Summary of 'Deep Work' by Cal Newport. (2 Summaries in 1: In-Depth Summary and Bonus 2-Page PDF.)

There are two different types of metrics, and one matters more than the other: Lag measures are metrics of the final result. Lead measures are metrics that track behaviors and inputs that lead to the final result. In other words, lag measures are the output. Lead measures are the input.

2. Try a 30-Day Social Media Ban Ryan Nicodemus, looking to reduce the clutter in his life, used a simple tactic to identify the non-essentials out of his belongings. He packed all of his possessions into boxes, and over the next week, he went through his normal life routines. If he needed an item, he unpacked it. At the end of the week, he found that

Sophie Leroy, a business professor at the University of Minnesota, discovered in experiments that when people switch tasks, attention doesn't immediately follow. Part of the attention remains stuck on the prior task, resulting in worse performance on the next task. She called this effect attention residue, which becomes stronger in these instances:

To solve this problem, schedule your entire day like this: On lined paper, mark every other line with the hour of day. Schedule all your planned activities for the day (work tasks, lunch breaks, meetings, etc.) on the paper. For larger tasks (over 30 minutes), put each task in its own block. For smaller tasks, create a generic "task block"

Deliberate practice is a complex topic. In a nutshell, it is practice designed to improve a specific skill using intense focus, repetition and continuous feedback. Deliberate practice is cognitively demanding, requires intense concentration and cannot be done with distraction. As Ericsson explains, "Diffused attention is almost antithetical to

The need for a shutdown ritual stems from the Zeigarnik effect, which is the tendency of incomplete tasks to continuously engage our thoughts. At the end of the day, your mind will continue to engage with these incomplete tasks, preventing mental rest. Fortunately, you don't need to complete all tasks to avoid this outcome. Experiments by Roy Baume

Saying "no" can be socially difficult since we generally want to be helpful and liked. Here are two tips on saying "No": Be clear about saying "No", but don't provide details about the reasons for refusal; the details may help the requester reframe the request to overcome your objections. When saying "No," do

In the case of Internet distractions, the habit loop looks like this: Cue: boredom or frustration Routine: switch to Internet distraction (email, social media, games, news, etc.) Reward: feeling of relief, fun, stimulation and social validation As the loop is repeated, a habit forms which is reinforced by cravings.

Deep work: "Professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit.