Book: Deep Work | Cal Newport

Although I often share books that relate directly to business, HR, workforce, and talent management topics, to name a few, I also recommend books that help people be more productive and effective in their roles, jobs, and professional pursuits. At a time where distractions are rampant—social media, news, and email, to name a few, it has become increasingly challenging –and for some workers near to impossible–to stay focused on work that is most important. In his book Deep Work, Cal Newport describes deep work as professional work that requires complete focus and full concentration. This type of work pushes your creative and analytical abilities to their limits. He argues that to make a real impact in areas of art, science, business, or other fields, you must work deeply, which requires periods of “uninterrupted concentration.” He contrasts deep work with “shallow work” which is work that you can do while you’re distracted. Unfortunately, our work environment, surroundings, and colleagues and leaders can often push us toward shallow work. And at a time where there is pressure for organizations to innovate and drive value increasingly, we must enable ourselves, teams, and organizations to do deep work that has the potential to drive disproportionate value. Whether you are looking to take your job performance to the next level, get your business off the ground, or even make exponential progress on your job search, this book provides some good ideas on how to start.