Deep Work
The case that uninterrupted concentration is a rare and valuable skill
Focusing without distraction on a demanding task is becoming both rarer and more economically valuable, Cal Newport argues, and it can be trained deliberately. The second half is a set of scheduling rules for protecting it. This is the origin of the deep work block as a widely used practice.
Who backs it
Sorted by strength of stance
- Ali AbdaalRecommends
Doctor turned YouTuber · author of Feel-Good Productivity
Concentration is trainable, which is the argument he recommends it for, and he has interviewed its author about applying it.
Source: Ali Abdaal YouTube channel - Cal NewportRecommends
Computer science professor · author of Deep Work
Undistracted concentration is a trainable skill and increasingly the source of value in knowledge work, which is the argument of his own book.
Source: calnewport.com: his books - Chris WilliamsonRecommends
Host · Modern Wisdom
Rates it for the argument that sustained concentration is a trainable and increasingly rare skill.
Source: Modern Wisdom Reading List, Volume 1 - James ClearRecommends
Author · Atomic Habits
One of the books he recommends on deliberate practice and getting better at hard skills.
Source: jamesclear.com: deliberate practice - Lex FridmanRecommends
AI researcher · Lex Fridman Podcast
Very much with Cal Newport on focus, by his own account, and he has hosted him on the show.
Source: Lex Fridman Podcast: Charan Ranganath transcript
Aimed at the same thing
Other entries filed under focus or productivity.
- Book$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's 1990 study of total absorption and what makes it happen
Backed by 2 of 44 stacks: 0 do it, 2 recommend it, 0 have discussed it - Book$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life
Penguin Press
Arnold Schwarzenegger's 2023 book on vision, work, failure and giving back
Backed by 1 of 44 stacks: 0 do it, 1 recommend it, 0 have discussed it - Book$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
The 5 Second Rule
Mel Robbins's first book, on the countdown that gets you moving
Backed by 1 of 44 stacks: 0 do it, 1 recommend it, 0 have discussed it - Book$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
The ONE Thing
Gary Keller and Jay Papasan on the one priority that makes everything else easier
Backed by 1 of 44 stacks: 0 do it, 1 recommend it, 0 have discussed it - Book$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Thinking, Fast and Slow
Kahneman's map of the two systems behind your judgments
Backed by 1 of 44 stacks: 0 do it, 0 recommend it, 1 have discussed it - HabitFREE, no cost
Daily reading
A fixed daily reading block, usually books rather than feeds
Backed by 19 of 44 stacks: 17 do it, 2 recommend it, 0 have discussed it
Book entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.