51 pages • 1 hour read
Cal NewportDeep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2016A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Context: Modern Work Culture and Distractions
As the title suggests, Deep Work is a book about modern working conditions and how to develop the skills necessary to become more competitive in the new economy. Cal Newport discusses how the principles he elaborates upon can help people discover more meaning in their personal lives, but the primary focus is on work. Newport devotes much attention to illustrating how the modern workplace invites distraction, which is counterproductive to the bottom line.
In a study published by the education company Udemy for Business, distraction in the workplace is a real problem, especially from the employee’s point of view. For example, the study reveals that many of the employees surveyed feel “stressed, unmotivated, and bad about themselves, their jobs, and their careers” (“Udemy in Depth: 2018 Workplace Distraction Report.” Udemy for Business, 2018).
In large part, the study finds that dissatisfaction stems from a lack of productivity, which is due to conditions in the workplace being conducive to distractions. A growing trend in business is the open floor plan model of office space. The same study finds: “The physical setting where we work has undergone a transformation too: open offices are more common than not, and there are no longer any doors or walls to create even the 
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