My notes from Deep Work

by Cal Newport

Network tools

Social networks, infotainment sites - network tools - fragment our time and reduce our ability to concentrate.

Craftsman approach to tool selection - tools are aids to the larger goals of one's craft. Identify the core factors that determine success and happiness in your professional and personal life. Adopt a tool only if its positive impacts on these factors substantially outweigh its negative impacts.

Identifying what matters most in your life and then attempting to assess the impacts of various tools on these factors doesn't reduce to a single formula - this task requires practice and experimentation.

1. Identify the highest level goals in both your professional and personal life.

• keep the list limited to what's important
• high-level descriptions - reach million dollar in sales - too specific

2. For each goal, list two or three most important activities that help you satisfy the goal.

• specific enough to picture them
• not tied to a onetime outcome

3. Consider network tools you currently use

• ask if a tool has substantially positive, negative or no impact at all on your regular and successful participation in the activity
• keep using this tool only if positive impacts outweigh the negative ones

The law of vital few

80% of a given effect is caused by 20% of the causes.

• this law holds for the important goals
• you can potentially list ten to fifteen activities beneficial to the goal, thus top two or three make most of the difference
• if you service low-impact activities, you are taking away time you could spend on high-impact ones