The History of Octavian Caesar Augustus

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Julian Zelizer: Whatever your take on Caesar Augustus, you've got to give him this. He managed all of this not only by being clever, ruthless and politically savvy, but by following a modest yet powerful Roman principle,. Festina linte, which is often translated, make haste slowly. The Romans were really into it. It was minted on coins. Cosmo de Medici also illustrated this with a turtle sporting a sail on top of its shell. A famous publisher in the Renaissance period had the imprint a dolphin on an anchor. So it's a very powerful, very popular phrase captured in imagery.

One of the most popular (and widely forgotten) slogans of the ancient world was Festina Lente, or, “Make Haste Slowly.” In this episode, Cal looks deeper at what this phrase meant, and in doing so uncovers an ancient version of slow productivity.

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

Today’s Deep Question: What can Octavian Caesar Augustus teach us about productivity? [5:37]

- How can I help my team move fast to slow productivity? [26:12]

- How do I figure out how long to spend on a task? [33:08]

- What’s up with Cal’s podcast album art? [38:14]

- Why is my partner so slow? [40:49]

- How does Cal’s Remarkable tablet change his working memory.txt habit? [46:23]

CASE STUDY: Not allowing work to dominate your life [53:28]

The 5 Book Cal Read in July 2023 [1:03:21]

Links:

bigthink.com/the-learning-curve/festina-lente/