I’m obsessed with how to work less. So, I spent 60+ hours studying...
Tim Denning@Tim_Denning
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Nov 29, 2024
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I’m obsessed with how to work less.
So, I spent 60+ hours studying how Cal Newport thinks about productivity.
His book on deep work sold 2M copies. Tim Ferriss follows his strategies.
Here’s what I found on doing deep work for only 4 hours a day (controversial):
So, I spent 60+ hours studying how Cal Newport thinks about productivity.
His book on deep work sold 2M copies. Tim Ferriss follows his strategies.
Here’s what I found on doing deep work for only 4 hours a day (controversial):
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Hustle culture worshippers love to say work harder.
Money gurus love to preach how we should all be millionaires & want to drive Lambos. F*ck that.
Real success is free time to do whatever. Cal Newport shows how you can use deep work to work less.
Here's his secret philosophy:
Money gurus love to preach how we should all be millionaires & want to drive Lambos. F*ck that.
Real success is free time to do whatever. Cal Newport shows how you can use deep work to work less.
Here's his secret philosophy:
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1. “To build your working life around the experience of flow produced by deep work is a proven path to deep satisfaction."
The opposite is a life of repetition & boredom. Or working a job with zero creativity.
The most successful people experience daily flow states.
The opposite is a life of repetition & boredom. Or working a job with zero creativity.
The most successful people experience daily flow states.
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2. “For a novice, somewhere around an hour a day of intense concentration seems to be a limit,
While for experts this number can expand to as many as 4 hours — but rarely more”
• 4 hours of flow a day is the goal
• Start with 1 hour a day of flow, then work your way up
While for experts this number can expand to as many as 4 hours — but rarely more”
• 4 hours of flow a day is the goal
• Start with 1 hour a day of flow, then work your way up
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3. “The more you try to do, the less you actually accomplish.”
Busy people are the most unproductive
They have big dreams but never make progress
Doing less is how you find success
Your mind needs free time to think deeply & have breakthroughs...
Without them all you experience is mediocrity.
Busy people are the most unproductive
They have big dreams but never make progress
Doing less is how you find success
Your mind needs free time to think deeply & have breakthroughs...
Without them all you experience is mediocrity.
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4. “3-4 hours a day, 5 days a week, of uninterrupted & carefully directed concentration can produce a lot of valuable output.”
In the new economy, the workday is 4 hours of deep work a day.
As AI does the dumb tasks, humans must do the hard tasks which require deep work.
Hours worked = Who gives a F
Value > Output
In the new economy, the workday is 4 hours of deep work a day.
As AI does the dumb tasks, humans must do the hard tasks which require deep work.
Hours worked = Who gives a F
Value > Output
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5. "Your world is the outcome of what you pay attention to."
The attention economy f*cked your life up
Fight to get your attention back.
• Ignore politics/news
• Ignore all the fear
• Stop getting depressed by wars
If you're attention-starved, you're worse than bankrupt in life
The attention economy f*cked your life up
Fight to get your attention back.
• Ignore politics/news
• Ignore all the fear
• Stop getting depressed by wars
If you're attention-starved, you're worse than bankrupt in life
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6. “Who you are, what you think, feel, and do, what you love—is the sum of what you focus on.”
Improve your focus to 10x your life
• 1 big goal
• 4 hours of focused work a day
• 2-3 items on your to-do list
• Obsession over passion
Improve your focus to 10x your life
• 1 big goal
• 4 hours of focused work a day
• 2-3 items on your to-do list
• Obsession over passion
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7. “2 core abilities for thriving in the new economy:
1. The ability to quickly master hard things.
2. The ability to produce at an elite level, in terms of both quality & speed.”
Most people drown in comfort.
They want life to be easier.
1. The ability to quickly master hard things.
2. The ability to produce at an elite level, in terms of both quality & speed.”
Most people drown in comfort.
They want life to be easier.
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Deep work helps you do hard things.
Deep work helps you join the new elite.
Deep work helps you create enormous value that destroys your competition + creates new opportunities.
Deep work helps you join the new elite.
Deep work helps you create enormous value that destroys your competition + creates new opportunities.
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8. "Regularly resting your brain improves the quality of your deep work."
What the hustle p*rn grifters don't get is once you go over 4 hours of deep work a day, the quality of your work is bullsh*t.
Rest makes your work better. You need more rest if you want to be successful.
That means 8 hours of sleep + daily naps.
What the hustle p*rn grifters don't get is once you go over 4 hours of deep work a day, the quality of your work is bullsh*t.
Rest makes your work better. You need more rest if you want to be successful.
That means 8 hours of sleep + daily naps.
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9. “What we choose to focus on & what we choose to ignore—plays in defining the quality of our life”
To be more focused decide on what you'll ignore.
I ignore:
• haters
• salespeople
• news/politics
• 99% of social media
To be more focused decide on what you'll ignore.
I ignore:
• haters
• salespeople
• news/politics
• 99% of social media
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10. “Less mental clutter means more mental resources available for deep thinking.”
4 hours a day of work means less stress, fewer tasks & less mental load.
That's how you access deep thinking that'll change your life.
4 hours a day of work means less stress, fewer tasks & less mental load.
That's how you access deep thinking that'll change your life.
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11. Cal Newport's formula for insane productivity:
High-Quality Work Produced = (Time Spent) x (Intensity of Focus)
Improving your focus is the #1 skill to acquire. It starts by putting your phone in a locked draw.
High-Quality Work Produced = (Time Spent) x (Intensity of Focus)
Improving your focus is the #1 skill to acquire. It starts by putting your phone in a locked draw.
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Final Thought
Your goal should be to figure out how to do deep work so you end up working only 4 hours a day.
Reach this goal as fast as possible.
The smartest people are slowing down. They're handing bulllsh*t tasks over to AI.
Your goal should be to figure out how to do deep work so you end up working only 4 hours a day.
Reach this goal as fast as possible.
The smartest people are slowing down. They're handing bulllsh*t tasks over to AI.
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Cal Newport discovered deep work through writing online.
Writing is how he did his best work & became free. You can do the same.
Get my free email course to get started writing online: timdenning.com/startonsocial-…
Writing is how he did his best work & became free. You can do the same.
Get my free email course to get started writing online: timdenning.com/startonsocial-…