Book quiz
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World Quiz
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted WorldCal NewportWhy does a day packed with emails and calls so often leave you feeling you created nothing of value? Cal Newport explains that real value isn't born in the rush. It comes from rare hours of complete, uninterrupted concentration, and that ability is fast disappearing along with our habit of reaching for the phone. The…
Question 1 of 5
Why, according to Newport, does someone who can focus for long become more valuable than colleagues?
Show the answer
Right answer: This skill is useful and is getting rarer
What is valuable is both rare and useful. Deep focus is always needed, yet most people can no longer spend an hour without their phone.
Question 2 of 5
How does Newport see the ability to concentrate?
Show the answer
Right answer: As a muscle you can train
Focus is a muscle you train, not an inborn gift. That means anyone can build it, not just the gifted.
Question 3 of 5
You're writing and glance at your phone "for a second" every few minutes. What's wrong with that, per the book?
Show the answer
Right answer: Your mind drifts to the chat, and the whole hour is half-hearted
Newport calls it attention residue: after a switch the mind still pulls toward the dropped task. Ten quick checks an hour make an hour of half-hearted work.
Question 4 of 5
In any queue you pull out your phone right away to avoid boredom. How is that linked to work, per the book?
Show the answer
Right answer: The brain learns to flee boredom and drops dull tasks
If boredom always vanishes at once, the brain loses the ability to stay with a hard task once it gets dull. Empty pauses train that patience.
Question 5 of 5
Colleagues expect instant replies, and email distracts you all day. What does Newport suggest?
Show the answer
Right answer: Check email in time windows set in advance
Email and chats are a tool, not a boss. You check messages in windows and reply in batches, and between windows there is room for deep work.
Want all of the book's key ideas? Read or listen to its retelling in Livria.