This book, aligned with Cal Newport's philosophy of the 'deep life,' emphasizes the importance of focusing with energetic intention on things that really matter. It divides life into four key categories: **craft** (work and quality leisure), **community** (family and friends), **constitution** (health), and **contemplation** (matters of the soul). The book provides practical strategies for systematically increasing the depth in one's life, such as creating monthly plans to amplify meaningful activities and reduce distractions. It also stresses the importance of mindset, time structuring, and embracing downtime to maintain a balance and prevent burnout[3][5].
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.
In this picture book, a little blue truck drives through the countryside, greeting various farm animals. When a big dump truck gets stuck in the mud, the little blue truck tries to help but also gets stuck. The farm animals then come together to rescue both trucks, demonstrating the power of teamwork and the importance of helping others. The story is enhanced by Jill McElmurry's vibrant illustrations and Alice Schertle's rhythmic text.
Do you struggle to consistently make progress on hard things that are important to you? In today’s episode, Cal describes a way to improve this state of affairs: a systematic training regime called the discipline ladder. He then answers listener questions about their own struggles with discipline and reacts to an article claiming that professors are lazy (gasp!).
Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvo
Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia
Deep Dive: The Discipline Ladder [4:29]
- How can I overcome procrastination? [24:42]
- How can I make my daily metrics more personal? [27:16]
- How can I get my discipline back on track after a negative event? [32:47]
- How can I be more disciplined to find time for my part-time project? [39:50]
- How can my organization adopt slow productivity principles? [43:49]
- CALL: Process centered emails [50:41]
CASE STUDY: Leveraging Career Capital [58:02]
CAL REACTS: Are Professor’s Lazy? [1:07:19]
Links:
Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at calnewport.com/slow
Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/
Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?
city-journal.org/article/professor-mia
newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-inquiry/what-kind-of-writer-is-chatgpt
Thanks to our Sponsors:
mybodytutor.com
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Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, Kieron Rees for the slow productivity music, and Mark Miles for mastering.
Deep Questions with Cal Newport 
