Deep Work
In today's age of constant disruption, you've always go to be learning. And, to learn, requires intense concentration.
Since its inception in 2021, the Fearless Journeys community has had a book club where we spend about two months on one book at a time, with a reading schedule, and weekly summaries, and a follow up live session with the author of that book or someone very familiar with that author. It’s been a real highlight of this community. Many who read the weekly summaries tell me they get a lot out of it, even if they haven’t had the time to read the book.
You may have noticed that in 2025, we have moved away from this book club — for now.
I have had individual conversations with some of the more active members of the book club about this. One reason we decided to drop this — for now at least — is because I want to encourage ACTION.
I love reading and it is essential. I personally read about 20-25 books in any given year. And today I’m going to bring you a review of the book Deep Work by Cal Newport.
But I have to frequently remind myself — and also now you — that if all we do is read books, we are missing a huge part of the equation.
It’s very important to be a lifelong learner. It’s great to contemplate and reflect on what you’ve read. But it’s more important to take some piece of that reading and use it to take an action in your own life.
Entrepreneurs learn by doing. They are people of action. When you are in action, you will make mistakes and have to try things over and over again, implementing things you have learned through inevitables mistakes and failures you will have.
So whether it is the book Deep Work or something else you may be reading, please spend a considerable amount of time while you’re reading the book (or my review), or sometime after, to take concrete steps to implement some of the ideas in those books to take a real positive action in your own life and career.
And now on to the review….
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I recently read the book, Deep Work (listened on Audible, actually). I turned to this book after hearing multiple friends reference it over the last few years, one memorably, Carter Fowler, who is now also a Featured Innovator in the Fearless Journeys community.
We live in a world of many distractions, more each day it seems. There are new technologies coming on board every day, giving us access to more information, ideas, and people. More connections. There's nothing inherently bad about this, there's a lot of good to it. But there's a lot to process.
Take me, for example. Everyone tells me I communicate very well, very fast, and I'm constantly giving everyone updates on all my social media accounts.
But how can I (or you?) produce high caliber results if we are constantly going from one thing to the next? The text messages are flying in. The people to connect with and things to observe on social media never end. And any thought — or question — that comes to our mind can be quickly answered by a Google search or a conversation with Chat GPT. Even the temptation to easily board a flight to jet us off to the next destination adds to the fast-paced lifestyle so many of us seem to be living these days.
In his book, Deep Work, Cal Newport says that two groups that will thrive in the digital economy are those who can work creatively with intelligent machines, and those who are stars in their field.
Think about that deeply.
Which are you better at?
Where are you going to more likely have success?
I am probably not likely to be someone who can work creatively with intelligent machines (I mean it's possible, but of the two options presented, that is not my strength). I am someone who is probably going to find more success excelling in other ways. Maybe it's writing. Maybe it's relationship-building. Maybe it's execution of high profile events and experiences.
Whatever it is that you excel at, Newport tells us that in today's age of constant disruption, you've always go to be learning. And "to learn, requires intense concentration."
This is where I remember having some great conversations with my friend Carter Fowler about this book and the idea of concentration. Two years ago, I had Carter on an episode 114 of my Agents of Innovation podcast. He told me that perhaps the number one skill that will set any one of us apart is concentration. You can watch that 50-second clip below.
Man, he's right. It's so hard to concentrate these days. We have so many things that are primed and ready to distract us!
I love people, but people can be distracting too. I've learned sometimes I just have to go to the library, turn off all devices and just focus intensely on deep work in a place with few distractions.
Going to a place like that also sets it apart. Those are hours dedicated to deep work.
I had to do this many times in the course of writing both of my books. And what's crazy is sometimes I would set aside 3 or 4 hours to go to the library, and only after an hour or two I would be well ahead of the writing I wanted to accomplish that day. In other words, once I put my mind in a place where it was able to concentrate and get to that deep work, it flourished!
This is consistent with Adam Grant, who Newport uses as an example in his book. A professor and a writer with a large workload and tons of distractions, "Adam Grant enforces strict isolation until he completes the task at hand."
Newport says that who you are, what you love, and what you focus on is the sum of who you are. This is quite consistent with one of our other favorite writers, James Clear, author of Atomic Habits. Your identity is the person you want to be but it is reinforced by the habits and behaviors you do consistently.
In this fast-paced world, we all need more down time. That may look different to different people. But whatever it is, it's the ability to get out of your norm. Maybe it's an hour of meditation each day. A quiet walk by yourself, with no devices. Reading a book. Watching a movie. Getting a massage. A few days a year where you remove yourself from all devices.
Bill Gates would do this every year for a few days or even a week or two at a time. He would go to a cabin by himself and just surround himself with books and a journal. And it was here where he would come up with so many great ideas that not only helped him be successful, but with things that would change the world.
Our mind needs to shut down from work and distractions — in order to open up.
Newport also believes we all need an end of the day shutdown ritual. Because we are so tempted to look at our emails or make a phone call or respond to a text at any given hour, we need to have a ritual that helps us turn it off. This shutdown ritual may take 10-15 minutes but it provides closure and allows the mind to relax until the next day. Newport ends his end of the day shutdown ritual by saying out loud: “shutdown complete." It allows him to leave work behind and get back to other things in life. And this has led to more productivity, because it allows the mind to refresh and think freely.
He also tells us don't worry if the shutdown ritual doesn't seem to work right away. It will probably take a week or two of this ritual for your mind to really begin to rest at the end of each day.
Once you’re wired for distraction, you crave it, says Newport. So when you become successful at implementing deep work practices, it is actually harder to go from focus to distraction but that’s what we each need to work on — otherwise we’ll be tempted to stay with our work a little too long.
We also need to shut down our devices. There are tradeoffs to every new technology, but if we use this technology wrong — such as being constantly glued to them — then we’ll defeat their benefits.
There are many people who are now taking an Internet Sabbath. For some that means an entire day each week away from all devices. Believe it or not, my friend Charlie Kirk does this. He’s one of the more productive people on the planet and is on top of every news story and political shift of the day. If he can do it in this politically wired environment, any of us can do it!
For others, it may mean a few hours away each day. And for still others, it may mean one or two months a year away.
Remember, Newport believes that it is harder for us to go from focus to distraction. That’s why he proposes the opposite of the internet sabbath. He thinks we should schedule distraction to get away from focus.
Schedule distraction? Let’s talk about a few examples of that.
I remember about 10 years ago or so, when I was running the development (fundraising) efforts for The James Madison Institute, a public policy think tank in Tallahassee. I was managing several staff members and interns, I was working with donors all over the state (and even some around the country), planning and executing events, and keeping up with a rigorous travel schedule.
But I was also keeping up with my tennis game. I would schedule tennis matches with friends to start around 5:30 or 6:00pm a few nights each week. I would go right from the office to the tennis courts. And I would be playing some intense matches, some for two hours or longer. When I would go home later, I would think to myself: wow, where was my mind the past two hours? When I was on that tennis court, the only thing I was focused on was tennis. You also don’t look at your phone on a tennis court.
It was a scheduled distraction away from the typical focus I had on all aspects related to my job. It was not just physical exercise, it was very mentally therapeutic.
Social media is also a distraction. Instead of taking an “internet sabbath” away from social media, perhaps do the opposite. Turn off all social media all the time and take perhaps 15 or 20 minutes during a specific time of the day (or perhaps even just one day a week) to check in on whatever it is you need to look at or post. And let me tell you: you will realize you didn’t miss much.
Schedule that distraction.
Everyone has different passions and interests. Find your distraction away from the focus, schedule it, and allow your mind a break!
Newport also wants us to understand that will power is limited. You might think you can withstand the urge to look at your phone, check your email, or scroll through social media, or whatever it is that is distracting you from deep work.
Remove the temptation altogether.
For example, if you’re looking at Facebook too often, take it off your phone. If you need to check in with it or post, schedule time to do that, perhaps on your computer.
Overall: treat shallow work with suspicion. Shallow work might be spending half your work day in your inbox. Don't have it open all day. Make scheduled times to check in on email when you have to. Checking email is not deep work. Neither is social media. Even if you think these things help your job.
While social media provides plenty of benefits, we have to remember that whatever time we dedicate to looking at it or posting content on it, that is a tradeoff for something else we could be doing.
What else could we possibly be doing?
Maybe it's learning a second language.
Writing a book.
Makes sales calls.
Going to the gym.
Playing in a soccer league.
Spending more time being present with your kids.
Turn off the noise and get your reps in towards something productive.
Newport says that social media has replaced this capitalist exchange with a collectivist alternative: I’ll pay attention to what you have to say if you pay attention to what I have to say — regardless of its value.
The big takeaway from this book is to take back your time and attention from the many diversions that attempt to steal them. After all, our time here is limited. Our time each day is limited. Be in control of what you are giving attention to. And be sure to find time to do deep work.
You have unique gifts to bring to the world. Put away the distractions and allow yourself the ability to do the deep work to make your gifts excel.