Deep Questions with Cal Newport Ep. 167: What Do We Look Like? (Videos Are Now Live!)
Explore the exciting shift to video content, enhancing audience engagement and storytelling. Discover sustainable productivity strategies to avoid burnout and manage workloads effectively. Learn about post-lunch rituals to boost focus and how to maximize your breaks without falling into mindless scrolling. Delve into the Zettelkasten method and its benefits for organized note-taking. Plus, insights on maintaining focus amidst distractions and social pressures during work.
01:04:46
Shutdown Ritual
- Use a shutdown ritual to alleviate post-work anxiety and the feeling of forgetting tasks.
- Couple the ritual with a psychological addendum: "I did the shutdown routine, so I don't need to think about this now."
Post-Lunch Productivity
- Establish a post-lunch ritual to transition back into work mode.
- Avoid email and Slack immediately after lunch, focusing on a pre-determined task instead.
Zettelkasten Experiment
- Cal Newport is experimenting with Zettelkasten but doesn't believe it automates writing.
- He appreciates its flexibility for storing and connecting ideas, using Rome as his digital tool.
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Intro
00:00 • 2min
Introducing Video Content and a New Viewing Experience
02:21 • 11min
Balancing Workload for Sustainable Productivity
13:35 • 21min
Post-Lunch Productivity Strategies
34:46 • 5min
Maximizing Lunch Breaks and Productivity
39:19 • 25min
The Power of Habit
Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
Charles Duhigg
In this book, Charles Duhigg explores the science of habit formation and change.
He explains the 'habit loop' consisting of a cue, a routine, and a reward, and how understanding this loop can help in changing bad habits or forming good ones.
The book includes numerous examples from various fields, such as how Procter & Gamble successfully marketed Febreze, how Alcoa transformed its business by focusing on safety, and how individuals like Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps and civil-rights hero Martin Luther King, Jr. benefited from specific habits.
Duhigg argues that by harnessing this science, individuals and organizations can transform their lives and businesses.
The Black Church
This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
In 'The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song', Henry Louis Gates Jr. provides a rich and expansive account of the Black Church's history, from its roots in the transatlantic slave trade to its contemporary influence on American culture and politics.
The book highlights the church's role as a sanctuary, a site of resistance against slavery and white supremacy, and a catalyst for social change, including the Civil Rights Movement and Black Lives Matter.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
Mark Manson
In this book, Mark Manson argues against the typical self-help advice of constant positivity, instead suggesting that life's struggles give it meaning.
He emphasizes the need to focus on what truly matters and to accept and confront painful truths.
The book is divided into nine chapters and uses blunt honesty and profanity to illustrate its ideas, encouraging readers to find meaning through values they can control and to replace uncontrollable values with more meaningful ones.
So Good They Can't Ignore You
Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love
Cal Newport
In this book, Cal Newport challenges the conventional wisdom that following one's passion is the key to career happiness.
Instead, he argues that passion often follows mastery and that developing valuable skills and expertise is essential for creating work you love.
Newport presents four rules: Don't follow your passion, Be so good they can't ignore you, Turn down a promotion, and Think small, act big.
He supports his arguments with case studies from various professionals who have found satisfaction in their careers through hard work and skill development.
Deep Work
Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
Cal Newport
In 'Deep Work', Cal Newport argues that the ability to perform deep work—professional activities in a state of distraction-free concentration—is becoming increasingly valuable in our economy.
The book is divided into two parts: the first part explains why deep work is valuable, rare, and meaningful, while the second part presents four rules to transform your mind and habits to support this skill.
These rules include 'Work Deeply', 'Embrace Boredom', 'Quit Social Media', and 'Drain the Shallows'.
Newport provides actionable advice and examples from various successful individuals to help readers master the skill of deep work and achieve groundbreaking results.
Atomic Habits
James Clear
Atomic Habits by James Clear provides a practical and scientifically-backed guide to forming good habits and breaking bad ones.
The book introduces the Four Laws of Behavior Change: make it obvious, make it attractive, make it easy, and make it satisfying.
It also emphasizes the importance of small, incremental changes (atomic habits) that compound over time to produce significant results.
Clear discusses techniques such as habit stacking, optimizing the environment to support desired habits, and focusing on continuous improvement rather than goal fixation.
The book is filled with actionable strategies, real-life examples, and stories from various fields, making it a valuable resource for anyone seeking to improve their habits and achieve personal growth.
How to Take Smart Notes
One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking – for Students, Academics and Nonfiction Book Writers
Sönke Ahrens
This book introduces the Zettelkasten method, a note-taking system developed by Niklas Luhmann.
It emphasizes the importance of creating a reliable and simple external structure to compensate for the limitations of our brains.
Ahrens explains how to organize notes in a way that fosters deep thinking, learning, and writing.
The method involves taking atomic notes, linking ideas, and using a slip-box to store and connect these notes.
This approach helps in developing a lifelong pool of rich and interconnected ideas, enhancing productivity, and improving critical thinking and writing skills.
Thinking, Fast and Slow
Daniel Kahneman
In this book, Daniel Kahneman takes readers on a tour of the mind, explaining how the two systems of thought shape our judgments and decisions.
System 1 is fast, automatic, and emotional, while System 2 is slower, effortful, and logical.
Kahneman discusses the impact of cognitive biases, the difficulties of predicting future happiness, and the effects of overconfidence on corporate strategies.
He offers practical insights into how to guard against mental glitches and how to benefit from slow thinking in both personal and business life.
The book also explores the distinction between the 'experiencing self' and the 'remembering self' and their roles in our perception of happiness.
A World Without Email
Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload
Cal Newport
In 'A World Without Email', Cal Newport argues that the constant digital communication, which he terms the 'hyperactive hive mind', has become a productivity disaster.
He contends that this workflow, driven by email and other messaging tools, reduces profitability, slows economic growth, and makes workers miserable.
Newport proposes a workplace where clear processes, not haphazard messaging, define task management.
He advocates for each person working on fewer tasks but doing them better, with significant investment in support to reduce administrative burdens.
The book lays out principles and concrete instructions for streamlining important communication and reducing the central role of inboxes and chat channels in the workplace.
Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast.
ANNOUNCEMENT: Videos of the podcast are now live! (You can find then here: https://tinyurl.com/b2rkctfj
DEEP WORK QUESTIONS:
- How do I decide how much work is enough? [13:35]
- How do I eliminate post-shutdown anxiety? [28:15]
- How do I get back to work effectively after a lunch break? [37:43]
- Why don’t you (Cal) use Zettelkasten? [40:09]
- How do I limit activities that aren’t important for my long-term success a new job? [46:20]
DEEP LIFE QUESTIONS:
- How do you (Cal) stay focused on campus when surrounded by “woke-ness”? [52:44]
- How do you (Cal) keep sane as a published author? [58:31]
- How do you “count” time that is between deep work and deep leisure? [1:02:24]
Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.