The prevalence of addictive and highly engaging content delivered through phones has led to a decrease in people's attention spans, making it challenging for them to consume long-form content due to their accustomed nature of swiftly switching between content. However, this impact is less pronounced in movie viewership as moviegoers have been predominantly self-selected, with dedicated movie enthusiasts enduring the pandemic to watch films in theaters. With the resurgence of diverse movies like Barbie and Oppenheimer attracting broader audiences, it becomes evident that not all films cater to short attention spans, unlike superhero movies, which are designed for continuous engagement with rapid sequences and numerous references. Movies like Barbie and Oppenheimer offer depth, requiring sustained focus and contemplation instead of a constant stream of entertainment, highlighting the necessity to embrace boredom for mental stimulation and to avoid developing a Pavlovian response to seek immediate digital distractions when faced with boredom.
In celebration of the newly released *second* edition of the Time Block Planner, Cal provides some additional expert tips for getting the most out of a time blocking discipline before answering listener questions on the general topic of time management. He closes by discussing the recent claim that phones are ruining peoples’ ability to watch movies.
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 can I double what I accomplish each week by better controlling my time? [16:54]
- How do I deal with the guilt of missing time blocks? [44:17]
- How does Cal reconcile slow productivity with the urgency of time blocking? [49:22]
- How do I block enough time to keep up with all the internet content I want to read? [52:40]
- How do I stick to my block schedule if no one is forcing me to? [1:02:11]
- How can Cal be both a computer science professor and yet still be so bad at technology? [1:07:00]
Something Interesting: Have Phones Ruined Movies? [1:15:45]
Links:
washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/08/05/barbenheimer-bad-movie-behavior/
Thanks to our Sponsors:
moshlife.com/deep
mintmobile.com/deep
expressvpn.com/deep
80000hours.org/deep
Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.