Book summary: Deep Work by Cal Newport

Deep work by Cal Newport is an excellent read with the ability to help you cultivate distraction free work habits. With a clear distinction between deep and shallow work, Newport provides you with a framework to create work habits around the most important things you need to get done. This post is my summary of deep work. First, an explanation of who should read it before delving into some of the detail.

Two sentence summary:

Deep work is the art of finding distraction free focus to enable yourself to deliver a higher than average output. Cal Newport identifies four rules, to build a routine and prioritize energy to ensure the work done is adding value.

Who should read this book?

Those who are prone to distraction, either through their own procrastination, or interruptions from others. In addition, this is a good read for anybody wanting to improve their output.

Defining deep work

Deep work: Professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skill and are hard to replicate.

Shallow work: Non-cognitively demanding, logistical-style tasks, often performed while distracted. These efforts tend not to create much new value in the world and are easy to replicate.