My notes from Deep Work

by Cal Newport

Sometimes to go deep, you must first go big

Expose yourself to ideas in hubs on a regular basis, but maintain a spoke in which to work deeply on what you encounter.

The whiteboard effect

For some types of problems working with someone else at the proverbial shared whiteboard can push your deeper than if you were working alone.

For many types of work, collaborative deep work can yield better results. However, keep the following guidelines in mind:

• distraction remains a destroyer of depth. Optimize each effort separately, as opposed to mixing them together into a sludge that impedes both goals
• even when you retreat to a spoke to think deeply, when it’s reasonable to leverage the whiteboard effect do so.

Consider the use of collaboration when appropriate, as it can push your results to a new level.