Cal Newport — The Eternal Pursuit of Craftsmanship, the Deep Life, Slow Productivity, and a 30-Day Digital Minimalism Challenge (#568)
Illustration via 99designs“If you’re going to live a deep life, the ultimate original commitment is, ‘I’m going to commit to discipline in the sense of things I am going to do on a regular basis, because they matter, even if I don’t feel like it.’ And that is the biggest binary zero-to-one flip that happens in crafting a life.”
— Cal Newport
Cal Newport (calnewport.com) is an associate professor of computer science at Georgetown University who previously earned his PhD from MIT. His scholarship focuses on the theory of distributed systems while his general-audience writing explores intersections of culture and technology.
Cal is the author of seven books, including, most recently, Deep Work, Digital Minimalism, and A World Without Email. He is also a contributing writer for The New Yorker and the host of the Deep Questions podcast.
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Listen onApple Podcasts[image error]Listen onSpotify[image error]Listen onOvercast#568: Cal Newport — The Eternal Pursuit of Craftsmanship, the Deep Life, Slow Productivity, and a 30-Day Digital Minimalism ChallengeThis episode is brought to you by Magic Spoon cereal! Magic Spoon is a low carb, high protein, and zero sugar cereal that tastes just like your favorite sugary cereal. Each serving has 13–14g of protein, 4g of net carbs, and 0g of sugar. It’s also gluten free, grain free, soy free, and keto friendly. And it’s delicious! It comes in your favorite, traditional cereal flavors like Cocoa, Frosted, Peanut Butter, and Blueberry.
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Do you want to hear an episode that explores mythology and moral frameworks? Listen to my conversation with Jordan Peterson in which we discussed the Nietzschean idea of morality as cowardice, ways to cultivate courage, gaining insight during adversarial conversations, finding meaning to make life’s suffering irrelevant, what someone committed to secularism might gain by studying the Bible, and much more.
#502: Jordan Peterson on Rules for Life, Psychedelics, The Bible, and Much MoreSELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODEConnect with Cal Newport: The Deep Questions Podcast A World Without Email: Find Focus and Transform the Way You Work Forever by Cal Newport | AmazonDeep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport | AmazonDigital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport | AmazonThe Steve Martin Method: A Master Comedian’s Advice for Becoming Famous | Study HacksComedians in Cars Getting Coffee | NetflixBorn Standing Up: A Comic’s Life by Steve Martin | AmazonSteve Martin | Charlie RoseSo Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love by Cal Newport | AmazonThe Dog That Didn’t Bark in the Night: Appellate Court of Connecticut Uses Sherlock Holmes to Solve Hearsay Mystery | EvidenceProf BlogResolve to Live a Deep Life | Study HacksThe Deep Life: Some Notes | Study HacksOn Productivity and the Deep Life | Study HacksWork and the Deep Life | Study HacksCultivating a Deep Life | Study HacksMore on Cultivating a Deep Life: Mindset | Study HacksHow to Win at College: Surprising Secrets for Success from the Country’s Top Students by Cal Newport | AmazonHow to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less by Cal Newport | AmazonHow to Be a High School Superstar: A Revolutionary Plan to Get into College by Standing Out (Without Burning Out) by Cal Newport | AmazonFrom CEOs to Opera Singers – How to Harness the “Superstar Effect” by Cal Newport | Tim Ferriss’ BlogGetting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen | AmazonThe 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey | AmazonBel Canto by Ann Patchett | AmazonGenius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman by James Gleick | Amazon“Deep Work” Pioneer Cal Newport On Deep Writing | Writing Routines“Write Every Day” is Bad Advice: Hacking the Psychology of Big Projects | Study HacksNational Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)The Dartmouth Jack-o-LanternThe Harvard LampoonDraft No. 4: On the Writing Process by John McPhee | AmazonThe Princeton TigerThe Eating Clubs of Princeton UniversityAmerica’s Finest News Source | The OnionA Totally Random Evening With Dave Barry | DiscogsLessons From Lucy: The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog by Dave Barry | AmazonEveryday Parenting Tips by Simon Rich | The New YorkerA Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson | AmazonThe Scientists: A History of Science Told Through the Lives of Its Greatest Inventors by John Gribbin | AmazonOn Slow Productivity and the Anti-Busyness Revolution | Study HacksIt’s Time to Embrace Slow Productivity by Cal Newport | The New YorkerWhy Do We Work Too Much? by Cal Newport | The New YorkerOn Pace and Productivity | Study HacksThe Principia: The Authoritative Translation and Guide: Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy by Sir Isaac Newton | AmazonWhy I Am a Bad Correspondent | Neal StephensonSnow Crash by Neal Stephenson | AmazonSeveneves by Neal Stephenson | AmazonCryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson | AmazonCal Newport on Why We’ll Look Back at Our Smartphones Like Cigarettes | GQSharpen the Saw: Exploring Covey’s Final Habit | Art of ManlinessCal Newport’s Personal Framework | Anna HavronOn Rooted Productivity | Study HacksThe Matrix | Prime VideoDeep Habits: Plan Your Week in Advance | Study HacksSolutions Beyond the Screen: The Adventure Work Method for Producing Creative Insights | Study HacksNational Mall | Washington DCUnited States Botanic GardenNational Gallery of ArtPatuxent | US Fish and Wildlife ServiceRachel Carson Conservation Park Trails | Montgomery ParksUni-Ball 0.5mm Micro Point Roller Pens | AmazonScrivener | Literature & LatteRevisiting “The 4-Hour Workweek” by Cal Newport | The New YorkerProjects vs. Tasks: A Critical Distinction in Productive Scheduling | Study HacksIt’s a Way of Working Together | TrelloManage Your Team’s Work, Projects, & Tasks Online | AsanaThe Productivity Funnel | Study HacksHow to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell | AmazonDo Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving by Celeste Headlee | AmazonCan’t Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation by Anne Helen Petersen | AmazonLaziness Does Not Exist by Devon Price | AmazonFour Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman | AmazonHumanism | WikipediaWhat is Socrates’ Dialectic Method? | QuoraWhat is Apologetics? | Grace Theological Seminary – Christian ApologeticsSuccession | HBOAll Things Shining: Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age by Hubert Dreyfus and Sean Dorrance Kelly | AmazonCarl Jung: Understanding the Collective Unconscious | Verywell MindMoby Dick by Herman Melville | AmazonThe Odyssey by Homer | AmazonYabusame with Tim Ferriss | VimeoYoung Japan Priests Try to Breathe Life into Fading Buddhism | AP NewsEpistemology | Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyThe Case for God by Karen Armstrong | AmazonStoicism Resources and Recommendations | Tim FerrissIt’s Easier To Act Your Way Into a New Way of Thinking Than To Think Your Way Into a New Way of Acting | Quote Investigator10 Surprising Similarities Between Islam and Judaism | FTD FactsCal Newport Tips: How to Become a Digital Minimalist | Refinery29How Cal Newport’s Digital Declutter Changed My Life | The Post-Grad Survival GuideLow Information Diet: Tim Ferriss’ Productivity Hack | The Life Formula5 Practices to Put in Place from Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport | Nina SemczukDrastically Reduce Stress with a Work Shutdown Ritual | Study HacksWork Less to Work Better: My Experiments with Shutdown Routines | Study HacksHow to Close Out Your Work Day Like Cal Newport | The Post-Grad Survival GuideWorkday Shutdown Rituals: 7 Great Ways to End the Day | Timely BlogSHOW NOTESNote from the editor: Timestamps will be added shortly.
The one lesson from comedian, actor, author, and mean banjoist Steve Martin that hit Cal “like a lightning bolt.”What does it mean to be living “the deep life?”The story of Cal’s Study Hacks blog, why he needed to write his first three books, the unique way he went about securing his first book deal as an unproven 20-year-old, and how he signed with the agent who’s been with him for the past 20 years.What was Cal’s focus in high school and college?How did Cal consciously set out to sharpen his writing skills in college, and what part have humor and mathematics played in their evolution?What advice does Cal have for someone who wants to hone their funny bone for humor writing?Fresh thoughts on slow productivity.There’s no way to know if someone like Isaac Newton would have achieved greatness had he lived in the present day — when slow productivity isn’t the social default. But are there any contemporary examples of people who have mastered slow productivity in spite of 21st-century distractions?These days, Cal is well-known for eschewing the temptations of social media. But why did he initially refuse to sign up for Facebook when it was the shiny new thing everyone was talking about?Documents and disciplines Cal and I find instrumental in crafting the lives we desire.How Cal integrates seasonality into his routine for ample periods of downtime, where he roams to recharge and reset, and his pen of choice for taking notes both literary and mathematical.Why Cal and I are big fans of Scrivener software for writing.How Cal uses Trello to organize tasks under the different hats he wears throughout the day.Books in the “anti-productivity” category Cal thinks might be worth your while.Who was John Newport?Who Paul Tillich was, an explanation of the confusing term “Christian apologist,” and understanding why Cal describes himself as a concentration apologist.How does Cal focus on contemplation and matters of the soul? Why does he believe someone who’s quick to dismiss a philosophy or religion without trying to understand its most basic foundation does themselves a disservice? What are his thoughts on the takes Sam Harris and Jordan Peterson have on moral frameworks, and what need is satisfied by such contemplations?Considering the spiritual as an exercise of meticulous craft and creation, and understanding that some materials serve the purpose better than others.With so many options from which to choose, how might someone who has had either bad experiences with religion, no experience with religion, or no interest in religion explore spirituality? Are we programmed to seek out religion?Can you make it through Cal’s 30-day digital minimalism declutter? Here’s how to set the rules that are right for you and give it a whirl.What shutdown ritual does Cal use at the end of his workday?Parting thoughts.MORE GUEST QUOTES FROM THE INTERVIEW“The weirdest thing about me, as far as anyone is concerned, is that I’ve never had a social media account, and it turns out it’s allowed. Today, everyone understands it, but until a minute ago, people thought I was literally insane.”
— Cal Newport
“We tell ourselves that we’re stuck in this way of existence. We’re not really stuck. We have a lot of options.”
— Cal Newport
“If you’re going to live a deep life, the ultimate original commitment is, ‘I’m going to commit to discipline in the sense of things I am going to do on a regular basis, because they matter, even if I don’t feel like it.’ And that is the biggest binary zero-to-one flip that happens in crafting a life.”
— Cal Newport
“For me, a day off is a day where I have full autonomy over what I do. The blank calendar day, to me, is one of the more glorious sights.”
— Cal Newport
“We’re using these things all the time because it’s more palatable to be active and busy all the time than sometimes to face what’s hard about what’s going on in our lives or the world.”
— Cal Newport
“Don’t be afraid of ideas or worldviews or approaches or philosophies that seem different than what you believe in. You’re not going to get tricked out of your convictions or believe in something that’s false. You actually strengthen your understanding of the world and therefore strengthen your own convictions by encountering other ideas that are well-formed.”
— Cal Newport
“We’re good as humans to committing to things that are positive. That’s very motivating for us. We’re bad at trying to avoid things that are negative.”
— Cal Newport
“Schedule shut down, complete.”
— Cal Newport
