Deep Work

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport is one of the most important books on productivity and professional development in the twenty-first century. Newport defines deep work as professional activities performed in a state of distraction free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit and argues that this skill is both increasingly rare and increasingly valuable in our economy. He draws on the examples of Carl Jung, Mark Twain, Woody Allen, and J.K. Rowling to show that history’s most productive creators all cultivated habits of deep focus. The book is divided into two parts: the philosophical case for deep work, and four practical rules for training your brain and restructuring your work life to maximize sustained concentration.