, it can seem that all knowledge work boils down to the same exhausting roil of e-mails and PowerPoint, with only the charts used in the slides differentiating one career from another.
On the importance of ending a workday: “At the end of the workday, shut down your consideration of work issues until the next morning—no after-dinner e-mail check, no mental replays of conversations, and no scheming about how you’ll handle an upcoming challenge; shut down work thinking completely.”
🧠 Brain Tickles
The Intellectual Life by Antonin-Dalmace Sertillanges, who wrote “Let your mind become a lens, thanks to the converging rays of attention; let your soul be all intent on whatever it is that is established in your mind as a dominant, wholly absorbing idea.”
“Attention residue” as defined by Sophie Leroy in “Why is it so hard to do my work?”
Dreyfus and Kelly’s All Things Shining which cites the Enlightenment as a turning point in how we see ourselves in relation to work and the world: “The Enlightenment’s metaphysical embrace of the autonomous individual leads not just to a boring life…it leads almost inevitably to a nearly unlivable one.”
The practice of giving of your time and attention, without expectation of reward or anything in return, as explored in Adam Grant’s Give and Take.
Kaplan’s Attention restoration theory (ART) —the importance of being in nature as a natural remedy for chronic concentration loss.
🍎 Ideas and Excerpts for Teaching and Learning
There are no explicit sections for teaching and learning (though Newport himself is a professor and has authored another book aimed directly at a student audience), but a lot of the cited studies have implications for how we teach:
For example, we should think about just how much students can learn of an unfamiliar concept or discipline: “…for a novice, somewhere around an hour a day of intense concentration seems to be a limit.”
On the importance of building “boredom stamina”: “Once your brain has become accustomed to on-demand distraction…it’s hard to shake the addition even when you want to concentrate.”
Incorporation of “productive meditation” into learning—spaces where students are occupied physically but not mentally (walking, jogging, building, etc.) so that periods of focused concentration are more productive.
Not from the book but from his blog: “The Advice I gave my Students” (a low-key approach to digital minimalism during exams).