Deep Work : Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World – Newport Cal (2016)

Many modern knowledge workers spend much of their mental energy battling distraction and interruption, from the constant pinging of devices and noisy open-plan offices to the difficulty of deciding what truly deserves their attention. When Cal Newport coined the term “deep work” on his popular Study Hacks blog in 2012, it quickly struck a chord, since most people are painfully familiar with its opposite: shallow work, in which they skim distractedly across their workload without reaching what matters. In Deep Work, Newport explores the methods and mindset that support distraction-free productivity and shows how anyone can achieve this elusive state. Drawing on the deep-work habits of historical and contemporary thinkers, academics and leaders in technology, science and culture, he offers tools for extracting the full value of our intellectual abilities. He explains why mastering this change in working practices is essential for anyone who wants to remain successful in a complex information economy, and how to train the mind systematically to focus. Developing and cultivating a deep-work practice, he argues, is one of the best decisions we can make in an increasingly distracted world.