How to Be Awesome at Your Job

950: Cal Newport: Slowing Down to Boost Productivity and Ease Stress

Apr 4, 2024

Cal Newport, a productivity expert and professor, discusses achieving more by doing less, shifting from activity-based to outcome-based productivity measurement, prioritizing key projects, the power of focus in knowledge work, defining productivity terms, and emphasizing quality work over busyness for long-term productivity.

48:54

Episode guests

Cal Newport

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Quick takeaways

Focus on quality accomplishments in knowledge work over visible activity for long-term success.

Doing fewer tasks and commitments can lead to higher productivity and impactful outcomes.

Incorporating seasonality and downtime into workload can optimize sustainable productivity and performance.

Deep dives

Quality Accomplishment Over Time

Prioritizing quality accomplishments over visible activity at the moment is crucial in knowledge work. Rather than focusing on being constantly busy, the key lies in producing valuable work over time. By committing to fewer tasks but completing them effectively, individuals can achieve more while maintaining sustainable productivity.

Effective Decision-making with a Journal

01:35

Productivity vs. Obfuscation in Work Environments

01:20

Embrace Variations and Breathing Room in Your Workload

01:19

Introduction

3min

Maximizing Productivity Through Focused Work

22min

Prioritizing Key Projects and Implementing Constraints

8min

The Power of Focus and Quality in Knowledge Work

7min

Exploring Definitions of Productivity and Focusing on Craft Excellence

5min

Enhancing Writing Experience and Emphasizing Quality Work Over Busyness

2min

Focusing on Quality Accomplishments for Long-Term Productivity

3min

Cal Newport shows how to achieve more by doing less.

— YOU’LL LEARN —

1) Why we’re measuring productivity all wrong

2) The surprising math showing how doing less means achieving more

3) The trick to eliminating tasks that don’t serve you

Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep950 for clickable versions of the links below.

— ABOUT CAL —

Cal Newport is a professor of computer science at Georgetown University and a founding member of the Center for Digital Ethics. In addition to his academic work, Newport is a New York Times bestselling author who writes for a general audience about the intersection of technology, productivity, and culture. He is also a contributor to The New Yorker and hosts the popular Deep Questions podcast.

• Book: Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

• Book: Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout

• Book: So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love

— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW —

• Book: Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life by Steve Martin

• Book: Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy

• Book: Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

• Book: Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen

• Book: Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein

• Book: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen Covey

• Book: The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth About Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan

• Book: The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel