Deep Work

Deep Work
by: Cal Newport

Questions & Challenges:
*What are the components of deep practice/work?
​*What are the 2 components of deliberate practice?
*Why is it worthwhile to learn how to enter a deep work state?
*Is there a difference between the states of "flow" & "deep work?"
*Can you work harder & better if you are regularly scheduling or blocking out time for leisure?
​*Do you make time for productive meditation in your schedule?  
*Do you have a "shutdown ritual" each day? (p. 151) What does that look like & are you able to get enough work done if you stick to that ritual? 
*Have you felt like some of the communication you have in your life is enriching? Or impoverishing?" (Packer's thoughts on p. 193) 


Favorite quotes:
"Deep work is necessary to wring every last drop of value out of your current intellectual capacity...the state of mental strain that accompanies deep work is also necessary to improve your abilities."

"Men of genius themselves were great only by bringing all their power to bear on the point on which they had decided to show their full measure." -Sertillanges

"Network tools...fragment our time & reduce our ability to concentrate."  

"The best moments usually occur when a person's body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult & worthwhile."  

"A deep work habit requires you to treat your time with respect. A good first step toward this respectful handling is the advice outlined here: Decide in advance what you're going to do with every minute of your workday. It's natural, at first, to resist this idea, as it's undoubtedly easier to continue to allow the twin forces of internal whim & external requests to drive your schedule."

My Book Rating: 
4/5 (mostly because some of the business contexts & stories were too  obscure or complex for me to muddle through. But I loved his tips overall for working more efficiently!) 

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