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.
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Timestamps:
[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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