Down With Pseudo-Productivity: Why We Need to Transform the Way We Work

The last several years have seen the rise of a sort of anti-productivity movement. Knowledge workers who feel burned out and that work is pointless, meaningless, and grinding, have been talking more about opting out, “quiet quitting,” and doing nothing.

My guest would argue that, in fact, productivity itself isn’t the problem and that most people actually want to do good work. Instead, he says, it’s our whole approach to productivity that’s broken and needs to be transformed.

Cal Newport is a professor of computer science and the author of books like Deep Work and Digital Minimalism. His latest book is Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout. Today on the show, Cal explains what’s led to the rise of what he calls “pseudo-productivity” and the fallout when we apply the structures of the industrial revolution to modern work. He then unpacks the tenets and tactics of the “slow productivity” approach to work, and how to implement them whether you work for yourself or for a boss. We discuss why you need to do fewer things in the short-term to do more things in the long term, the artificiality of working at the same intensity every day and how to inject more seasonality in your work, the role quiet quitting can play in achieving greater balance, and many other ideas on how to make modern work more sustainable, humane, and fruitful.

Resources Related to the Podcast

• Cal‘s previous appearances on the AoM Podcast:
  • Episode #78: The Myth of Following Your Passion
  • Episode #168: The Value of Deep Work in the Age of Distraction
  • Episode #479: Becoming a Digital Minimalist
  • Episode #689: Email Is Making Us Miserable — Here’s What to Do About It
• AoM Article: A Counterintuitive Cure for Burnout
• AoM article on the importance of location in productivity 
• Ira Glass’ past comments on the gap between taste and quality and more recent comments on Michael Lewis’ podcast.

Connect With CalNewport

• Cal‘s website