I’m predisposed to like Cal and his approach. I’ve been reading his blog since 2009. It’s not an exaggeration to say that his perspective has been a game changer for me that came during a time where I could have easily drowned.
I was once an academic (now lapsed) capable of consuming and summarizing 4 books a day while studying for comps and writing a dissertation. I then went to the private sector and discovered how things like weak corporate cultures and poor management offer few visible consequences of average behavior or rewards for being exceptional. The disruption in personal discipline is severe. Concentration suffers. Bars are lowered.
A dozen years later (and later than I would have liked) I realized I was underperforming. I remember the day I was told by a mentor I was drowning and would be yanked out of the pool before I did the company any harm. I had to really knuckle down and focus. I started to search for help and found Cal’s blog. From there I started my own personal quest.
Deep Work is the culmination of a very thorough and thought-through approach not just to productivity, but to living a life worth living. For those of us who read Cal’s blog regularly, it’s another remarkable milestone on a long journey.
This book provides a sound framework on how to become more focused, where the goal is not the focus itself but the benefits of that focus. The obvious benefit is improved productivity, but this is about more than just work efficiency. Cal makes a compelling argument for focus in all aspects of life and the benefits it brings both personally and professionally. He presents a wealth of research on how our brains work, as well as practical guidelines that will help anyone build the foundation on which focus can be built. Just as importantly, he offers a number of real-world examples that show the value of focus and debunk myths about multitasking, the "importance" of shallow activities (like email, internet surfing, and social media obsessiveness), and the perception that being thoughtful about how you use your time somehow prevents serendipity.
For me, Deep Work fills two meaningful gaps in Cal’s ideas. One of them relates to having the discipline to succeed and what’s at stake without it. Discipline is the unknown in each of our personal equations. It varies considerably and is difficult to change. Deep Work offers a number of methods to facilitate personal discipline. It is this aspect of the book that speaks most to me. Cal is steadfast in his own desire to think and rethink in search of improvement. His character is stubborn and resilient, but without the rough edges that often accompany these traits. I didn’t realize this until I joined his live webinar supporting this book. In it, close to the end, he effectively apologizes for being driven and ambitious. I found this a very genuine confession, a brief but telling glint of humility that leads me to conclude, correctly I believe, that he is a fundamentally a decent person. In the end this is his strong suit, and so much the better for those of us whom he has helped.
The other gap he fills relates to how his ideas could be applied to the nonacademic lives that most of us live. For those chained to the oars of the slave ship bobbing through rough seas of office politics or weak managers or bad corporate cultures, the lessons are actually more relevant. They just require slightly different implementations. This aspect of the book was less eye-opening to me given that I had subscribed to Cal’s approach as a knowledge worker myself. In fact, I have used his approach to help some of my own employees (particularly first-time managers) reorient themselves and how they spend their time.
The value of Cal’s message is equaled by the clarity of his writing. Cal’s argumentation is well-structured, well-researched, and tight as a drum in its logic. He expresses himself fully and convincingly, but without the complex or ponderous prose that I’m used to in academic texts. He writes cleanly and eloquently, with little opportunity for misunderstanding. I’m pretty sure that’s deliberate.
Cal has obviously dedicated himself to this topic for a benefit beyond just being a professional guru. While I believe (and hope) he profits from it, I also believe this is a derivative product of his more fundamental goal to succeed in what he finds important in his own driven way. I am hopeful that he continues to write and share his observations as his story unfolds.
In sum, this is a rich and worthwhile book that will continue to give readers something to think about regardless of where they are in life. There is no secret to his methods of productivity. There’s nothing to buy. There are techniques that work, make sense, and can be practiced by anyone. If you follow them even in part, you’ll have a big leg up on everyone else.
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Popular Highlights in this book
The Deep Work Hypothesis: The ability to perform deep work is becoming increasingly rare at exactly the same time it is becoming increasingly valuable in our economy. As a consequence, the few who cultivate this skill, and then make it the core of their working life, will thrive.Highlighted by 16,900 Kindle readers- In this new economy, three groups will have a particular advantage: those who can work well and creatively with intelligent machines, those who are the best at what they do, and those with access to capital.Highlighted by 16,432 Kindle readers
- To learn hard things quickly, you must focus intensely without distraction.Highlighted by 16,146 Kindle readers
- Human beings, it seems, are at their best when immersed deeply in something challenging.Highlighted by 13,591 Kindle readers
- To build your working life around the experience of flow produced by deep work is a proven path to deep satisfaction.Highlighted by 13,143 Kindle readers
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I love everything this book talks about when it comes to “Deep Work” and the ideology behind the stuff talked about throughout this book! Definitely would refer it to anyone who wants to focus on their mindset behind being more focused on achieving tasks.
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