Deep Work

Very interesting and well written book discussing the benefits and challenges associated with “Deep Work.” In short, Deep Work is when you are able to focus solely on getting something specific accomplished. It's very essential to the concept of “flow” or “being in the zone.” But you don't have to live like a hermit to get there. There are ways to get the benefits in much shorter time chunks than you may suspect.

Going into it, I wasn't honestly expecting a whole lot of new information for someone who has read quite a few books in the “productivity” segment. I was pleasantly surprised. Cal Newport does a great job discussing not only the benefits of uninterrupted work (or focus... it doesn't really even have to be “work,” honestly), but also different ways to implement the principles he discusses and gives interesting real-world examples of people you may have heard of who are living the Deep Work life. Not only that, but he also honestly discusses some of the challenges you can expect to encounter.

Changing your life to a full deep work lifestyle isn't for everyone, but there's a good chance everyone could benefit from implementing deep work segments into their workflow. While this book isn't as beneficial in concept as, say, GTD or Your Best Year Ever, I think it's one I'm going to return to every few years. Also of note, I listened to this on Audible audiobook and it was very well produced. The narrator did a good job with the production and it didn't seem as though there was any important info that I missed (graphs or infographics).