I recently finished Deep Work by Cal Newport.

To build your working life around the experience of flow produced by deep work is a proven path to deep satisfaction.

Deep Work feels like a continuation of Newport’s previous book So Good They Can’t Ignore You. That book argues that your mastery of your craft is a larger factor in your fulfillment than the choice of work. It then goes on to prescribe mastery through “deliberate practice” to improve. Once you have leveled up, Deep Work offers a next step: a path to productivity.

The ability to concentrate intensely is a skill that must be trained.

Newport spends a good amount of pages making the case that blocks of focus and solitude are vital for a knowledge worker to produce the best output. His strategies should not be surprising. “Don’t goof off on the internet” seems like “eat right and exercise” for productivity – advice that’s easy to say but hard to live. Hopefully, by arguing the value of deep work and the need to train your brain, readers will have success with his methods.
When I get the urge to check Twitter during a build/deploy, it’s helpful to have a reminder that small choices matter. Reducing my time on social media – the internet’s Skinner box – has helped me focus. It’s also been helpful to also consider the schedules he describes. Blocking off time to be unreachable has been a boon. So much so, that I’m revisiting RescueTime to try creating focus blocks.

The book offers working templates for different personalities. While I am productive in the solitude of my office, I feel that I am most productive when I am pairing with someone (this may be some selection bias – only certain work lends itself to pairing). In his section on work styles, I’m glad that he steps back from the isolation he describes elsewhere and offers support for working in partnership.

I enjoyed this book and am glad to have found it. The most valuable piece for me has been the reminder that my minute-by-minute decisions become powerful habits. I recommend this to any knowledge worker. I’d also be extremely interested to find out if it benefits other professions.

See also: There’s a good hacker news discussion


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