Hi MPUers, saw Deep Work and Slow Productivity. Wanting to get reviews from y’all if they are worth buying?
I know “it depends” from person to person, but want to make sure it’s not same productivity jargon repeated like in 100s of YouTube videos. Or even if it is, it’s presented in a good way to makes it easier for people to follow it (like Atomic Habits).
Did any techniques/suggestions in their books help you and are you still following those things today months/years after knowing them?
Perhaps check your local public library for copies to check out. They may even have ebook versions available through services such as Libby.
Funny story (I think). I recently purchased Deep Work on the Kindle. Was a good read, I was underlining or highlighting a lot. I felt I was late to the party as it was published in 2016 and here’s me, 8 years later finally getting on board.
Then hunting through my library for a book, what do I encounter? The hardback of Deep Work! Underlined, highlighted, the whole box and dice. Right up to page 233, where the dust cover had kept my place.
Now, for everyone playing to home, guess the latest bookmark on the Kindle version … 
Sadly, I had not recalled reading the book originally, so everything was quite new to me on the second read.
Kind of like when Isaac Asimov “discovered” through his own calculations, a specific scientific discovery … all on his own, until he realized it had already been discovered. He couldn’t decide if he was becoming more forgetful or more brilliant! 
I also enjoyed reading “Deep Work”, I recall finding it well written. It was a few years ago, so I can’t really tell if I’m still using any of the suggested tricks contained in it. The one thing I do remember is basically: block multi-hour sections in your calendar, at times when your brain is fresh to do uninterrupted work on the important stuff.
It might also be here I read discussion on the negative effects of interruptions in general and how easy it is to totally derail a high-value train of thought.
I’ve not read Slow Productivity, but I have read Deep Work.
I found it to be very repetitive, the concepts are easy to grasp and I felt it could easily have been a quarter of the length and still got the same ideas across.
Books I’ve read and loved:
When he wrote ‘A world without Email’, I wasn’t interested to read it, lost the reading streak and haven’t read any of his new books since.
Agreed. The themes the author raises are not new to anyone who’s been in this forum for any period or time, or monitors productivity topics…
Cal presents a broad range of ways and examples of people who created focus, these ranged from isolating yourself in a remote location for months at a time with no contact, to setting aside an hour a week to focus on something.
He also correctly describes that fact that Focus requires discipline and practice, if you struggle to focus, remove distractions and build this habit day by day. Go a little longer each time until you can focus for more than an hour.
I adopt the time from 7/8am until 10am on a weekday morning to completing deep work, or as others may call them, eating my frog or tackling my big rocks so that I can get them out of the way first.
I’ve read comments like these so many times for many books. People even say, it could have been a single article, and some say, it should be just 1 line.
I think all of this is missing the point of a book. There are some exceptions where the author is adding fluff just to increase the number of pages, but that is not the intention with most good authors. A book is supposed to be repetitive where the author reinforces the idea in many different ways. It shows several perspectives, tells different stories, shoes different scenarios. This increases the surface area of breakthrough for a wide variety of people and also helps in reinforcing the idea from many different facets, which a condensed booklet can’t.
Thanks Tav,
Note I didn’t say that the book is too repetitive, just that I found it to be so.
But from reading the book I was already practicing Deep Work, and was sold on the ideas he promoted. Maybe that’s why I found it so repetitive.
Yeah I can imagine it feeling annoying repetitive if you already practice most of it, for me it was like peeling new layers of the concept with every page as I was new to the concept of deep work.
I do likewise. My calendar is blocked from 6 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. for deep work. The rest of the day and evening are for meetings and events.
I think Newport is a good writer who clearly explains the ideas and why they are important. If you only read one of his books make it Deep Work. As others have said, the ideas will be familiar from listening to MPU and Focused, but Cal will go into not just the how, but the why.
He also has a good podcast, Deep Questions where he covers the material on a weekly basis.
I’ve read Deep Work, Digital Minimalism, World Without Email, and about 75% of Slow Productivity,
Deep Work is good; not revolutionary but worth reading. Slow Productivity is also good, though there’s overlap with Deep Work, it’s not a lot. I’d skip the other two.
I also suggest your local library,
Newport’s ebooks go on sale at bookbub.com fairly frequently.
This is the thing for many who indulge in productivity practices. We love a new book, app, concept because we are simply interested in the topic. It becomes less about making improvements (we know what we need to do) it’s just that we have an interest, then we find out there is nothing significantly new.
For others who live in “chaos” the concept of Deep Work etc might be revolutionary.
I remember speaking with a group of brokers and the topic of time management came up. So I thought they’d benefit from Stephen Covey’s “First Things First” concepts.
They responded with “Stephen who?” What we discussed was completely new to them, and these were educated, smart people on top of their broker game.
+1
…
I had a recent, similar experience with my son. He was having a little trouble accomplishing something and not understanding why. I pulled out the big-rock-in-a-jar story, something that would probably make my eyes roll if published in a new business book, and his eyes got big. “I’ve never heard of that idea!” It’s been making a difference in his project. It was a good reminder for me to share ideas that it seems everyone already knows.
As for Cal, for me, reading a book is low stakes, so I’d probably say yes if someone is feeling interest. It’s faster to try 50 pages at a bookstore/library/Kindle preview than to try to figure out if those 50 pages should be tried, if that makes sense.
On more than one occasion I found an answer to a technical problem on some obscure forum or blog comment that 100% solves my issue, and also was written by … ME.
Just makes me feel kinda stupid LOL
I would second Medievalist here. I found Deep Work valuable, and made me rethink how I organize my day. I also found several helpful suggestions/ideas in Slow Productivity—though there is some Deep Work overlap. Also, I can see how both these books would appeal to academics (such as myself) and more independent workers. If you have a more managed work environment, then Slow Productivity may offer more helpful suggestions on how to work deeply.
100%. I’m working on developing a YouTube channel around management, leadership, productivity et al. Each time I get an idea my first reaction is, “Yeah, but everyone knows that!” Bloody hard to make progress!
Oh dear lord, that must be frustrating and hilarious at the same time! Thanks for sharing that!