[briankirby]

Not quite, in the book it's clear that by "Deep Work" Newport is specifically referring to difficult tasks which create significant value. The book includes several heuristics for identifying this sort of work. It's true that the arrival of electronics has made "Shallow Work" easier to fall into, but by no means would going to work somewhere without a computer or a phone mean you are doing "Deep Work."

[vertline3]

I think that the idea of prioritizing work that is adding significant value is not so new, to be fair. Professors would go on sabbaticals to finish their book for instance.

[vinay427]

Right, but that's somewhat different from any "work" that existed before electronics arrived.

However, there was arguably less of a disconnect between "deep work" and "work" before electronics, compared to default "work" today.

[vertline3]

I don't think it is different from a work of high craftsmanship such as Chinese Jade carving. But maybe from a kind of labor that is non-skilled.