Deep Work

Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

By: Cal Newport

Narrated by: Jeff Bottoms

Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

AN AMAZON BEST BOOK OF 2O16 PICK IN BUSINESS & LEADERSHIP

WALL STREET JOURNAL BUSINESS BESTSELLER

A BUSINESS BOOK OF THE WEEK AT 800-CEO-READ

Master one of our economy’s most rare skills and achieve groundbreaking results with this “exciting” book (Daniel H. Pink) from an “exceptional” author (New York Times Book Review).

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. Deep Work will make you better at what you do and provide the sense of true fulfillment that comes from craftsmanship. In short, deep work is like a super power in our increasingly competitive twenty-first century economy. And yet, most people have lost the ability to go deep-spending their days instead in a frantic blur of e-mail and social media, not even realizing there's a better way.

In Deep Work, author and professor Cal 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.

1. Work Deeply

2. Embrace Boredom

3. Quit Social Media

4. Drain the Shallows

A mix of cultural criticism and actionable advice, Deep Work takes the listener on a journey through memorable stories—from Carl Jung building a stone tower in the woods to focus his mind, to a social media pioneer buying a round-trip business class ticket to Tokyo to write a book free from distraction in the air—and no-nonsense advice, such as the claim that most serious professionals should quit social media and that you should practice being bored. Deep Work is an indispensable guide to anyone seeking focused success in a distracted world.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2016 Cal Newport (P)2016 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"This book changed my mind. It has moved me from 'find your passion, so that you can be useful' to 'be useful so that you can find your passion.' That is a big flip, but it's more honest, and that is why I am giving each of my three young adult children a copy of this unorthodox guide." (Kevin Kelly, senior maverick, WIRED magazine)

"'Do what you love and the money will follow' sounds like great advice - until it's time to get a job and disillusionment quickly sets in. Cal Newport ably demonstrates how the quest for 'passion' can corrode job satisfaction. If all he accomplished with this book was to turn conventional wisdom on its head, that would be interesting enough. But he goes further - offering advice and examples that will help you bypass the disillusionment and get right to work building skills that matter." (Daniel H. Pink, best-selling author of Drive and A Whole New Mind)

"Entrepreneurial professionals must develop a competitive advantage by building valuable skills. This book offers advice based on research and reality - not meaningless platitudes - on how to invest in yourself in order to stand out from the crowd. An important guide to starting up a remarkable career." (Reid Hoffman, cofounder and chairman of LinkedIn and coauthor of the best-selling The Start-Up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career)

2016, I'm addicted to being distracted

What made the experience of listening to Deep Work the most enjoyable?

the author hits the nail on the head of most if not all the issues problems of working with so many distractions

Have you listened to any of Jeff Bottoms’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

none

What insight do you think you’ll apply from Deep Work?

that i need to immerse myself into "deep work" put everything down, as hard as it is and do the work for a min of 5 hours -uninterrupted

Balance, Technology and Limited Exposure

I have to admit I was surprised by the internal anguish this book resolved for me. it was as if the author had a minds window to some of my personal/professional opportunities.

Life changing book - and it works

After listening to the book, I slowly started to incorporate its lessons, and the results are great!

Useful!

This book really inspired me to look for ways to begin training in deep work. Although my current work doesn't demand it, I will transition into more demanding work and there is a lot of really helpful guidance in this book

A focused life is a happy life

They did a great job of conveying the benefits of focus and describing the many ways we get distracted. As well as ways to regain our focus and live more purpose driven happy lives.

Cal is the man!

Deep Work is one of the best books I have read, period. I have when the writer just shows a point of view, says that is the only way to go, and that is it. Cal debates all the possibilities that are most relevant to the topic, and ends up trying to present most theories about it. The performance could be a little better, but other than that, great book!

Exactly what I needed for the social media age!

With requiring to accelerate my Ideation phase for a Startup, this is what exactly was required to carve out Time and direct it towards work that matters.

How deep are you going each day

Great read and reminder that deep work is necessary for your ultimate success. Having the ability to disconnect for periods of time and focusing purely on your deepest thinking is truly an exciting new venture for me. Thank you Cal.

Pragmatical approaches to focus on meaningful work

I found the philosophy, science and practical advice on how to reduce distractions and increase one's ability to concentrate on important (deep) topics very applicable. The techniques are simple and pragmatic, and can be adapted to pretty much any situation.

straight forward with good examples

It moved fast, but it was very much focused on high level performing individuals. However, the observations and opinions put forward can be applied at all levels.