Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

Although I had begun reading this book a while ago and never really finished it. Immediately after reading the Atomic Habits, I felt the urge to read the rest. Deep Work, I think, nicely complements the former.

A critical insight this book gave me is the following. The nature of work I am attempting to do is fundamentally different from that of a random person. The work of a researcher might be different from that of a student. This is also the reason why authors or scriptwriters often tell stories of their getaways from civilization. Focus is the absence of all distractions. Newport brings in the theory of attention residue to drive this point home. When you try to switch between tasks, some of your unconscious attention remains with the original task (Yes, multi-tasking is really a myth. But if you are like me and think that taking up a lot of assignments and fitting them somehow into your calendar is what you need, maybe you are mistaken). Once you are sold on this idea the next half of the book gives you lot of really practicable advice to leverage this idea and make your life better.

Even though you might have heard the slogan of quality over quantity or that you need to do smart work and not hard work, no one really tells you how you achieve that. Here you can find a lot of the fine details of how to make that possible. Probably because the author himself is an academic, this book would seem fine tuned for academics or researchers. But be aware that this book doesn't have the flow to it like Atomic Habits has and at times it would feel repetitious. But one reason you would want to read this completely is to get all the nuances in the advice. For instance if you are the CEO of two successful companies like Jack Dorsey, the advice in this book might not apply to you.
Overall I felt that this book might have a lot of power to change your work habits. Something that the Atomic Habits doesn't really touch upon a lot.