Focus is getting rarer just as it gets more valuable.
A map of the book's main ideas: why shallow work wins by default, why depth is worth the effort, and the routines that make room for it. Every quote is in full at the bottom.
Deep work
Professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skill, and are hard to replicate.
Shallow work
Noncognitively demanding, logistical-style tasks, often performed while distracted. These efforts tend to not create much new value in the world and are easy to replicate.
“The ability to perform deep work is becoming increasingly rare at exactly the same time it is becoming increasingly valuable in our economy.”The Deep Work Hypothesis
How the ideas fit together
Five threads run through the book. Hover a thread to isolate it; click any idea to jump to the full quote. Dashed lines connect ideas across threads.
Four ways to schedule deep work
Willpower runs out, so don't rely on it. Pick a philosophy that fits your job, then turn it into routines and rituals. Each strip is a sample week from 5am to 10pm.
Concentration is a skill, so train it
Treat focus like a muscle, not like flossing. You can't just decide to do it tomorrow.