Cal Newport is a professor of computer science at Georgetown University, where he is also a founding member of the Center for Digital Ethics. His books have sold millions of copies and been translated into over forty languages. He is also a contributor to The New Yorker and hosts the popular Deep Questions podcast. His new book is Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout.

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Timestamps for this episode are available below. Resources from this episode: https://tim.blog/2024/02/21/cal-newport-slow-productivity/

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Timestamps:

[00:00] Start

[06:14] Unforced Errors: The Internet Story.

[09:41] Techno-selectionism.

[18:06] Why YouTube and podcasts aren’t ideal bedfellows.

[23:03] Amish technology and Steve Martin.

[28:07] What prompted Cal to write Slow Productivity?

[31:35] Becoming a better writer through blogging.

[36:54] The benefits of obsessing over quality.

[40:54] How did Cal decide to identify himself as a writer?

[52:02] People who exemplify slow productivity.

[58:45] Trade-offs on the path to 21st-century slow productivity.

[1:03:16] Push systems vs. pull systems.

[1:04:34] Quota systems.

[1:06:08] Why slow productivity isn’t a zero-sum game.

[1:09:33] Language that clarifies.

[1:13:17] Sender filters.

[1:16:20] What people might miss about Slow Productivity‘s message.

[1:21:24] How Cal defines productivity.

[1:25:36] Derek Sivers and money as a neutral indicator of value.

[1:28:34] Contemporary slow productivity champions.

[1:33:18] Asynchronous vs. real-time conversations.

[1:35:51] Making group scheduling less hellish.

[1:40:13] Cal’s problem with Frederick Winslow Taylor.

[1:42:01] How The New Yorker maintains its old-timey charm where other publications fail.

[1:49:05] Cal’s dream publications.

[1:51:07] Mental models for cultivating a slow productivity mindset.

[1:56:27] The consequences of playing the algorithm game.

[2:03:14] The renewed viability of newsletters.

[2:08:03] Parting thoughts.

*

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Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more.

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