Navigating Chaos: Productivity and Cell Phone Bans

IQ scores had been steadily rising since WWII. But, more recently, this phenomenon has stopped.  Since 2010, we’ve actually been getting dumber. In this episode, Cal gets into the common theories for why this is true before offering his own take, which leads to some practical takeaways to help you thrive in an increasingly stupider world. He then answers listener questions and talks about something he read recently.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvo

Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia

Deep Dive: I Want Work-Life Balance. Am I Doomed to Mediocrity? [0:41]

• How can a west coast executive schedule deep work despite constant meetings with east coast colleagues? [37:14]
• Is it bad that I fill all of my quiet moments with media? [41:04]
• How can I focus on personal projects? [46:24]
• How should  a software engineer transition to consulting? [53:05]
• How should a former lawyer update her systems now that she’s a professor? [56:43]

CASE STUDY: A songwriter works deep and slow [1:06:43]

CALL: Getting out of the weeds [1:14:04]

WHAT I’M READING: Who is still against school cell phone bans? [1:23:28]

Links:

Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at calnewport.com/slow
Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/
Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289623000156
youtube.com/watch?v=u4jW8MOxIKY
rebeccaschiffman.com/beachvacation
rebeccaschiffman.bandcamp.com
nytimes.com/2025/03/21/nyregion/school-cell-phone-ban-nyc.html

Thanks to our Sponsors: 

expressvpn.com/deep
oracle.com/deepquestions
indeed.com/deep
vanta.com/deepquestions

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.