Deep Work · Cal Newport
“The ability to perform deep work is becoming increasingly rare at exactly the same time it is becoming increasingly valuable in our economy.”
Why I Picked This Up
As a staff-level engineer, my calendar was getting colonized by meetings, Slack threads, and “quick syncs.” I was busy all day but shipping nothing meaningful. Deep Work put a name to the problem — and gave me a framework to fight back.The Four Rules — With My Adaptations
Rule 1: Work Deeply
Newport argues you need rituals and routines to protect deep work. You can’t just “find time” — you have to build walls around it. My adaptation: I schedule maker blocks before noon every day. These are 2-3 hour stretches with Slack closed, phone in another room, and a specific task queued the night before. I defend these blocks like meetings with a CEO — because they’re more valuable.Rule 2: Embrace Boredom
If you reach for your phone every time you’re bored, you’re training your brain to need constant stimulation. Deep work requires the ability to sit with discomfort. My adaptation: No context switching during focus sprints. If I hit a wall on a problem, I sit with it instead of checking Twitter. I take walks without headphones. Boredom is where the subconscious does its best work.Rule 3: Quit Social Media (Selectively)
Newport’s point isn’t “delete everything” — it’s to audit which platforms actually serve your goals. Most don’t. My adaptation: I keep LinkedIn (professional network), X/Twitter (builder community), and GitHub. I removed Instagram from my phone. I use social media as a broadcast tool, not a consumption habit. Every platform I keep has a purpose tied to community building or professional growth.Rule 4: Drain the Shallows
Shallow work — email, admin, scheduling — will expand to fill all available time if you let it. Contain it. My adaptation: I batch all admin tasks into a dedicated “Admin” lane in the afternoon. Email gets two check-ins per day, not continuous monitoring. I use automations to handle repetitive tasks so I don’t have to.How It Changed My Workflow
Before Deep Work, I measured productivity by hours worked. After, I measure it by hours of uninterrupted focus. Specific changes:- Maker/Manager grid in Notion + Motion with energy tags — mornings for creation, afternoons for collaboration
- Shutdown ritual every evening — log wins, plan tomorrow’s focus task, disconnect. This creates a clean boundary between work and rest
- Deep work metric — I track deep-work hours per week, aiming for 15+. This single metric tells me more about my output quality than any sprint velocity
- Deep Work playlist — instrumental music only during focus blocks. The music becomes a Pavlovian trigger for concentration
The Hard Truth
Deep work isn’t about being more productive. It’s about being less busy. Most knowledge workers spend their days in a state of pseudo-productivity — responding, attending, reacting — and call it work. Real output comes from sustained, uninterrupted concentration on hard problems. The uncomfortable part: protecting deep work means saying no. No to “quick chats.” No to meetings without agendas. No to Slack threads that could be async documents.Who Should Read This
Any knowledge worker who feels busy but unproductive. Engineers who can’t get into flow state because of interruptions. Leaders who want to create space for their teams to do their best work. Essential reading if you’re designing your daily workflows or thinking about health and energy management.Key Quotes I Revisit
- “Clarity about what matters provides clarity about what does not.”
- “If you don’t produce, you won’t thrive — no matter how skilled or talented you are.”
- “A deep life is a good life, any way you look at it.”
Pairs well with: Atomic Habits for building the routine, Reframe Your Brain for the mindset.