Deep Work
Deep Work by Cal Newportby Cal Newport
Ranked 2 of 4 productivity books by recommenders
People recommend it for its ideas on time management and focus, and say one idea in particular stayed with them after reading.
People recommend it for its ideas on time management and focus, and say one idea in particular stayed with them after reading.
8 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 88%
Recommended in 7 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 7 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Recommended as a helpful read
“Books which can help you: Atomic Habits, How to win friends and influence people, How to measure your life, Deep work.”
Comment from 29 Oct 2026 in “Ask HN: I Need Advice” “a book I would recommend to anyone here”
Comment from 26 Jan 2026 in “Is the Internet Hijacking Our Ambition?”
Other productivity books people recommend
The three most recommended other productivity books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Getting Things Doneby David Allen | 14 | 4 | 78% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Deep Workby Cal NewportThis page | 7 | 1 | 88% | 7 | — | — |
| Four Thousand Weeksby Oliver Burkeman | 6 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | — |
| Essentialismby Greg McKeown | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
7 of the 10 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Books which can help you: Atomic Habits, How to win friends and influence people, How to measure your life, Deep work.”
“lays out a pretty good criticism of these types of offices”
“Look up Cal Newport habits”
“gave me a way to think about my time management”
“Style, quality, and deep knowledge will always be worth a premium.”
“one idea in particular really stayed with me”
“a book I would recommend to anyone here”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.