The One You Feed Slow Productivity: How to Do Less, Focus More, and Not Burn Out with Cal Newport
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Sep 9, 2025 
Cal Newport, a computer science professor and author known for his insights on deep work and digital minimalism, dives into the concept of slow productivity. He critiques our obsession with busyness and advocates for doing less while increasing focus and output quality. The conversation touches on the technological distractions affecting our work, the importance of meaningful engagement over shallow activities, and practical strategies for balancing ambition with practicality to achieve sustainable success without burnout.
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Work At A Natural Pace
- Work at a natural pace and accept longer realistic timelines rather than rushing.
- Vary intensity across seasons so you recharge and sustain output without burning out.
Trade Quantity For Quality
- Obsess over the quality of your best work to earn flexibility and escape pseudo-productivity.
- High-quality output buys credibility and the freedom to work differently.
Make Work Visible And Prioritized
- Make your current workload explicit by listing all commitments and ranking active items.
- Publicize a prioritized active list so requests must displace known items instead of adding hidden overhead.
