Ep. 8: Fleeing a Collapsing Career, Taking Notes on Books, Building a Deep Life | DEEP QUESTIONS

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Jul 6, 2020

Explore the challenges of escaping a collapsing career while maintaining valuable skills. Discover effective methods for task configuration and deep work in productivity. Delve into selective social media usage and entrepreneurial tips for students. Learn about time management strategies like time blocking that balance work and personal life. Uncover a five-bucket framework for enhancing productivity and embracing a deep life, emphasizing solitude and analog hobbies for personal growth.

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ADVICE

Career Transition

If your career is collapsing, change jobs while preserving your valuable skills.
Identify transferable skills and find a new role that values them to hit the ground running.

insights

INSIGHT

Knowledge Work Revolution

Knowledge work lacks structured processes, hindering productivity and remote work success.
A new job category will emerge, focused on designing efficient workflows for knowledge work.

volunteer_activism

ADVICE

Task Configuration

Organize tasks by eliminating unnecessary ones, combining related tasks, and clarifying actions.
Assign statuses to tasks to structure your workload and add context.

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Mastering the Art of Task Configuration in Productivity

12:46 • 24min

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Social Media Insights and Entrepreneurial Advice

36:57 • 11min

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Mastering Time Management for a Balanced Life

47:29 • 2min

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Enhancing Productivity and Embracing a Deep Life

49:24 • 24min

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#20

• Mentioned in 226 episodes

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.

#10

• Mentioned in 312 episodes

Getting Things Done

David Allen

Getting Things Done (GTD) is a personal productivity system developed by David Allen. The book provides a detailed methodology for managing tasks, projects, and information, emphasizing the importance of capturing all tasks and ideas, clarifying their meaning, organizing them into actionable lists, reviewing the system regularly, and engaging in the tasks. The GTD method is designed to reduce stress and increase productivity by externalizing tasks and using a trusted system to manage them. The book is divided into three parts, covering the overview of the system, its implementation, and the deeper benefits of integrating GTD into one's work and life.

• Mentioned in 357 episodes

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.

#41

• Mentioned in 175 episodes

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.

#796

• Mentioned in 26 episodes

How to be a High School Superstar

a Revolutionary plan to get into college by standing out (without burning out)

Cal Newport

In this book, Cal Newport argues that high school students can achieve admission to top colleges without the typical heavy course loads and overwhelming activity schedules. He introduces the concept of the 'relaxed superstar,' students who lead uncluttered, low-stress, and authentic lives while focusing on a few meaningful activities. Newport provides practical advice on why doing less can be more impressive, why demonstrating passion is less important than being interesting, and why accomplishments that are hard to explain are better than those that are hard to do. The book is based on extensive interviews and cutting-edge science, offering step-by-step instructions for adopting the relaxed superstar lifestyle.

#16

• Mentioned in 247 episodes

Essentialism

The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

Greg McKeown

In 'Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less,' Greg McKeown argues that by applying a more selective criteria for what is essential, individuals can regain control of their time and energy. The book is divided into sections such as Explore, Eliminate, and Execute, providing practical advice on distinguishing the vital few from the trivial many and eliminating non-essential activities. McKeown emphasizes the importance of clarity of focus, the ability to say 'no,' and living 'by design, not by default. ' This approach helps readers achieve more by doing less and making the highest possible contribution in their personal and professional lives.

#186

• Mentioned in 69 episodes

How to Become a Straight-A Student

The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less

Cal Newport

In this book, Cal Newport shares insights and strategies gathered from interviews with high-achieving college students who maintain excellent grades without excessive studying. The book emphasizes the importance of effective time management, focused study sessions, and smart note-taking techniques. It introduces the 'Straight-A Method' which is based on four pillars: knowledge, control, strategy, and balance. Newport argues that by using these methods, students can avoid procrastination, optimize their study time, and achieve academic success while maintaining a balanced life.

In this episode of Deep Questions I answer reader questions on fleeing a collapsing career, taking notes on books, and building a deep life. I also play some question roulette and answer the audio question of the day.

To submit your own questions, sign up for my mailing list at calnewport.com (I send a survey to this list soliciting questions on a semi-regular basis.)

Full list of topics tackled in today’s episode:

* Fleeing a collapsing career.

* The coming knowledge work productivity revolution.

* Configuring your tasks.

* Amending Deep Work.

* Audio Question: Finding depth in a social office.

* Taking notes on books (plus: Kindle versus physical)

* News from social media.

* Thoughts on LinkedIn.

* Running a business as a student.

* Optimal amounts of solitude.

* Finding quality leisure.

* How to build a deep life.

Thanks to listener Jay Kerstens for the intro music.

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