The rapid development of Internet technology and smart products has provided people with a lot of convenience. Meanwhile, all kinds of notifications and messages mean people's working time has become highly fragmented. The author keenly points out that more than 60% of knowledge workers' work time is spent on shallow work. This type of work not only yields limited output value but also permanently reduces people's capacity to work deeply! This book describes how to train the brain to eliminate distractions, improve deep work ability, and create more value.

 

Hi, welcome to Bookey. Today, we will unlock the book Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World.

 

If you probe into the experiences of some prominent figures in history, you will find that deep work is pivotal to their success in their respective fields. American author Mark Twain's masterpiece, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, was mostly done in a shed at the Quarry Farm in New York. His workplace, the shed was so far from the main house where his family lived that they had to call him to dinner by blowing a horn. The theoretical physicist Peter Higgs worked in a nearly secluded environment and refused to use a computer. When Higgs won the Nobel Prize, journalists couldn't even locate him. The novelist J.K. Rowling would stay away from social media while writing Harry Potter. For the first year and a half after opening her Twitter account, she posted only one tweet: "This is the real me, but you won't be hearing from me often I’m afraid, as pen and paper is my priority at the moment."

 

Unlike these highly influential figures, more and more knowledge workers are straying away from deep work. FranklinCovey, a company specializing in training to improve organizational and personal effectiveness, has tracked more than 350,000 employees worldwide. According to its findings, these employees have wasted 40% of their work time on things that don't matter. In this speed first web-centric era, people have embraced the Internet and remain instantly connected. Knowledge workers dedicate most of their work time to emails, meetings, and social media, yet their essential tasks have been delayed. In this business environment, how can we yield valuable results and stand out in the workplace?

 

In an age of highly fragmented working time, the approach to deep work proposed in Deep Work makes even more sense. It helps ordinary people become the winners of today's age. In the meantime, we can get gratification from deep work. While arguing for the importance of deep work, Deep Work also provides a systematic way to train our brains to eliminate distractions. Furthermore, the book helps us improve our ability to think deeply and thus create more value. 

 

The author, Cal Newport, received his Ph.D. in computer science from MIT and is currently an associate professor of computer science at Georgetown University. He is also a bestselling author. Besides this book, Newport's bestselling works also include How to Win at College: Surprising Secrets for Success from the Country's Top Students, How to Become a Straight-A Student, How to Be a High School Superstar: A Revolutionary Plan to Get into College by Standing Out, and So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love. He is also the founder of the popular blog Study Hacks, which is dedicated to decoding success patterns in work and study.

 

In this Bookey session, we will look at how ordinary people can be the winners of our time by looking at the following three parts:

 

Part One: Why do we need deep work?

 

Part Two: What factors prevent us from working deeply?

 

Part Three: How to cultivate the ability for deep work?