Deep Work by Cal Newport

"Leave the distracted masses to join the focused few"

What I did after reading:

• I bought the Cold Turkey app that blocks usage of my entire laptop at specific times. I previously had a phone blocker but I have extended it to my laptop after reading this book

• I started experimenting with daily deep work. I am now doing 30 mins every morning. In the past, I tried to jump straight to 90 minutes but always failed. I will take the book’s suggestion and start small. I will also start recording it physically on a card, also a recommendation from the book, and give myself motivation to complete the streak.

• As the formula is time x intensity, I will commit to improving work intensity through ritualisation (which I previously did not believe in). My ritual is simple: I will look out my window for 2 minutes, clear my mind, and when the alarm rings I will start my 30-minute deep work window.

• While I do not believe we can quit social media entirely, I am now more aware that I have the “any benefit” approach to using social media. This awareness does not make me ban myself from any of the existing ones, but it tells me which ones I need to double down on (LinkedIn) and the one I need to let go off (Twitter, which I was previously contemplating making an account…at least that loop is closed.)

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4 modes of Deep Work

• Deep work is not philosophical. It gets valuable things done.

• Monastic philosophy: cut away distractions

• Bimodal: deep work periods, min 1 a day

• Rhythmic: make a streak, usually eg daily writing before work → not for novices

• Journalistic: switch to deep work at any opportunity eg a cancelled meeting

Formula for high quality work

• High quality work produced = (intensity × time spent)

Core Abilities for New Economy

• Though book is pre-AI, the principles remain

• We need to quickly master hard things

• We need to produce at elite level (quality + speed)

#1 Work Deeply

Have rituals so don’t have to rely on willpower

• Do things at the same time, the same way

• Great creative minds think like artists but work like accountants. Waiting for the “Inspiration strike” is a bad way to work.

• Rituals allow you to go deep fast & stay that way. Thinkers like Darwin did not have rituals just to be weird. There is method to the madness

Key questions

• Where to work

• What supports your work (coffee)

• How will you work (e.g. timeframe)

• Need to experiment, but it will be worth it

The grand gesture:

• JK Rowling finishing the Harry Potter book in a luxurious hotel opposite a castle

• Peter Shankman booked a business class flight and completed a manuscript

• Writers building cabins in their own property to write and think

Distraction is destroyer of depth

• Nowadays there are lots of open offices that promote serendipitous collaboration

• Important to separate deep and shallow encounters, while acknowledging both are critical

• Deep work still should take up most of the time, but make time to share. Do not share / collaborate at the expense of your own deep work

4DX – 4 Disciplines of Execution

1. Focus on the wildly important (1–2 things max)

2. Focus on lead measures: lead measures affect lag measures

   1. Example: Deep work hours (leading) → # of papers published (lagging)

3. Keep a compelling scoreboard: physical artifact of deep work count

4. Cadence of accountability: personal weekly reviews, confront the reality and make adjustments

Idleness is necessary to get work done

• Serious effort needed to produce something of value

• Downtime actually helps to recharge energy needed to work deeply

• Even if forcing yourself to work, evening work may not be important. Energy ↓, may just be busy light tasks).

• Have a shutdown ritual: a plan to tackle work the next day

#2 Embrace Boredom

• Don’t take breaks from distraction, take breaks from focus.

• Eg if the internet is distracting, schedule when you will use it. Strictly do not use outside of scheduled times

• Schedule internet use at home and at work

• Improve your intensity of work. Use time blocks as a way to get deep tasks done. Start once a week and work from there

Memorisation of Cards

• An act of focus, not memorisation

• This is the method: 5 rooms, 10 items per room +2 (eg outside home, at doorstep) = 52 card

• At each item, associate a person/thing to a corresponding card, eg. Donald Trump = king of Diamonds as he’s rich

• Begin your mental walkthrough of the house. Encounter item, look at card, imagine person/thing next to the item.

#3 Quit Social Media

• Network tool selection: The problem with the “any benefit” approach

• Just because you can identify any benefit to use it, does not mean you should use it

• Instead, use the craftsman approach. Identify factors that you value in professional/personal life. Adopt only if positives outweighs negatives

• Pick your high-level goals: 2–3 core activities for the goal, and measure the network tool’s impact (high / low / negligible)

• Law of vital few, 80–20 effect. 20% brings 80% of results

• Run a 30 day experiment. If you decide to stop using it, just stop. Do not announce. You will then see the reality of what you miss out on (and not have people artificially respond to you by saying they noticed your absence)

Structuring your day

• Treat time after work as a day in its own right (not just an epilogue)

• Use it to ENRICH yourself instead of just seeking entertainment

• Put more thought into your leisure time

• Ensure you LIVE, not just exist

Rule #4: Drain the Shallows

• Deep work is exhausting

• Start with 1 hr/day for beginners and notice when it gets diminishing returns

• Plan every minute of the day. This does not mean it’s rigid. If you have an insight to pursue and want to continue beyond time, you should

• The idea is to remain thoughtful about time spent by recording and planning it

Fixed schedule productivity

• Fix work hours/duration first. Work backwards to find the habits

• Be clear on the criteria of how you spend your time in order to meet that fixed schedule

• This can include being hard to reach

  • Direct others to filters e.g. your agent

  • Write emails that close the loop e.g. “If you reply xxx I will take as done not require more follow up”

  • Be clear on when you cannot respond e.g. I may not be able to respond to all emails that do not align with my priorities