Cal Newport's Communication Protocols (Office Hours, Docket Clearing, etc.)

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Email is for announcing information, urgent questions that require a single reply, and delivering files. Anything that requires back and forth interaction should be done synchronously in real time during office hours, which can be in person, on the phone, on Zoom, or on Slack. For interactions involving multiple people, regularly scheduled docket clearing meetings should be held with a shared document to discuss and tackle items. If all else fails, a custom scheduled meeting can be arranged using an automated process. Shared documents and folders should be heavily used for collecting information accessed by multiple people, while email should not be used as a knowledge management system. These protocols reduce the need for unscheduled Slack or multiple back and forths over email, making meetings more reasonable and efficient.

Few professional experiences feel worse than overload. But what really causes this unfortunate state? In this episode, Cal takes a closer look at overload, identifying its main culprits, identifying solutions, and helping listeners with their specific overload-related questions.

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

Today’s Deep Question: How does overload actually operate? [3:54]

- Does Cal use an executive assistant? [26:15]

- How do I write an effective communication policy for my team? [36:35]

- Does overhead compound exponentially? [42:50]

- How rare are high expectation/low overhead jobs? [48:05]

- My job has few shallow obligations. What should I do with my free time? [51:41]

Something Interesting: The future of social media is less social [59:39]

Links:

wsj.com/articles/workers-say-its-harder-to-get-things-done-now-heres-why-2a5f1389

nytimes.com/2023/04/19/technology/personaltech/tiktok-twitter-facebook-social.html