Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Newport starts out with a good (albeit obvious) idea that one can get much higher quality work done by getting rid of the constant distractions and interruptions surrounding us -- like tv, smart phones, email, and social media. Thereby allowing your mind to become deeply focused on the task at hand. I think we can all remember times when we have achieved this state whether it was writing a paper, building a model, drawing a picture, reading a novel, writing a computer program, putting a puzzle together, etc. We can also all remember how good it felt to be that focused and that productive. So his premise for this book is a good one even if for no other reason than to point out how we have let social media take over so much of our time -- that we have become constantly `on call' and therefore don't think as deeply about things anymore. That we should force ourselves to disconnect once in a while. The problem with Newport's book is that the above ideas are not enough material for an entire book. So he needs to fill out the book with interesting stories and related facts. This is where Newport gets sloppy, goes off the rails, and ruins the book. He contradicts himself over and over. Starting out by saying one needs time isolated, undistracted, alone, to be totally focussed on a task for several hours at a minimum, and then contradicting this by saying we should work in teams, or first that we ignore the smart phone and later put a stop watch phone app on our desk which we can constantly glance at to make sure we stay there for a certain time, etc. He even inserts bizarre asides that are completely irrelevant to his `deep work' topic such as card memorization tricks that have nothing to do with deeply concentrating on a task and entering the `deep work' state. Newport's editors at the publishing company clearly didn't bother pointing out the many contradictions, irrelevant distractions, and non-sequiturs riddled throughout this book. `Deep Work', as Newport calls it, is sort of the work analogue of rem sleep, it is a state of concentration that only comes after you work undistracted for a certain amount of time. The amount of time needed to achieve this state differs between people and you get better at it with practice. In fact, contrary to what Newport says, some people can do it without the isolation. They can simply put their phone in airplane mode and shut everything out. Like the guy on the subway reading or writing who is completely oblivious to everything around him. A bomb could go off and he wouldn't even notice. In other words, contrary to Newport's initial (contradicted later) premise, we don't need to retreat to a proverbial `mountain shack' to achieve this productive state. In fact, I am in the state now, writing this. Yes, the mountain shack helps, but it is not required. It became clear by the end of the book that Newport has decided to write Malcolm Gladwell type `techno self help books' for two reasons: 1) to pad his resume, and 2) to make money. The first is clear by the importance he places on the number of books and articles people pump out (falling in to the `publish or perish' trap of academia) repeating yearly publication rates over and over for himself and others -- quantity not quality; and the second is clear by the importance he places on riches and rich people. How rich you will get, how irreplaceable and therefore highly paid you will be, etc., if you are a deep worker guy. Although this may just be his awareness of the values driving his target audience -- i.e. tech entry level programmers types or software sales types who went into CS or business school to make money. In otherwords the type of high level software tech guy who idolizes Bill Gates and has never heard of Dennis Richie or Richard Stallman. (Newport himself not have heard of them either) It is also annoying that he talks forcefully about deleting your twitter or your facebook account and then reveals later that he has never even had a facebook account! That is like complaining about the number of people addicted to `game of thrones', saying it is a worthless waste of time and they should stop watching it, only to reveal he has never seen an episode of the show! Look, I agree that social media is a distraction and one should not allow it to constantly interrupt your concentration throughout the day, but lets not start deleting every modern tool just because they can be addicting. Instead learn moderation! Alcohol can be addjcting too, but there are 10 people who enjoy relaxing with a scotch or glass of wine in the evening for every addicted alcoholic. Facebook provides pleasure and relaxation to people -- which is exactly why it can be addicting. The secret is moderation, not elimination. Also, all of his talk about how long your mind can remain in `deep work' mode per day is pure made up nonsense. Four hours? He has no clue. Nor should he. In fact, it is likely different for different people and completely dependent on how long you have practiced it. People have gone for weeks, months, or even longer in that state (when proving Fermat's Last Theorem, Andrew Wiles went for 7 years!) Isaac Newton for example, would work so hard on a problem that he would forget to eat, he would dream about it, and it would totally consume him for weeks at a time. I heard a story, written by a fellow Cambridge professor and fellow member of the Royal Society who said Newton would emerge from his rooms, ostensibly to get some dinner, and would walk a certain distance lost in thought and completely oblivious to his surroundings. He would then suddenly stop and look around. Clearly having forgotten why he had left his rooms and he would then turn around, go back to his rooms, and continue working. Now that is what I call prolonged `deep work' -- forget about social media, not even hunger could interrupt Newton . Anyway, I could go on but I won't bore you with further complaints. Read "On Writing" by Stephen King and you will get a much more substantial and informative discussion of how to work, to create, and to go 'deep'. King's version of "deep work" is outlined beginning on page 151 (sections 2, 3, and 4 of the part entitled 'on writing') and I think he really nails it. Stephen King is both prolific and humble (he is also filthy rich for those of you who think that fact is important), and he certainly proven he knows how to achieve deep concentration. Search "22 lessons by Stephen King" sometime. They apply equally well to any 'deep' creative task in my opinion. Summary: Make time in your life to go distraction free when you have an important creative endeavour to work on. Put your devices in airplane mode and retreat to your proverbial `mountain shack'. Do it as often, as for as long, as it takes to finish that creative endeavour. Then turn your devices back on and rejoin the rest of us out here in social media land. Tell us about your cool creation so that we can enjoy it as well and we can compliment you on how cool it is and how much hard work you did to accomplish it. However, don't brag too much or toot your own horn too much okay? Let us do that. Your creation shows your value without needing adornments about your publication rate, your million tasks accomplished -- and with children in their terrible twos!, your MIT education, your Georgetown professorial eliteness, and the rest. All that tooting just makes you look insecure. In fact, by the end of Newport's book, it made me want to read a book written by his wife. I bet she would tell a revealing tale.