Cal Newport is a guide, a visionary, a role model to me and millions of others on living an intentional and productive life amidst our noisy, scatterbrained, tech-drenched world.
He’s an MIT-trained computer science professor at Georgetown University and author of 10 books which have collectively sold over 2 million copies including ‘Deep Work,’ ‘Digital Minimalism,’ and his latest bestseller, ‘Slow Productivity.’
“I sometimes joke that my entire career is built on giving two-word terms to things everyone thinks and knows,” Cal says, but the truth is he’s doing a lot more than that.
Take ‘Slow Productivity.’
He’s boiled this new phrase down into three principles: 1) Do fewer things, 2) Work at a natural pace, and 3) Obsess over quality.
Sounds simple, right? Trite, even! But that’s when you raise your head and realize the world is conspiring against you doing any of these. Doesn’t our world today reward… doing *more* things, working at an *unnatural* pace, and obsessing over *quantity*?
There’s a reason Cal has no social media apps on his phone. Why he has no social media accounts at all…and never has! With his books, and his wonderful podcast ‘Deep Questions,’ he is focused on helping us find our way as we navigate ever-changing technology and work patterns that increasingly feel at odds with our shared quest of living intentional lives.
Cal has a giant mind and it was on full display in this chat as we discuss: how Cal measures success, the neuroscience of reading, Denis Villeneuve, the relationship between rest and work, the ideal age for unrestricted Internet access, The Washington Nationals, leetspeak and productivity pr0n, the role of books today and their future, Andrew Huberman, positive reinforcement theory, Jonathan Haidt and ‘The Anxious Generation,’ technology boundaries for children, and much, much more…
Let’s turn the page to Chapter 135 now…
Chapter 37: Malcolm Gladwell on strangers, spies, and silencing the system
Chapter 36: Two teenage Mormon missionaries on missing mom to make miracles
Chapter 35: Jen Agg on fussy feminism and ferocious fastidiousness
Chapter 34: Literary superagent Jim Levine on picking priorities to perform at peak potential
Chapter 33: Raj Haldar aka Lushlife on invoking inner inspiration to instigate the Internet
Chapter 32: Cat and Nat on cutting the crap to create community for courageous caregivers
Chapter 31: Juniper the Former Sex Worker on paying for pleasure and progressive parenting
Chapter 30: Jerry Howarth on branding, bereavement, and Blue Jays baseball
Chapter 29: Michael Harris on queer questions and the quest for quiet
Chapter 28: Mark Manson on constant cursing and clearing clutter
Chapter 27: Robin the Bartender on fiddling with frankincense and fighting for freedom
Chapter 26: Angie Thomas on righting racist wrongs and remembering radicals
Chapter 25: James Frey on drunk, defiant differentiation
Chapter 24: Jonathan Fields on winning with will and weaving why into work
Chapter 23: Jesse Finkelstein zooms into the zeitgeist and zeroes in on zesty Zora
Chapter 22: Tim Urban on shivering in shorts and shifting from sheep to chef
Chapter 21: Paulette Bourgeois on family foundations, frightening fiction, and forging Franklin
Chapter 20: Debbie Stoller on frenzied female fandom, fighting for freedom, and fourth-wave feminism
The Best Of 2018: Neil Pasricha peers into the past and plucks perfect podcast pieces
Chapter 19: Chip Wilson on living large, launching Lululemon, and leaving a legacy
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