mlbalmeo 's review for:

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport

4.0

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Though a little repetitive, there were lots of great nuggets in this one. My own imperative for picking it up was the desire to help my students and myself reign in the distractions and regain the ability to zone in. Newport lays out a well-organized argument for honing the skill of concentration in a world that’s increasingly distracted and absorbed in the shallow, but his argument seems motivated by his desire to be the best in a field that’s highly individualized (e.g. writing and publishing peer-reviewed academic papers). Some strategies, like “don’t respond to emails” seem difficult to apply for anyone other than a very narrow group of people. That said, I did feel that there’s a lot to take from here, and I was busy underlining and starring passages as I read, which is typically a good sign.