Deep Work - Professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit. These efforts create new value and improve your skill.

Shallow Work - Non-cogniti...

1. Single-tasking: Research has proven over and over again that multitasking makes people less productive. Without a doubt, focusing on one task at a time maximizes productive output.
2. Without distractions: You get more work done when yo...

Deep work is a skill that needs to be practiced. You might only have the concentration and energy to do it for an hour or two a day. But slowly, slowly, as you keep honing in on the skill, you’ll be able to work deeply and produce massive amounts of work and reap all the benefits...

Rule 1: Work Deeply

Rule 2: Embrace Boredom

Rule 3: Quit Social Media

Rule 4: Drain the Shallows

• Monastic: isolate yourself for long periods of time without distractions; no shallow work allowed.
• Bimodal: reserve a few consecutive days when you will be working like a monastic (you need at least o...

• It’s a lot easier to say no to distractions when you have a really big Yes that you’re pursuing.
• This begs the question, what’s your wildly important goal? What’s the subject that arouses a terrifying longing in your heart? Figure it out, then banish...

• You need to constantly fight distractions, push yourself and your concentration to the limits, spend less time on social media, spend less time on the Internet, plan your days (even your leisure time!) in advance, and so on.
• The deep life isn’t for everybody. Much easier to give in t...

1. Choose a Deep Work philosophy
2. Schedule deep work blocks
3. Decide where and how you’ll perform Deep Work
4. Execute like a business
5. Implement a shutdown ritual

• The New Law of Productivity: High-Quality Work Produced = (Time Spent) x (Intensity of Focus)
• The Principle of Least Resistance: Our tendency toward behaviors that are easiest in the moment.
• Schedule in adva...

• Social Media fragment our time and reduce our ability to concentrate, making it difficult to improve your ability to work deeply.

Do a test run: without deactivating, stay off consciously from your social media of choice for 30 days. After 30 days, evaluate:

• Disable all incoming call/message notifications and badges
• Become hard to reach
• Quit social media
• Work in a quiet place
• Work at a quiet time
• Limit internet acc...