Book Review: Deep Work

Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

Quick Summary

Deep Work is the ability to focus on something without distraction to achieve amazing productivity in no time.

It’s one of the most valuable skills but today, because of the Internet and social media, this skill has become rare and incredibly hard to master.

Learn how you can set up strategies and methods to get rid of distractions and achieve extraordinary results.

My Thoughts

A lot of this book is common sense. But it’s not because you know them that you can apply them. This book can help you to find the willpower to achieve what you are struggling with today.

A small part of the book (1/4 I would say) talks about theory and the deep work thesis. The rest consists of practical tips and strategies to apply deep work.

Throughout the book, the author uses concrete examples from the lives of others. I didn’t particularly like the approach and felt like it was just there to fill in. This makes a good percentage of the book almost useless to read.

Also, there are things explained that are difficult to apply in real life. “Quit social media”, “Stop responding to emails”, “Quit the internet”… Yes, for freelancers, academics, or specialists, it may work. But for managers, entrepreneurs, or Cadres, it just can’t work.

Despite this, the ideas are still interesting and allow us to open our eyes to certain things. And there are tips that apply to everyone that I’m sure can really reduce procrastination and therefore directly impact productivity.

One big thing I retain from the book is the following formula:

High-Quality Work Produced = (Time Spent) x (Intensity of Focus)

It means, it is as important to consider our concentration as the time spent, if you want to achieve good work. It’s common sense you will say, but we don’t really think about that every time. Having read this has reminded me of things such as closing my phone when I’m working, focusing on one thing at a time, etc…

To Read or Not to Read?

Overall, it was a good read. The book will be more useful to you if you are rather independent than dependent. But no matter your situation, the theory is interesting and there is good advice.

It’s a good book and even if some tips are just impossible to apply, some others will greatly help you to stop procrastinating.

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