Rating: 4.3/5
A timely book about why we need to work deeply in a world wired for distraction. Premise of the book: world-class performers work intensely and for longer periods of time than those engaged in shallow work. In a word, our lifestyle can be summarized by what we decide to focus on. Newport offers some strategies to engage in deep work and builds a compelling case about why careless network selection feeds into distraction. Bonus points for convincing me to delete Facebook!
Thoughts/Insights:
- Intelligent machines are not against humans, we need to learn to work efficiently and effectively with machines and data to thrive in the new information economy
- Technologies are not inherently evil, rather it is distraction that we become addicted to
- Re. flow – We are at our happiest when we do something we like at our limits. We do not naturally gravitate to the action of the least resistance. There is a limit to the amount of deep work though (the book confirms the number is somewhere around 4 hours)
- Being comfortable with boredom is one way to defeat distraction
Favourite Quotes
If you don’t produce, you won’t thrive—no matter how skilled or talented you are. Clarity about what matters provides clarity about what does not. “Who you are, what you think, feel, and do, what you love—is the sum of what you focus on.” Once you’re wired for distraction, you crave it.