Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

Why it's worth it

Cal Newport argues that uninterrupted concentration is getting rarer and more valuable at the same time, then lays out four rules for protecting it. If your job is thinking — writing, coding, research, analysis — this is the most useful book in the lineup.

Newport's core claim is uncomfortable and hard to argue with. Most of us spend our days on shallow work that feels busy and produces almost nothing, and the habit of constant checking makes real concentration physically harder over time. He's not scolding you about willpower. He's describing a skill you've let atrophy, and skills come back with practice.

The tactics are the reason to buy it. Time blocking, a shutdown ritual at the end of the day, productive meditation while you walk, a running count of your deep hours. Readers who apply even two of these tend to report the same thing: the work gets done earlier and the evenings come back. You don't have to adopt the whole philosophy to get most of the benefit.

From our review of 8 books on procrastination and focus, by David Sinclair, Managing Editor

What we like

• +Newport's core claim is uncomfortable and hard to argue with
• +The tactics are the reason to buy it
• +It also helps with a specific kind of procrastination — the kind where you're technically working all day and the important…
• +The examples range from Carl Jung's stone tower to modern executives, and they make the case that this isn't a new productivity…

What to know

• –Some of the prescriptions are extreme, and Newport knows it
• –The book also assumes your work rewards depth