Ep. 312: Productivity Basics

Deep Questions with Cal Newport

It’s mid-summer, people have some extra breathing room in their schedule, they’re relaxed. This moment of quiet seems like a perfect time to revisit some of this show’s most popular ideas about finding productivity in a world drowning in digital distractions. In this episode, Cal reviews his five most effective productivity related ideas. He then answers reader questions and reviews the seven books he read in July 2024.

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

Deep Dive: Productivity Basics [2:55]

- How closely should I schedule my leisure activities? [46:32]

- How do I time block a day that lasts longer than 11 hours? [51:57]

- Can I save mental energy at work to be more alive outside of work? [58:59]

- How do I actually motivate myself to execute the work I planned? [1:04:38]

- Am I obsessing over the right things for promotion? [1:10:16]

- CALL: Dealing with AI driven calendars [1:16:29]

FINAL SEGMENT: The 7 Books Cal Read in July 2024 [1:26:11]

Links:

Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at calnewport.com/slow

Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport

Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?

Thanks to our Sponsors:

This show is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/deepquestions

zocdoc.com/deep

expressvpn.com/deep

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Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, Kieron Rees for the slow productivity music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

Capitole

1. Ep. 312: Productivity Basics (00:00:00)

2. Deep Dive: Productivity Basics (00:02:55)

3. How closely should I schedule my leisure activities? (00:46:32)

4. How do I time block a day that lasts longer than 11 hours? (00:51:57)

5. Can I save mental energy at work to be more alive outside of work? (00:58:59)

6. How do I actually motivate myself to execute the work I planned? (01:04:38)

7. Am I obsessing over the right things for promotion? (01:10:16)

8. CALL: Dealing with AI driven calendars (01:16:29)

9. FINAL SEGMENT: The 7 Books Cal Read in July, 2024 (01:26:11)