Making history as the second non-fiction book in a row to grace the 2% newsletter, Deep Work challenges us to reconsider the way we organize our day, how we understand the concept of focus, and how we work.
In order to understand how our brains focus and how we can manage time more efficiently, Cal Newport breaks down various culprits of distraction which impede our working lives. “Deep work” is the phrase coined by Newport to explain an elusive flow of distraction-free, hyper-focused work. From emails to daily routines, Newport uses examples from the lives of business professionals to demonstrate how strategies have and can be applied in various industries.
I read Deep Work while writing a dissertation and became acutely aware of the ways my own working habits fell outside of Newport’s guidelines. The two concepts that stuck with me the most are the inefficiency of switching tasks and the benefit of putting more work into emails on the front end to save time later on. His explanations are far better than I could hope for but I’ll do my best to provide a taste of his lessons.
Although it’s tempting to jump between different tasks in an effort to implement variety into your day, Newport explains how switching tasks depletes your focus, leaving residual amounts of energy in the project you just left and detracting from the amount of concentration you have for the new task (this is one I’m particularly guilty of). The second aspect illustrates how exerting a bit more effort into emails actually saves time down the road. Providing a list of options for a meeting rather than saying, “What time works for you?” saves the hassle of a volleyed email chain. These are just a few of the many strategies Newport provides for making work “work for us”.
At times Newport seems to get lost in tangents and some of the specifics about technology (the book was written in 2016) no longer feel applicable, but overall I felt challenged to re-examine the way I work and construct my day. I am thankful for a new awareness of how to minimize distractions and think his advice and suggestions are beneficial regardless of your job or industry.
Personal rating: 6.5/10
Recommend? I thought it was a worthwhile read, so yes
Re-read? Maybe one day
Time: 1:50