002: Eliminate Email with Cal Newport

“Stab the Hydra in the heart.” Cal Newport is not pulling any punches with his latest treatise on how we can combat Hyperactive Hive Mind with smarter systems for communication. Email has become a constant source of guilt and stress for so many of us — listen in for strategies to reclaim your peace and focus.

About Cal Newport: Cal Newport is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University. He is the author of six books, including Deep Work, which argues that focus is the new I.Q. in the modern workplace. His latest, A World Without Email: Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload, is in many ways his magnum opus on the topic of technology and the workplace. Be sure to also check out his podcast, Deep Questions.

Key questions:

How can you approach email as a process observer (and architect), not a do-er?
What people or workflows can you put in place to eliminate email?
Where are you still reacting to the Hyperactive Hive Mind? What experiment can you run this week?

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📘 Books Mentioned: Pivot, A World Without Email, Digital Minimalism, Deep Work, So Good They Can’t Ignore You

🔗 Links Mentioned: Cal on the web...and he’s not on Twitter! Or Facebook.

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