Obsessing Over Quality

The core principle of slowing down and enhancing productivity is to obsess over quality. By prioritizing quality over quantity, one can focus on doing things really well rather than being busy with multiple projects. This approach allows for intense periods of work to pull something together, but it is incompatible with busyness. Obsessing over quality leads to autonomy in life choices and the ability to slow down even further. It serves as a glue that holds everything else together, enabling one to have a positive attitude towards work and avoid burnout by fulfilling the human drive to create while still having control over life and career.

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Episode notes

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.

Please enjoy!

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.