Deep Questions with Cal Newport
358 episodes - English - Latest episode: 2 days ago - ★★★★★ - 1.1K ratingsCal Newport is a computer science professor and a New York Times bestselling author who writes about the impact of technology on society, and the struggle to work and live deeply in a world increasingly mired in digital distractions. On this podcast, he answers questions from his readers and offers advice about cultivating focus, productivity, and meaning amidst the noise that pervades our lives.
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Episodes
Ep. 161: Should I Follow My Skill or My Passion?
January 03, 2022 12:00 - 50 minutes - 34.5 MBBelow are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP WORK QUESTIONS: - How can a freelancer perform deep work? [9:56] - Should I follow my skill or my passion? [12:50] - How do you manage group projects in college? [21:51] - Do you recommend listening to music while doing deep work? [24:16] - What do you do when your boss has allocated you to a team “half time”? [26:20] DEEP LIFE Q...
Ep. 160: REPLAY: What is Discipline (and How Do I Get It?)
December 30, 2021 12:00 - 50 minutes - 23 MBBecause I'm away on vacation these week, I'm replaying a classic show from the Deep Questions archives. This is Episode 125, which originally ran back in August. --- Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP DIVE: How Reachable Should We Be? [1:45] DEEP WORK QUESTIONS - What should I do if I finish a time block early? [8:28] - How do I work deeply at home with a cry...
Ep. 159: REPLAY: How Much Should I Read?
December 27, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 31.8 MBBecause I'm away on vacation these week, I'm replaying a classic show from the Deep Questions archives. This is Episode 109, which originally ran back in June. --- Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. BOOK REPORT: The Square and the Tower [04:28] DEEP WORK QUESTIONS - What should I do if I like my job but dislike the industry? [12:32] - How hard should I push back a...
Ep. 159: REPLAY: How Much Should I Read?
December 27, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 31.8 MBBecause I'm away on vacation these week, I'm replaying a classic show from the Deep Questions archives. This is Episode 109, which originally ran back in June. --- Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. BOOK REPORT: The Square and the Tower [04:28] DEEP WORK QUESTIONS - What should I do if I like my job but dislike the industry? [12:32] - How hard should I push back a...
Ep. 158: LISTENER CALLS: The Story of My First Book Deal
December 23, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 27.9 MBBelow are the topics covered in today's listener calls episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. LISTENER CALLS: - Was Tesla the ultimate deep thinker? [4:01] - Writing for academic audiences (bonus: the story of my first book deal). [7:03] - The difference between deep work and the deep life buckets (bonus: Jesse and I discuss the latest progress on my new book). [19:05] - Do YouTubers have a terrible job? [45:06] - Prepar...
Ep. 157: JENNY BLAKE: Help Me Do Less!
December 20, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 41.1 MBIn this episode, author Jenny Blake joins me for a conversation about her new book, FREE TIME: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business (https://itsfreetime.com/book), which helps entrepreneurs engineer the stress out of their work. I ask her to use myself as a case study and apply her principles to helping me reduce stress in my working life. Though FREE TIME doesn’t come out until March, if you pre-order a copy now (at https://itsfreetime.com/book) you’ll get immediate access to a pair of f...
Ep. 156: LISTENER CALLS: My Process for Writing New Yorker Articles
December 16, 2021 12:00 - 48 minutes - 33.1 MBBelow are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. OPENING CHAT: Cal is excited about his new email setup. LISTENER CALLS: - Shutdown struggles. [13:58] - The difference between value-based planning and the deep life buckets. [17:47] - Drowning in meeting prep. [28:21] - Fiction book recommendations. [32:34] - My process for writing New Yorker Articles. [40:27] Thanks to...
Ep. 155: Is Your Productivity System Leaking?
December 13, 2021 12:00 - 59 minutes - 27.5 MBBelow are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP DIVE: Is your productivity system leaking? [6:01] DEEP WORK QUESTIONS: - How do I accomplish big projects in small amounts daily effort? [12:50] - How do I make more money as I become more efficient? [17:28] - What’s the best way to add structure to chaotic non-profit? [21:22] - How do I build an autopilot schedule for unpredicta...
Ep. 154: LISTENER CALLS: Coping With a Hyperactive Job
December 09, 2021 12:00 - 40 minutes - 18.5 MBBelow are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. LISTENER CALLS: - Doctors and depth. [6:42] - Career capital in the military. [10:39] - Coping with a hyperactive job. [14:45] - Making a teaching plan for the semester. [27:32] - Managing references. [33:53] Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.
Ep. 153: Why Was Ian Malcom Sent to Jurassic Park?
December 06, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 28.7 MBBelow are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. OPENING CHAT: The 5 Books I Read in November (Bonus Rant: Why did Jurassic Park need an assessment from a chaos theoretician?) [2:06] DEEP WORK QUESTIONS: - Is it worth becoming good at skills that you only need short term? [21:51] - How do I seem present online when working on side projects? [26:43] - Should I revise my weekly plan i...
Ep. 152: LISTENER CALLS: The Magic of Autopilot Scheduling
December 02, 2021 12:00 - 45 minutes - 20.7 MBBelow are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. OPENING CHAT: YouTube vs. Social Media LISTENER CALLS: - The magic of autopilot scheduling [16:35] - Tips for finding a non-hyperactive good boss [23:18] - Alternatives to email-based workflows [27:24] - Taming Trello [35:07] - Study tactics [38:58] Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, ...
Ep. 151: Should you move to the country?
November 29, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 30.5 MBBelow are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP DIVE: Should you move to the country? [3:55] DEEP WORK QUESTIONS: - Is it worth time blocking for long projects? [20:11] - What’s your (Cal’s) opinion on bosses stopping by the office to chat? [22:16] - How can I remember all of your advice? [25:39] - How do I avoid the feeling of just going through the motions? [32:41] - How d...
Ep. 150: LISTENER CALLS: Finding More Family Time
November 25, 2021 12:00 - 54 minutes - 25 MBBelow are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP DIVE: When should tasks live on my calendar? [7:24] LISTENER CALLS: - Online presences for novelists [14:13] - Not getting stuff done outside of work [26:10] - Managing team workload [32:19] - Finding more family time [39:37] - Leveraging career capital early in one’s career [47:48] Thanks to Jesse Miller for product...
Ep. 149: How Do I Tame Email?
November 22, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 32.1 MBBelow are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP DIVE: How do I tame email? [9:51] DEEP WORK QUESTIONS: - How to accomplish deep work in the context of meeting overload? [29:09] - What is difference between the productivity funnel and capture/configure/control? [36:06] - Do you (Cal) have a filing system for emails? [40:18] - What time blocking granularity is best? [42:53] - Ho...
Ep. 148: LISTENER CALLS: Decoding the Productive Pause
November 18, 2021 12:00 - 46 minutes - 21.3 MBBelow are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP DIVE: Decoding the Productive Pause [2:43] LISTENER CALLS: - Finding a research interests. [10:00] - Trading moments of your life for money. [13:23] - Scheduling more deep work. [23:14] - Handling the difficult switch from work to leisure and then back again. [27:30] - Creating temporal Eudamonia Machine...
Ep.147: Why Did I Never Join Social Media?
November 15, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 30.6 MBBelow are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP WORK QUESTIONS: - Are some people more suited for deep work than others? [4:54] - How do I tame post-shutdown excitement? [8:33] - How to I deal with ambiguous deep work? [14:41] - Can you (Cal) elaborate on the Friction/Flow/Finalization project pathway? [17:41] - How do you time-block plan in a company obsessed with last ...
Ep. 146: LISTENER CALLS: A Revolution is Coming in Knowledge Work
November 11, 2021 12:00 - 51 minutes - 23.5 MBBelow are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. A conversation with Producer Jesse about my next book [1:48] LISTENER CALLS: - Twitter FOMO for a journalist. [16:40] - Tracking small amounts of time. [25:12] - My quarterly planning process. [30:07] - Tedious tasks with an entry level job. [34:22] - Timeblock planners spiral bindings. [38:24] - Struggling to balance teach...
Ep. 145: Is the Deep Life Compatible with Serving Humanity?
November 08, 2021 12:00 - 55 minutes - 25.6 MBBelow are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP DIVE: My October reading list [1:49] DEEP WORK QUESTIONS: - How do you avoid burn out from deep work? [11:55] - Are your (Cal's) systems for tracking deep work and for tracking GTD projects independent? [13:59] - Does studying “on the go” incur cognitive burden? [18:07] - What category of things do you track on your (Cal's) T...
Ep. 144: LISTENER CALLS: Is Overload Necessary?
November 04, 2021 11:00 - 54 minutes - 24.8 MBBelow are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP DIVE: Is Overload Necessary? (Epic rant alert) [3:53] LISTENER CALLS: - Beyond the most important task of the day. [27:00] - "Pseudo-blocking" household admin. [31:53] - A doctor struggling to find leisure time. [36:47] - Defanging the internet with strategic browser plug-ins. [44:26] - Applying sprints outside ...
Ep. 144: LISTENER CALLS: Is Overload Necessary?
November 04, 2021 11:00 - 54 minutes - 24.8 MBBelow are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP DIVE: Is Overload Necessary? (Epic rant alert) [3:53] LISTENER CALLS: - Beyond the most important task of the day. [27:00] - "Pseudo-blocking" household admin. [31:53] - A doctor struggling to find leisure time. [36:47] - Defanging the internet with strategic browser plug-ins. [44:26] - Applying sprints outside ...
Ep. 143: Is the Era of Social Media Ending?
November 01, 2021 11:00 - 54 minutes - 25.2 MBBelow are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP DIVE: What would you say you do here? [3:05] DEEP WORK QUESTIONS: - What time management strategies do you suggest if I work a 9-5 and want to pursue master's or phd? [13:32] - How to overcome productivity pr0n? - Lifehacker addict is hung up on the fomo (fear of missing out) of potential shortcuts. [19:51] - could save time ...
Ep. 143: What Would You Say You Do Here?
November 01, 2021 11:00 - 54 minutes - 25.2 MBBelow are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP DIVE: What would you say you do here? [3:05] DEEP WORK QUESTIONS: - What time management strategies do you suggest if I work a 9-5 and want to pursue master's or phd? [13:32] - How to overcome productivity pr0n? - Lifehacker addict is hung up on the fomo (fear of missing out) of potential shortcuts. [19:51] - could save time ...
Ep. 142: LISTENER CALLS: Making Hard Work Routine
October 28, 2021 11:00 - 55 minutes - 25.3 MBBelow are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP DIVE: On Facebook, Misinformation, and the Death of Collaborative Curation [2:59] LISTENER CALLS: - My thoughts on speed reading. [21:29] - My system for writing New Yorker articles (routinizing demanding work). [24:43] - The importance of media for academic careers. [34:07] - Re-assessing linked note-taking. [40:0...
Ep. 141: Is the Era of Social Media Ending?
October 25, 2021 11:00 - 1 hour - 31.8 MBDEEP DIVE: Is the Era of Social Media Ending? [2:37] DEEP WORK QUESTIONS: - Did COVID-19 closures change my (Cal's) thoughts on my working situation? [18:01] - Should I stick with management consulting? [37:06] - How do I lead my organization away from email? [40:17] - How do I pick a specialization in a broad field? [44:55] DEEP LIFE QUESTIONS: - Do I (Cal) use my smartphone for directions and photos? [48:48] - How do I choose my minor? [51:37] - What is something I (Cal) have ch...
Ep. 140: LISTENER CALLS: Frustration and the Deep Life
October 21, 2021 11:00 - 48 minutes - 33.1 MBBelow are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP DIVE: Smartphones and moral panics. [3:43] LISTENER CALLS: - Scheduling when you've fallen behind. [12:29] - Squandering autonomy. [18:06] - Hacking habits and the shortcomings of raw discipline. [26:11] - Tenure and valuable skills. [31:38] - Adding more to your plate without it tipping over. [36:24] - Frustratio...
Ep. 139: Am I Good at Time Management or Just Lazy?
October 18, 2021 11:00 - 1 hour - 29.1 MBBelow are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP DIVE: Will Offices Survive the Pandemic? [6:01] DEEP WORK QUESTIONS - How do I practice my writing better? [22:07] - Is it harder to write a dissertation or a book? [25:08] - Will 10-minute sitting breaks destroy my concentration? [29:04] - Am I good at time management or just lazy? [35:52] - How do I get the most out of an a...
Ep. 138: LISTENER CALLS: How I Read So Much
October 14, 2021 11:00 - 51 minutes - 23.4 MBBelow are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. - Interacting with potential clients while avoiding constant distraction. [2:10] - Self-promotion without social media. [8:21] - Dealing with an overflowing "to read" folder. [13:19] - Correcting weekly plan drift. [18:13] - The secrets of my high-volume reading. [22:47] - Personal vs. organizational productivity. [27:2...
Ep. 137: Why Am I Uncomfortable With Facebook Backlash?
October 11, 2021 11:00 - 1 hour - 29.5 MBDEEP DIVE: Why Am I Uncomfortable With Facebook Backlash? [1:16] DEEP WORK QUESTIONS: - How do I work deeper in a job that is inherently fractured? [17:29] - How do I switch tasks without everything going to hell? [23:21] - How do I build relationships with colleagues if I prioritize deep work? [26:50] - How can I reduce the craziness of my college schedule? [33:39] DEEP LIFE QUESTIONS: - How can I relaxed if I'm extremely driven? [38:49] - Can on lead a life as a recognized intelle...
Ep. 136: LISTENER CALLS: Reversing Burnout
October 07, 2021 11:00 - 54 minutes - 24.9 MBBelow are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. OPENING: Some Thoughts on Slow Productivity. [0:21] LISTENER CALLS - Taming client email as a busy lawyer.[3:44] - How I maintain my systems. [11:42] - The danger of too much productivity. [[17:02] - Benjamin Franklin, tedious Harvard types, and awe. [22:54] - Students and theory. [34:12] - Reversing burnout. [38:05]
Ep. 135: Is Screen Time Bad?
October 04, 2021 11:00 - 51 minutes - 23.5 MBBelow are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP WORK QUESTIONS - How do virtual office hours work with multiple participants? [4:26] - Is time spent in front of a computer screen bad (bonus rant: we work too much!)? [8:18] - How do I remember goals when I'm in danger of distraction? [14:20] - Why do I ignore monthly planning? [16:26] - How do I survive running two comp...
Ep. 134: LISTENER CALLS: Returning to Deep Work After the Pandemic
September 30, 2021 11:00 - 57 minutes - 26.2 MBBelow are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. RANT FOLLOW-UP: A doctor's perspective on kids and smartphones. [0:35] GUEST CHAT: Scott Young stops by to talk about our new online course. [5:00] LISTENER CALLS: - Returning to regular deep work after the pandemic. [22:06] - Deciding what tasks to execute. [29:34] - Integrating your values into your daily activities. [...
Ep. 133: How Do I Defeat Distraction?
September 27, 2021 11:00 - 1 hour - 30.2 MBBelow are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP DIVE: Is the Desire to Produce Negative? [5:14] DEEP WORK QUESTIONS - What are the most popular workflows used to escape excessive email? [17:07] - How do I read academic papers effectively? [27:40] - How much studying is enough for a college student? [31:38] - How do I defeat the allure of distraction? (Plus: Why Soto should...
Ep. 132: LISTENER CALLS: Managing Non-Work Tasks
September 23, 2021 11:00 - 52 minutes - 23.9 MBOPENING RANT: Facebook Knows It's Hurting Teenagers [3:22] LISTENER CALLS: - Interfacing with the hive mind. [17:45] - The relationship between tasks and daily plans. [24:58] - My weekly planning ritual. [31:04] - Discovering books. [39:42] - How I manage my non-work tasks. [46:25]
Ep. 131: The Elements of the Deep Life
September 20, 2021 11:00 - 56 minutes - 25.9 MBBelow are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. ANNOUNCEMENT: I'm hiring! [0:20] DEEP DIVE: The Elements of the Deep Life [3:51] DEEP WORK QUESTIONS - How should I get started in a new remote work job? [16:56] - How I time block a purely reactive job? [21:56] - Should I bother capturing tasks that are fast to complete? [25:26] - How do I tame multiple concurrent projects? [29:0...
Ep. 130: LISTENER CALLS: Leadership vs. Availability
September 16, 2021 11:00 - 41 minutes - 19.3 MBBelow are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. - Balancing availability and depth as a leader. [5:12] - Being available to students without being overwhelmed. [12:08] - Rapid fire questions (each answer under 1 minute). [18:18] -- Working eight hours in a row. -- Quarterly plan format. -- Reading metrics. - Sticking to a schedule once made. [26:36] - Keepin...
Ep. 130: LISTENER CALLS: Leadership vs. Availability
September 16, 2021 11:00 - 41 minutes - 19.3 MBBelow are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. - Balancing availability and depth as a leader. [5:12] - Being available to students without being overwhelmed. [12:08] - Rapid fire questions (each answer under 1 minute). [18:18] -- Working eight hours in a row. -- Quarterly plan format. -- Reading metrics. - Sticking to a schedule once made. [26:36] - Keepin...
Ep. 129: How Do I Get My Kid Off His Smartphone?
September 13, 2021 11:00 - 58 minutes - 40.4 MBBelow are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP DIVE: Is Organization the Opiate of the Knowledge Work Masses? [1:02] DEEP WORK QUESTIONS - How do I choose skills to work deeply on? [15:18] - What if I don't know what I want to do with my career or life? [20:11] - How do I stop my students from overwhelming me right before deadlines? [23:38] - When should you say "no" to i...
Ep. 128: LISTENER CALLS: The Art of "No"
September 09, 2021 11:00 - 54 minutes - 37.6 MBBelow are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. OPENING: My new reading habit [6:53] LISTENER CALLS: - Retaining information from books. [11:16] - The value of an agile personal productivity system. [18:33] - An impractical vision for a highly productive building. [26:16] - Marketing a course without social media. [37:45] - The art of "no". [43:14] Thanks to Jay Ke...
Ep. 127: Does Productivity Diminish Leisure? (with Brad Stulberg)
September 06, 2021 11:00 - 1 hour - 60.5 MBIn today's episode, I am joined by longtime friend of the show Brad Stulberg, who has a new book out called THE PRACTICE OF GROUNDEDNESS (https://thegrowtheq.com/books/groundedness/). Brad helps me answer your questions on topics including the decision to start a company, recovering from a pandemic-induced demotion, preventing productivity from diminishing leisure, and dealing with inertia. Thanks to Jay Kerstens for the intro music and Mark Miles for mastering.
Ep. 126: LISTENER CALLS: A Tour of My Home Offices
September 02, 2021 11:00 - 38 minutes - 26.5 MBBelow are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. - My home office setup. [3:59] - Working while tired. [12:29] - Writing three hours a day. [17:19] - Details of my strategic plans. [26:09] - Ignoring strategic plans. [31:08] Thanks to Jay Kerstens for the intro music and Mark Miles for mastering.
Ep. 126: A Tour of My Home Offices
September 02, 2021 11:00 - 38 minutes - 26.5 MBBelow are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. - My home office setup. [3:59] - Working while tired. [12:29] - Writing three hours a day. [17:19] - Details of my strategic plans. [26:09] - Ignoring strategic plans. [31:08] Thanks to Jay Kerstens for the intro music and Mark Miles for mastering.
Ep. 125: What is Discipline (and How Do I Get It?)
August 30, 2021 11:00 - 49 minutes - 34.2 MBBelow are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP DIVE: How Reachable Should We Be? [1:48] DEEP WORK QUESTIONS - What should I do if I finish a time block early? [8:31] - How do I work deeply at home with a crying newborn? [12:57] - How I work deeply while taking care of a child full time? [17:54] - How do I manage a shared mailbox with my team? [23:14] DEEP LIFE QUESTIONS ...
Ep. 124: LISTENER CALLS: Preserving Depth in the Vast Shallows
August 26, 2021 11:00 - 42 minutes - 29.5 MBBelow are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. - Organizing notes on technical articles and books. [3:00] - Finding depth amidst a vast shallows. [8:35] - Should I get an MBA if it's free? [24:12] - Optimal counts of deep projects. [33:30] - The value habit. [36:37] Thanks to Jay Kerstens for the intro music and Mark Miles for mastering.
Ep. 123: What Is My Daily Routine?
August 23, 2021 11:00 - 55 minutes - 38.1 MBBelow are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP WORK QUESTIONS - Does deep work apply to everybody? [5:15] - Who watches your kids when you do deep work? [12:48] - How do I design a deeper work environment from scratch? [19:23] - What should I focus on as a postdoc? [23:39] - Do I (Cal) really not work in the evening? [28:12] DEEP LIFE QUESTIONS - How much deep leisure s...
Ep. 122: LISTENER CALLS: Figuring Out Your Values
August 19, 2021 11:00 - 44 minutes - 30.8 MBBelow are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. - Naturally disorganized people. [3:23] - Coping with highly reactionary schedules. [11:07] - Digital versus analog weekly plans. [16:32] - Summer reading (plus: my idea for a novel). [21:29] - Prioritizing friendly connections. [32:25] - Figuring out your values. [36:59] Thanks to Jay Kerstens for the intro music and...
Ep. 121: Is Writing Everyday Overrated? (with Srini Rao)
August 16, 2021 11:00 - 1 hour - 71.9 MBIn today's episode, I am joined in studio by my longtime podcasting friend Srini Rao, host of the incredible Unmistakable Creative podcast (https://unmistakablecreative.com/), on which I've been a guest many times. Srini helps me answer your questions on both deep work and the deep life. We also talk about his podcasting company recently raising a series A round of venture capital funding, and what it was like appearing on the Netflix reality show Indian Matchmaker. I apologize that I don'...
Ep. 120: LISTENER CALLS: Students' Diminishing Focus
August 12, 2021 11:00 - 33 minutes - 22.7 MBBelow are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. - Saving a software team from the hyperactive hive mind. [3:21] - Working from near home on a student budget [6:18] - Students' diminishing focus. [13:10] - Useful academic work. [24:15] - Deep work subverting deep leisure. [29:09] Thanks to Jay Kerstens for the intro music and Mark Miles for mastering.
Ep. 120: Students' Diminishing Focus
August 12, 2021 11:00 - 33 minutes - 22.7 MBBelow are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. - Saving a software team from the hyperactive hive mind. [3:21] - Working from near home on a student budget [6:18] - Students' diminishing focus. [13:10] - Useful academic work. [24:15] - Deep work subverting deep leisure. [29:09] Thanks to Jay Kerstens for the intro music and Mark Miles for mastering.
Ep. 119: Does Accomplishment Require Overload?
August 09, 2021 11:00 - 1 hour - 47.9 MBBelow are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP DIVE: Does Accomplishment Require Overload? [3:16] DEEP WORK QUESTIONS - How do you figure out what to get good at? [15:35] - Should I quit teaching to become a lifestyle coach? [23:24] - Why did I (Cal) become a computer scientist? [28;39] - How do I stop my firm from killing itself with email? [34:07] - As the multipurpose ...
Ep. 118: LISTENER CALLS: A Primer On My Planning Philosophy
August 05, 2021 11:00 - 55 minutes - 38.4 MBBelow are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. - Stopping excess emails from students. [8:39] - Finding ideas for books. [16:46] - The nuances of weekly planning. [19:58] - A primer on my value-driven planning philosophy. [29:46] - Deep work for politicians. [43:47] - Inefficient workflows. [49:53] Thanks to Jay Kerstens for the intro music and Mark Miles for mastering.