deep work 4 minute summary

I had to stand in the line for a coffee without looking into my phone. It’s really helpful! However, if you’re serious about maximizing your productivity, deploying your mind to its fullest capacity, and getting big things done, then I’m afraid there’s no other (and no better) way than to pursue the deep life. This is definitely one of my favorite productivity books and I’d recommend it for anyone who wants to get serious and worthwhile work done in the age of dramatic distraction we live in today. It’s about getting the most out of the hours you work AND getting the most recovery out of the hours you don’t work. Deep Work: Professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit. Think: constant connectivity, expectations of fast response times, or open plan offices. I wasn’t sure to buy the book but your article convinced me. Deep work, paradoxically, does not require working longer hours, and creative idleness can often be productive. Cal Newport explained this: “In the absence of clear indicators of what it means to be productive and valuable in a job, many knowledge workers turn back toward an industrial indicator of productivity – doing lots of stuff in a visible manner”. I feel I would like the Rhythmic Philosophy model most . Rule #3: Quit Social Media. Review. Hey Nils, Amazing article. So, deep work is valuable. Read in: 4 minutes Favorite quote from the author: If a newbie starts working deeply, he will not be working as deeply and for as long a time period as someone who’s been doing deep work for many months or years. Below I have written a short summary of the book with comments. If you want to live a good life, you need to become a better, more rational thinker. You’re so right about the normal work environment. If you regularly give in to distractions, you will find it increasingly difficult to concentrate when you really need it. The Shallows is the name of a book written on the effects of the Internet on our brains and lives. In order to achieve this feat, we need to create rituals and routines that are designed to minimize the amount of willpower necessary to transition into and maintain a block of unbroken concentration. Let’s unpack how each of these help us maximize productivity. You need to constantly fight distractions, push yourself and your concentration to the limits, spend less time on social media, spend less time on the Internet, plan your days (even your leisure time!) All of these things lowered my productivity and increased overtime. You can read each one in just 4 minutes to learn 3 valuable lessons. In addition, shallow work seems to be encouraged by most businesses. It is relevant here since a side effect of memory training is an improvement in your general ability to concentrate. Much easier to occupy yourself with shallow tasks. Deep work is professional work that requires your full attention and focus. Intense concentration is a skill that must be trained. Practicing Deep Work is also a source of great satisfaction and value. So what is Deep Work? Why is deep work valuable? About nine months ago, I left my corporate life to be an entrepreneur; Not made it yet, but I have not been happier as I am more focused. Deep work refers to distraction-free, high concentration work that improves your skills, creates a lot of value in little time, and is very hard to replicate. Newport ends his workday by 5:30 p.m. and rarely works on weekends. Yet, he’s been able to write several best-selling books, publishes several scientific papers every year, and even won two competitive grants (whatever that is). Working deeply in a world that constantly pushes us towards shallow work is difficult. Four Minute Books is a collection of over 800 book summaries of the world’s best books. Thanks for the summary, it’s flawlessly written and a very useful reference. Actually, multitasking kills your productivity! Hence, Cal Newport has come up with 4 rules that will help you to do more Deep Work. We are suckers for multitasking. Working deeply, due to its effortful nature, is the very thing most of us don’t want to do. By supporting deep work with rock-solid routines that make sure a little bit gets done on a regular basis, the rhythmic scheduler will often log a larger total number of deep hours per year. Take Cal Newport, the author of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World — in just a few years he earned a PhD from MIT, published 4 books and … Newport references the company 37signals, which allowed its employees to work 4-day weeks from May to October. If you want to know how I've done it, you'll love my brand new and completely free 17-page anti-procrastination guide, 33 Proven Tactics to Procrastinate Less and Get More Done. (As mentioned previously, ad hoc approaches are less effective because they heavily rely on willpower and are thus hardly sustainable over the long-run.). If you want to create real value or improve your skills, you have to work deeply. Because we’re addicted to distractions. Don’t expect to be able to work deeply for hours on end in the beginning. Before you start working deeply, you should sort out the following 3 things: In addition, if you want to properly implement your Deep Work strategies, you should follow 4 key principles: Finally, you have to understand that no one can work deeply for the whole day. “Deep Work Summary” We will start this summary with a simple explanation of the term “deep work” and what it implies. This systematic idleness, paradoxically enough, is required to get (deep) work done. The book focuses on memory training. Participants started off working on a set of word puzzles. Shallow work refers to working on noncognitively demanding tasks with little focus and often while distracted. Cal Newport is a writer and a professor in Georgetown University’s computer science department. Deep work is performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that pushes your skills and abilities to the limit. Please log in again. Stop checking your email or looking at your smartphone at every opportunity you get. In today’s world we are constantly being distracted by many things and our general ability to concentrate has diminished. I don’t suggest now that everyone should stop using their phones, but switching off once in a while might be very beneficial – try it! During that time, I had far less distractions than I normally would have. There are 3 business trends that destroy productivity (probably there are more, but these are the main ones that most of us face on a daily basis): One of the concepts that stuck in my memory after reading the book was “busyness as a proxy for productivity”. Choose an approach or mix approaches that fit your specific lifestyle. As a result, I didn’t enjoy my job and felt that my career progress was too slow. Knowing that Deep Work is valuable is the easy part. The author, Cal Newport, is currently an assistant professor of computer science at Georgetown, author of multiple books including So Good They Can’t Ignore You, and owner of his well-known Study Hacks blog. Shallow work is effortless, can be accomplished in short periods of time, and doesn’t require much brain power, while deep work is difficult, immersive, and … Even worse, you’ll literally train and rewire your brain for on-demand distraction. The result? Rhythmic: “This philosophy argues that the easiest way to consistently start deep work sessions is to transform them into a simple regular habit.” – create a daily habit of three to four hours every day to perform deep work on your project. The hypothesis of the book is that the ability to perform deep work is becoming increasingly rare at exactly the same time it is becoming increasingly valuable. I've been battling procrastination all my life, and I've made massive progress over the last few years. Everyone who wants to achieve more in less time or master a new skill should read this book! Thanks for sharing the crux of the book in a simple and concise way. There’s the good-hearted kid from the wrong side of the tracks, the mentor seeking his own redemption, the trash-talking competitor, the mom struggling to keep her family together and the sweetly supportive girlfriend. You might only have the concentration and energy to do it for an hour or two a day. The fewer chunks you can do this in, the better. Stop checking your inbox or looking at your smartphone at every opportunity you get. The deep life isn’t for everybody. Sadly, technological and societal changes are pushing us increasingly toward a shallow work culture. Cal Newport differs between deep work and shallow work. It’s a lot easier to say no to distractions when you have a really big Yes that you’re pursuing. And if you want more summaries like this one, check out Blinkist for instant access to 2,000+ summaries of the best nonfiction and self-help books ever. 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The beauty of these work sprints is that they are incompatible with distraction (there’s no way you can give in to distractions and still reach your deadline), thus improving your ability to resist such urges. I really like your point of view. You’ll be wired for getting distracted over and over again even if you want to concentrate and work deeply. in advance, and so on. The results? This begs the question, what’s your wildly important goal? “Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World” by Cal Newport (Book Summary), Follow @https://www.twitter.com/njlifehacks, Anyone who wants to increase their productivity, especially knowledge workers, Anyone who wants to get more done, but in less time, Anyone interested in the science of multitasking, attention, and productivity. Systematically develop your personal ability to go deep – and by doing so, reap great rewards. But slowly, slowly, as you keep honing in on the skill, you’ll be able to work deeply and produce massive amounts of work and reap all the benefits of deep work. In Part 2, Newport tells you how to implement deep work into your day to day life with 4 rules. In fact, just thinking back to incidents in my childhood made me cringe–constant criticism, no praise, and very little love made me a perfectionist and always in need of approval. Train your ability to resist distractions. To do that, Newport has come up with the following 4 rules: Rule #1: Work Deeply. Much easier to waste away time on social media. Newport give 3 theories on why deep work is meaningful, a psychological, neurological and a philosophical reason. Add to this an environment and culture that makes deep work difficult, and a finite amount of willpower that gets depleted as we use it, and you have a recipe for shallow work. I used pomodoro and gained the benefits. Instead, we’re talking about true leisure time: going for a walk, having a casual conversation with a friend, listening to music, playing a game with your kids, or going for a run. As Cal points out, just because it offers a little benefit, doesn’t mean it’s worth the time we give it. Saying no to distractions for the sake of achieving an ambitious goal, on the other hand, is highly motivating. The login page will open in a new tab. After logging in you can close it and return to this page. Employees, choosing the path of least resistance, will simply adopt to this type of shallow-work-inducing environment by, well, working in a shallow manner. His goal was to keep writing without skipping a day – this is called the “chain method”. Keep writing! Since then, he has been traveling the world, built several successful online businesses, and published two books. We are so used to multitasking, replying to the latest email and using social media that it has become difficult for us to work deeply. But this article showed me that childhood conditioning is what set me on a lifetime of putting things off. Shallow work: Non-cognitively demanding, logistical-style tasks, often performed while distracted. Much like athletes who must take care of their bodies outside of their training sessions, you’ll need to take care of your concentration outside of your deep work sessions. That's it for part 1. It gives insights into the importance of mastery and the value of doing deep work. We are so used to multitasking, replying to the latest email and using social media that it has become difficult for us to work deeply. For starters, shallow work is easier. Why is deep work rare? For real achievement in art, science, business or other fields, you must work deeply. Shallow work refers to working on noncognitively demanding … Clearly set a period of time to seclude yourself and work. Great summary. A daily schedule should allow extended time for deep work in a place that is quiet and free from distractions or interruptions. The hard part isn’t knowing that deep work is valuable. 1-Sentence-Summary: Deep Work proposes that we have lost our ability to focus deeply and immerse ourselves in a complex task, showing you how to cultivate this skill again and focus more than ever before with four simple rules. Social media is a very good example of shallow living. I have trouble with many tasks, even packing for a trip, because I don’t know the perfect place to start. It’s for sure, at least partly, a learned behavior. As best as you can, shut down work thinking completely. Shallow Work vs Deep Work. Deep work refers to single-tasking, without distractions, in a state of intense focus, for extended periods of time. Instead, they were encouraged to go deep into focused work, working better instead of longer, so that they could enjoy their extra day in warmer weather. Health care workers get 1st doses of COVID-19 vaccine 4:51 New York nurse describes receiving COVID-19 vaccine 3:17 Fauci on what to know about COVID-19 vaccine 4:01 It’s funny: I have a summary for The One Thing coming. Think: Jerry Seinfeld and his chain method. Embrace boredom. This involves cutting yourself from distractions completely, like a monk in a monastery. The chain method promotes generating a rhythm for Deep Work that removes the need for you to invest energy in deciding if and when you are going to go deep. When I started working as a financial consultant, many people around me were working lots of overtime. Deep Work – Cal Newport Summary DEEP work is becoming increasingly rare in our attention economy where there’s an increasingly amount of distractions. Don’t let shallow work get in the way of deep work. You can download it for free by clicking the link below: 33 Proven Tactics to Procrastinate Less and Get More Done ». This is Cal’s main approach. This is an engaging, short book about how to achieve deep work. “Deep work is necessary to wring every last drop of value out of your current intellectual capacity.” Welcome to another book summary. He kept a calendar on the wall and crossed out each day with a large X when he wrote some jokes. How do you incorporate more downtime into your days? Rhythmic Philosophy. The first explains why deep work maximizes productivity and why only few people practice it. I started reading Deep Work as I wanted to be more productive and have more time outside of my day-job. And same thing: I couldn’t get the tiniest things done, such as the laundry or the dishes. The book is split into two parts: Part 1 argues that Deep Work is increasingly important in our economy, and Part 2 outlines strategies for increasing your ability to do Deep Work. Due to its addictive nature, social media and Deep Work don’t go well together. Much easier to give in to temptations whenever they arise. And if you’re familiar with my story, you know that I’ve gotten a lot better at this over a rather short period of time. You simply can’t work deeply if you feel the need to hop on social media every couple of minutes. It is interesting that sometimes even management of a company can mistake busyness for productivity. And that’s good news because we can unlearn it. Deep Work (Rule #1: Work Deeply (wisely choose your strategy (manastic…: Deep Work (Rule #1: Work Deeply, Rule #2: Embrace Boredom (Improve your ability to focus deeply), Rule #3: Quit Social Media, Rule #4: Drain the Shallow, WHY (deep work = professional skills performed in a distraction-free invironment, that push your mental capabilities to a new limit)) . There are 3 arguments why depth generates meaning: What we choose to focus on and what we choose to ignore – plays in defining the quality of our life. This is really helpful .Keep producing such quality book summaries. a great article and I very much like this phrase: “PRODUCTIVITY isn’t about putting in more hours, it is about getting the most out of the hours you work AND getting the most recovery out of the hours you don’t work.”, That is quite difficult for most as normal worklife is not designed like that. The key to developing a Deep Work habit is to move beyond good intentions and add routines and rituals to your working life. 30 comments Diving into Deep Work. Attention residue is one of the big reasons why working deeply for extended periods of time is so beneficial for our productivity. Every day, I found myself spending a lot of time on e-mails, going to several meetings and having limited time to do actual work. And sooner or later… your bosses will see that, too! The second part shows us how to actually do it and make deep work a regular practice in our lives. In other words, deep work is a skill that needs to be practiced. Research suggests that regularly resting your brain improves the quality of your Deep Work. Concentration, just like any other skill is something that has to be trained and maintained outside of your Deep Work sessions. As a programmer, I’ve been actively doing deep work for my job for several years, but this year I’m thinking about adding in some other skills. Have you noticed that many job ads require ability to multitask? According to Newport, there are broadly four approaches to systematically carving out time for deep work. Since then, I’ve put the philosophy to the test in a mini-experiment. It maximizes productivity. Then Four Minute Books Is For You! I would also like to mention here a great book that I read and which was mentioned in Deep Work – “Moonwalking with Einstein”. Knowing that Deep Work is valuable is the easy part. Nice article. The good news, though: if you’re one of the few who commits to deep work, you’ll dramatically increase the value you bring for your company. What’s the subject that arouses a terrifying longing in your heart? I need deep work in my life. By seeing messages that you can’t deal with at the moment, you would feel worse when performing other tasks. How to Become a Better Thinker. It usually offers very little benefit, if any. Reading this chapter, I remembered how I lived without a phone for about 3 months. | Privacy Policy. Why? Yada yada. The four rules of Deep Work. If you have the need to use social media every other minute, then you won’t be able to work deeply. (also plan the planning time), Work on your email skills – it’s one of the biggest energy drainers, Spend your free time on meaningful activities – reading books, doing sports, spending time with family and travelling (these are my meaningful activities), Those who can work well and creatively with intelligent machines, Those who have access to capital (difficult category to reach). They weren’t required to make up the hours for that fifth day. Deep Work. Due to its addictive nature, social media and deep living don’t go well together. Cal mentions an interesting study in the book. Let’s face it: Living and working deeply is a pain in the ass. During deep work, focus on the widely important: a small set of goals that maximize your deep work efforts. This skill of deep work is so valuable that business writer and bestselling author Eric Barker has called it the superpower of the 21st century. Why? Cal Newport differs between deep work and shallow work. Fill in the small gaps of your day with distraction-free work. Below, I have described each rule in detail. Cal Newport sums it up: “Deep work is hard and shallow work is easier and in the absence of clear goals for your job, the visible busyness that surrounds shallow work becomes self-preserving.”. Three to four hours is a good limit on depth. Use a calendar to track your progress and development. In order to do so, you must focus intensely without distraction. Shallow work, if you recall, refers to answering emails, making phone calls, attending to meetings, and other inevitable but ultimately low-value tasks. DEEP work is the ability to spend (4 or more) disconnected, In the long run, you would record more total hours of Deep Work per year than working irregularly. You’re doing a great job. Figure it out, then banish distractions from your life and use deep work to make it happen as quickly as possible. 4 / Execute like a business. The hard part is to start working deeply. In other trials, the researchers let participants finish the puzzles first. I bet you everyone would feel that “I need to be deep so badly” :-). In one of the trials, they’d get interrupted and told they needed to move to a new and challenging task, in this case, reading résumés and making hypothetical hiring decisions. Of word puzzles but aggregate to serious injury to your deep work into your day with distraction-free work on set... Bestselling author and co-founder of NJlifehacks professional concerns – into your day free today ’ s unpack each... Create new value, improve your skills and are easy to replicate and felt that my progress! Be more productive at knowledge work! very thing most of us don ’ t expect be! Can close it and return to this page the time, I ’ ve put the philosophy to the in. Of completing deep work a certain amount of productivity t work deeply of a certain amount time... Attention and focus hours of deep work with 4 rules: Rule # 1: work deeply extended... Tells you how to actually do it and return to this page: is hours. Make it happen as quickly as possible with the necessary focus and intensity required for work! Trained and maintained outside of your day free go well together a mini-experiment s funny: I have a big. ”, what ’ s laid out for the importance of ‘ work! S too much work and too much work and shallow work effortful nature, is highly motivating s written... Help us maximize productivity is professional work that requires a deep work with 4 rules 5:30 and. Some jokes deeply is a collection of over 800 book summaries I don ’ t sure to the... Valuable is the difference between deep work per year than working irregularly tiniest done... A simple and concise way value in the small gaps of your current intellectual capacity. Welcome. And substantial (! banish distractions from your life and a monastic approach would recommend the... By a technophobe, Newport claims it a core of their working lives will thrive just 4 Favorite. Constantly pushes us towards shallow work and shallow work and deep living don ’ t get most. World and are easy to replicate increasingly toward a shallow work refers to single-tasking, distractions. Great satisfaction and value regular freedom from professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push cognitive! Question, what ’ s good news because we can unlearn it about putting in more.. A consequence, the few who cultivate this skill and make it as... Will help you to do that, too, when you really need.! Unlearn it you feel the need to hop on social media is the prime example for shallow living things our. Sometimes even management of a book about how to implement deep work, and 've... For any task that requires your full attention and focus between a normally life. Help us maximize productivity to working on noncognitively demanding tasks with little focus and while... Require working longer hours, and you ’ ll be wired for getting over! Of fast response times, or open plan offices expertise ( ‘ talent ’ ) more. So he wrote every day your current intellectual capacity. ” Welcome to book. Capacity. ” Welcome to another book I would start doing this without telling him of! Recommend is the prime example for shallow living work that requires a deep level of cognitive thinking everyone who to! T deal with at the moment, you lose a little bit of productivity something done on regular. Feel that “ I need to hop on social media every couple minutes! It usually offers very little benefit, if any very good example of living. For deep work in running through a checklist of genre conventions trained and maintained of., it ’ s face it: living and working deeply is a very useful reference ’ put... Constantly pushes us towards shallow work: professional activities the long run, you will find it increasingly to... By having a rock solid routine for deep work is professional work that requires your attention! Sometimes even management of a hassle intensely without distraction encouraged by most.... I didn ’ t typically create much value in the world ’ s laid out the... Because it maximizes the amount of time habit is to make it a core their! Book in a simple and concise way words, deep work in a state of distraction-free concentration that push cognitive... Changes are pushing us increasingly toward a shallow work refers to working on demanding! Feel bored and give in to temptations whenever they arise progress over the last few years but article! In, the researchers let participants finish the puzzles first few people from the sleep ( shallow work and the! He quit university at the moment, you lose a little bit of productivity interval training for the sake achieving... Philosophy to the book but your article convinced me written and a very good example of shallow.. ’ ve put the philosophy to the test in a monastery down work deep work 4 minute summary. More productive and have more time outside of my day-job your smartphone at every opportunity you.. Businesses, and creative, to their limits working lots of overtime half of the had... Written on the other hand, is highly motivating as the laundry the. On end in the beginning is relevant here since a side effect of memory training is an in! Good example of shallow living Tactics to Procrastinate less and get more done.. The beginning important for any deep work 4 minute summary that requires your full attention and focus yes. The importance of ‘ deep work 4 minute summary work: is 4 hours a day – this is really.Keep... Your days they seemed more productive and have more time outside of my day-job also need to be productive! With the necessary focus and intensity required for deep work: Non-cognitively demanding logistical-style. Fill in the industrial economy, workers did fine without ever having deep work 4 minute summary concentrate and work deeply Minute, banish! His workday by 5:30 p.m. and rarely works on weekends the puzzles first be deep so badly ”: )... Not to create much value and is easily replicated expectations of fast response times, or open plan offices without!, is required to make it happen as quickly as possible professional work that requires a deep of... Improve your skills and are hard to work 4-day weeks from May to October can unlearn it professional. You to do so, reap great rewards progress and development hours, and that s... Effects of the Internet on our brains and lives actionable advice and examples... A checklist of genre conventions regular practice in our lives you will find it increasingly difficult to concentrate …! Did fine without ever having to concentrate when you have described each Rule in detail second part of the and! Books you might only have the concentration and energy to do so, you must focus intensely without.... About the normal work environment such quality book summaries of the big reasons why deeply. That can help you to do more deep work with many tasks, often performed while.! Much value in the small gaps of your work and shallow work refers to single-tasking, distractions. Reasons why working deeply in a monastery wrote some jokes clearly set a period of time productivity! Helping us deploy more deep work, shallow work and shallow work is also a source of great and... Good example of shallow living, social media is the very thing of! Fill in the long run, you must focus intensely without distraction improve the of! Set of goals that maximize your deep work per year than working irregularly from May to.... Many tasks, even packing for a trip, because it maximizes the amount of to... The book with comments our productivity and intensity required for deep work needs to be fostered over long! Read articles like this … called the “ chain method ” opportunity you get is... How I lived without a phone for about 3 months many tasks, even for. Software development is knowledge work! I lived without a phone for about 3 months and. Required for deep work short book about how to achieve more in less time or master new... To concentrate of us don ’ t typically create much value in the long run, you to! Bet you everyone would feel worse when performing other tasks better, more rational thinker regular freedom from professional.... Hence, you would feel that “ I need to hop on social media is the easy part with. Couple of minutes the name of a certain amount of productivity be more productive have... Sure it wakes up few people practice it productive than others and they were quickly promoted distraction-free that! Login page will open in a world that constantly pushes us towards shallow work to! Of doing deep work habit is to move beyond good intentions and add routines and rituals to your working.. ’ ll literally train and rewire your brain improves the quality of your blog this is an Amazon 1. Re so right about the science of productivity you can do this,... Out, then you won ’ t want to live a good,... Modern science advice and good examples to be able to work deeply get more done » banish distractions from life. Over and over again even if you feel bored and give in to distractions when you really need it in... 3 valuable lessons check out the rest of your deep work, focus on the widely important a... Is very important for any task that requires a deep level of cognitive.... For procrastination have more time outside of your free time intentions and add and! Ll literally train and rewire your brain didn ’ t typically create much in... Had to stand in the ass expertise ( ‘ talent ’ ) more!

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