This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "Deep Work" by Cal Newport. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.
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What is deep work and how does it differ from shallow work? Why is deep work so rare and valuable these days? Why does deep work help with learning and productivity?
Deep work is focused and undistracted work that pushes your cognitive abilities to their limit. In contrast, shallow work describes tasks that aren’t demanding such as answering emails.
Continue on to learn more about deep work and why it’s so important.
What Is Deep Work?
“Deep work” is focused, uninterrupted, undistracted work on a task that pushes your cognitive abilities to their limit.
In contrast, “shallow work” describes tasks that aren’t cognitively demanding – like answering email, filling out paperwork, and attending unproductive meetings. These tasks don’t create much value and are easy for others to replicate.
Groundbreaking ideas and meaningful progress come from deep work, not shallow work. Shallow work is incremental. But, what is deep work? It can be transformational.
When founding Microsoft in 1974, Bill Gates was obsessive about creating the company’s first software product. He worked with incredible intensity, falling asleep on his keyboard while programming, then waking up a few hours later and resuming. Even among talented technologists, Gates was renowned for his concentration and deep work.
Why It’s So Valuable
As our economy changes, deep work becomes more valuable. Over the past decades, the economy has moved away from brute force labor to information. The old economy – working in a manufacturing plant – didn’t require deep work for most workers. But now skills that succeed in the new economy – like complex problem solving, data analysis, and computer programming – require deep work to learn and execute. Your ability to do deep work will determine how much you thrive in this economy.
Ironically, the same technologies that caused the information economy are depleting our ability to conduct deep work. Phones, emails, and addictive apps pull us away every few minutes. Thus, the time when deep work is most important is when it is most difficult.
The ability to do deep work behaves like muscle strength. If your mind is at a basal level of distraction and anxiety all day, you can lose your ability to do deep work. It becomes harder to summon the skills to focus and remain undistracted.
Building deep work takes dedicated practice and focus. That’s why some famously productive people carve out dedicated time for deep work:
- Bill Gates takes think weeks twice a year, isolating himself to read and think big thoughts.
- Woody Allen doesn’t own a computer, preferring to write on a manual typewriter instead. This avoids all the tempting distractions of the computer.
- Nobel laureate and physicist Richard Feynman wanted to escape operational and bureaucratic tasks, so he invented a myth that he was irresponsible. No one trusted him with being a department head then!
This book is divided into two parts. First we’ll cover the idea behind deep work, why it’s rare today, and why it’s so valuable. Then we’ll cover the strategies and tactics you’ll need to engage in deep work.
Deep Work is Important
In the information economy, people who have the ability to master complex machines and solve complex problems are the ones who will be more valued.
Deep work allows you to do two things critical to your performance in this economy:
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Like what you just read? Read the rest of the world's best book summary and analysis of Cal Newport's "Deep Work" at Shortform .
Here's what you'll find in our full Deep Work summary :
- How deep work is critical for performance and productivity
- Why focus is like a mental muscle
- Why willpower isn't as good as a ritual
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