← Deep Work

Afterpage · week card

Deep Work

Cal Newport

Key ideas

  1. Deep work versus shallow work.
  2. Depth is a trainable skill.
  3. Rituals beat willpower.
  4. Embrace boredom.
  5. Drain the shallows.

The week

Day 1Read the summary. Five key ideas and where the book overreaches.
Day 2Look at the real hours. Write down where yesterday actually went, to the half hour, and mark each block deep or shallow.
Bad day: Write your best guess for how many deep hours you had yesterday, then check one hour of your calendar.
Day 3Put one block on the calendar. Within the next two days, put one 90-minute block on your calendar and name it “Deep:” followed by the thing.
Bad day: Open your calendar and add a 30-minute block. Shorter beats missing.
Day 4Write the finish line. Write one sentence on a card that says what will exist when your deep block is over.
Bad day: Add the finish line to the calendar event's title or notes.
Day 5Take away one distraction. During your deep block, put your phone in another room and close every tab not needed for the task.
Bad day: Put your phone in a drawer for the next 20 minutes of whatever you're doing.
Day 6End the day on purpose. At the end of work today, run a five-minute shutdown: check what's open, write tomorrow's plan, and say a fixed phrase to finish.
Bad day: Write three lines about tomorrow and close your laptop.
Day 7Run it again, then look back. Run a second 90-minute block with a written finish line, then read the recap below.
Bad day: Do 30 minutes with your phone in another room.

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