To remain valuable in our economy, therefore, you must master the art of quickly learning complicated things. This task requires deep work. If you do… - Cal Newport

the deep work novice. As I established in the opening to this rule, the ability to rapidly switch your mind from shallow to deep mode doesn’t come naturally. Without practice, such switches can seriously deplete your finite willpower reserves. This habit also requires a sense of confidence in your abilities — a conviction that what you’re doing is important and will succeed. This type of conviction is typically built on a foundation of existing professional accomplishment.

There is a middle ground, and if you’re interested in developing a deep work habit, you must fight to get there.

All the people I ever admired and respected led balanced lives — studying hard, partying hard, as well as being involved in activities and getting a decent amount of sleep each night. I really think this is the only logically defensible way of doing things.” Chris, a straight-A college student