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Deep Work

Cal Newport · 2016

Personal Development
Cover of Deep Work

Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

In an economy where attention is the scarcest resource, Cal Newport argues that the ability to focus without distraction on cognitively demanding tasks — deep work — is both increasingly rare and increasingly valuable. Those who cultivate this ability will thrive; those who don't will be left behind.

Newport, a computer science professor at Georgetown, wrote Deep Work as a response to the open-office, always-connected culture that was destroying knowledge workers' ability to concentrate. He made the case that deep work is not just a productivity hack but an essential skill for producing work that matters.

If you don't produce, you won't thrive — no matter how skilled or talented you are.
— Cal Newport
from Deep Work
Two Core Abilities for Thriving in the New Economy: 1. The ability to quickly master hard things. 2. The ability to produce at an elite level, in terms of both quality and speed.
— Cal Newport
from Deep Work
Clarity about what matters provides clarity about what does not.
— Cal Newport
from Deep Work
The key to developing a deep work habit is to move beyond good intentions and add routines and rituals to your working life.
— Cal Newport
from Deep Work
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