Deep Work - by Cal Newport (Hardcover)

About the Book

Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It's a skill that allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce better results in less time. In this book, Newport flips the narrative on impact in a connected age. Instead of arguing distraction is bad, he instead celebrates the power of its opposite. Dividing this book into two parts, he first makes the case that in almost any profession, cultivating a deep work ethic will produce massive benefits. He then presents a rigorous training regimen, presented as a series of four rules, for transforming your mind and habits to support this skill.

Book Synopsis

Millions of copies sold!

The bestselling modern classic that sparked a worldwide conversation about the value of concentration--and the true costs of fractured attention.

"I'm handing you the answer to the overwhelm you feel, and his name is Dr. Cal Newport." --Mel Robbins, The Mel Robbins Podcast, author of New York Times bestselling The Let Them Theory

Deep Work--the ability to focus without distraction on cognitively demanding tasks--is one of the most important abilities you can cultivate in our current moment. It's a skill that allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce quality results in less time.

And yet, most people have lost the ability to go deep--spending their days in a frantic blur of emails, online meetings, social media, and AI slop, not realizing there's a better way.

In Deep Work, bestselling author and professor Cal Newport makes the case for reclaiming focus as a critical skill in our digital world, providing step-by step instructions for achieving this goal, including four rules for transforming your daily habits:

1. Work Deeply
2. Embrace Boredom
3. Quit Social Media
4. Drain the Shallows

A mix of cultural criticism and actionable advice, Deep Work offers a vitally important message: in our age of constant distraction, focus is a superpower. With inspiring examples and clear rules, Deep Work will teach you to introduce this ability in your own life.

"As a presence on the page, Newport is exceptional in the realm of self-help authors ... Six pages in, I powered down my laptop. Twenty pages in, I left the house to buy an alarm clock so that I wouldn't have an excuse to sleep next to my phone."--Molly Young, The New York Times

"One of the few books I would call life-changing." --Tim Maurer, Forbes

"I've read lots of books about productivity and lots of books about distraction. For me, Deep Work is among the best, on both counts." --Joshua Rothman, The New Yorker

"[Deep Work] has changed how I live my life. Particularly, it's led me to stop scheduling morning meetings, and to preserve that time for more sustained, creative work." --Ezra Klein, The Ezra Klein Show

Review Quotes

"Deep Work advise[s] ways to increase focus, eliminate social media and cultivate boredom, which gives the mind the space for creative thinking. Many of the tips in the book trigger the same satisfaction of a top-to-bottom home reorganisation or day one of a New Year's diet. They offer a sense of control, in this case not over clutter or self, but over time."
--Courtney Weaver, Financial Times

"Brilliant, practical advice--this book was life-changing. I recommend Deep Work to everyone I meet."
--R.F. Kuang, author of Katabasis and Babel

"In Deep Work, Cal Newport...offers a prescription for eliminating distractions that lead to task-switching and a decrease in productivity. His techniques will help you produce better work, while also attaining a sense of true fulfillment."--Jessica Stillman, CNBC

"[A] worthwhile distraction."--ValueWalk

"A wonderfully entangled, intertwined, and erudite series of strategies, philosophies, disciplines, and techniques to sharpen your focus and dive deep into your work."--800-CEO-READ

"As a presence on the page, Newport is exceptional in the realm of self-help authors."--New York Times Book Review

"As automation and outsourcing reshape the workplace, what new skill do we need? The ability to do deep work. Cal Newport's exciting new book is an introduction and guide to the kind of intense concentration in a distraction-free environment that results in fast, powerful learning and performance. Think of it as calisthenics for your mind-and start your exercise program today."--Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive and When

"Cal Newport is a clear voice in a sea of noise, bringing science and passion in equal measure. We don't need more clicks, more cats, and more emojis. We need brave work, work that happens when we refuse to avert our eyes."--Seth Godin, author of This is Marketing and The Practice

"Cal Newport offers the most well-informed and astute collection of practical advice I have seen for reclaiming one's mental powers."--Matthew B. Crawford, author of The World Beyond Your Head and Why We Drive

"Deep work is the killer app of the knowledge economy: it is only by concentrating intensely that you can master a difficult discipline or solve a demanding problem."--The Economist

"DEEP WORK accomplishes two considerable tasks: One is putting out a wealth of concrete practices for the ambitious, without relying on gauzy clichés. The second is that Mr. Newport resists the corporate groupthink of constant connectivity without seeming like a curmudgeon."--Wall Street Journal

"DEEP WORK is now one of my all-time favorite books, and I'm not joking when I say it was a life-changing read for me. I think it can be for you too."--Brett McKay, author of The Art of Manliness

"DEEP WORK makes a compelling case for cultivating intense focus, and offers immediately actionable steps for infusing more of it into our lives."--Adam M. Grant, author of Originals and Think Again

"Here lies a playbook for professionals of all stripes to achieve true differentiation in a crowded talent marketplace. Cal Newport's latest shows why he is one of the most provocative thinkers on the future of work."--Ben Casnocha, co-author of The Start-Up Of You

"In this strong self-help book, Newport declares that the habits of modern professionals-checking email at all hours, rushing from meeting to meeting, and valuing multitasking above all else-only stand in the way of truly valuable work."--Publisher's Weekly

"Just when you think you already know this stuff, DEEP WORK hits you with surprisingly unique and useful insights. Rule #3 alone, with its discussion of the 'Any-Benefit' mind-set, is worth the price of this book."--Derek Sivers, founder, Sivers.org

"This is a deep, not shallow, book which can enrich your life."--The Globe and Mail

"What emerges most powerfully is the sense that it's wrong to think of deep work as one more thing you've got to try to cram into your schedule. Truly committing to it, Newport suggests, transforms the rest of your time - so you'll crank through shallow work faster, be more present in your home life, and eliminate time wasted switching between tasks. Depth, in short, isn't at odds with a full life - it facilitates it. I'm persuaded."--Oliver Burkeman, The Guardian

About the Author

Cal Newport is a computer science professor at Georgetown University and a New York Times bestselling author of seven books, including, A World Without Email, Digital Minimalism, So Good They Can't Ignore You, and Deep Work, which have been published in over 35 languages. He is a regular contributor to the New Yorker, the New York Times, and WIRED, a frequent guest on NPR, and the host of the popular Deep Questions podcast.