Deep Work + So Good They Cant Ignore you - Cal Newport

Deep Work:

Cal Newport believes that there are two types of people who will dominate the future when Artificial Intelligence and machine learning develop will eliminate many of the jobs of the present.

Who can do creative work with AI and Machine Learning.
People who are stars in their field.
And there are also two core capabilities to develop in the new era:

The ability to quickly grasp difficult problems.
The ability to create products at a premium level, in terms of both quality and execution speed.
Ultimately, these two abilities both depend on each person's ability to work deep - Deep Work. Simply put, let your mind become the lens of the focused ray of attention.

The rules of Deep Work are as follows:

The results of high quality work = time spent X intensity of focus.

But it's so simple, why are few people able to work deeply?

So Good They Cant Ignore you:

This book actually refreshed my view and my mindset of what work should be like. For years now, I have found myself struggling because I wasn’t sure what I was passionate enough about to turn into a career. Sure, I like a lot of things: sport, baking and socializing, to name a few. But I couldn’t grasp how to turn this into ‘meaningful’ work. I mean, I love animals, I’m sure we all do (unless you’re a psychopath), but we can’t all become vets… it’s unrealistic.

However, after reading Newport’s book, I feel content in the idea that I need to find my niche; something I’m good at, and just focus on that. Like everyone else, I need to develop skills and values before I can gain control and mission in my career.

Apart from the fourth and final chapter being seemingly obvious, my only other criticism is that Newport presents many relevant positive and negative stories of career success throughout his book. However, nearly every negative story appears to focus on a woman and most positive stories are about males. Although I am sure not intentional, it was a recurring thought I had throughout the entirety of the book,

To conclude, Newport’s book drew me in. I think his book is not only well written and concise, but I also find it novel, refreshing and realistic. I would recommend this book to anyone who feels they are stuck in a ‘rut’, trying to figure out what to do with their lives or in their careers.