Deep Questions with Cal Newport Cal Newport

One of the most important skills for cultivating a satisfying and high impact life is one we rarely discuss: the art of serious thinking. In this episode, Cal makes the case for serious thinking as an ability to specifically cultivate, then describes five specific practices you can put into place to launch a crash course in developing an effective life of the mind.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: https://bit.ly/3U3sTvo

Video from today’s episode:  https://youtube.com/calnewportmedia

Deep Dive: How to Think [4:07]

- Does reading count as Deep Work? [38:50]
- How do I make sense of the topics I think about? [41:48]
- How should I manage boredom in a job without hurting my ability to focus? [45:12]
- How can I provide quick answers to management if I’m a slow thinker? [50:40]
- CALL: How should I structure my Deep Holiday? [56:44]

CASE STUDY: A successful Digital Detox allowing one to think in peace. [59:55]

CAL REACTS: Does collaboration make us less creative? [1:07:29]

Thanks to our Sponsors:

https://www.shopify.com/deep
https://www.mintmobile.com/deep
https://www.cozyearth.com (promo code: CAL)
https://www.mybodytutor.com

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

We talk a lot on this show about remaining organized in a digital workplace that drowns us with incoming obligations. In this episode, Cal focuses on the key question of how you get *started* toward this goal. What do you do, in other words, on day one of your quest to find depth amidst the shallows. 
 
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: Getting organized in a distracted world [6:46] 
 
- How do I get more excited about my work plans? [45:55] 
- How do I get my classmates to get better about time management? [53:59] 
- How should I organize my deep work blocks? [1:00:13] 
- How do I account for contingencies in my quarterly plan? [1:05:11] 
- When does Cal find time to read? [1:05:50] 
- CALL: How to train Deep Focus muscles [1:11:06] 
 
CASE STUDY: Investing concentrated time [1:17:04] 
 
The 5 books Cal read in November 2023 [1:24:08] 
 
Thanks to our Sponsors: 
 
expressvpn.com/deep 
blinkist.com/deep 
hensonshaving.com/cal 
zocdoc.com/deep 
 
Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

One of the most common types of messages sent in from listeners of this podcast are self-recriminations about laziness. But what does “laziness” actually mean? In this episode, Cal takes a deeper look at the common terms and sees that it’s often used to describe two unrelated phenomena. He then gives a big idea for overcoming each. 
 
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: Overcoming laziness [4:00] 
 
- How should I track small projects? [39:39] 
- How do I find time to bodybuilder when I have a demanding job? [44:56] 
- How do I remain motivated to work after graduation?[53:12] 
- How do I make the shift from warehouse work to web development? [59:20] 
- How do I deal with decision fatigue? [1:03:18] 
- CALL: Implementing advice from pragmatic non-fiction books [1:07:53] 
 
CASE STUDY: Pursuing a life of depth [1:11:31] 
 
CAL REACTS: Algorithms act as conveyor belts [1:22:51] 
 
LINKS: 
 
jonathanhaidt.substack.com/p/algorithms-hijacked-my-generation 
 
Thanks to our Sponsors: 
 
rhone.com/cal 
moshlife.com/deep 
grammarly.com/podcast 
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at 
betterhlep.com/deepquestions 
 
Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

 How you accomplish important goals: The type that can transform your life in remarkable ways? In this episode, Cal breaks down the common mistakes we make in pursuing hard goals and then details the reverse goal setting strategy he has found to work much more consistently. 
 
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 
 
Today’s Deep Question: How do I follow through on transformative goals? [2:18] 
 
- How do I prepare for an upcoming change to my professional life? [42:26] 
- How do I schedule abundant free time? [49:43] 
- Should I feel guilty that I’m so efficient I barely work? [53:47] 
- How do I avoid doing too much? [1:00:27] 
- How do I time block work of unknown durations? [1:07:31] 
- CALL: Pursuing a career with two different paths [1:13:52] 
 
CAL REACTS: Joe Rogan and The Rock Talk Passion [1:21:35] 
 
Thanks to our Sponsors: 
 
shopify.com/deep 
hensonshaving.com/cal 
mybodytutor.com 
blinkist.com/deep 
 
Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

Based on extensive feedback from listeners and new research, Cal is ready to unveil his new and improved version of the Deep Life Stack, his foundational approach for transforming your life from shallow and distracted to deep and remarkable. 
 
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: The Deep Life Stack 2.0 [4:40] 
 
- Does prioritizing deep work grow your task list? [38:02] 
- Does deep work impede the development of soft skills? [41:04] 
- How do I shut down work without clean stopping points? [46:31] 
- CALL: Intrusive thoughts while doing deep work [52:29] 
- CALL: How does Cal organize his working memory.txt [57:49] 
 
CASE STUDY: Using slow productivity to build a house [1:00:30] 
 
CAL REACTS: Should you “burn the boats” to motivate ambitious action? [1:08:00] 
 
Links: 
 
amazon.com/Burn-Boats-Overboard-Unleash-Potential/dp/006308886X 
 
Thanks to our Sponsors: 
 
rhone.com/cal 
mintmobile.com/deep 
cozyearth.com 
ladderlife.com/deep 
 
Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

A viral video making the rounds recently argues that the key to promoting learning is to deliver education in apps that are equally addictive as social media. Cal takes a closer look at the brain science behind this claim and argues why it is fundamentally impossible to beat attention engineered apps at their own game. We shouldn’t, however, give up hope, as our brain has a completely unrelated motivation system, built on a behavior called episodic future thinking (EFT), that we can leverage to make deep activities like learning seem more rewarding than the short term distractions beckoning from our phones. Mastering the EFT system is indeed critical to cultivating a deep life. 
 
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: Can we make learning as addictive as social media? [2:33] 
 
- Can I be happy in a job that doesn’t require me to learn? [33:44] 
- How can I fight deep procrastination to learn better? [40:52] 
- How can I identify the school for my kid to learn better? [47:11] 
- How can I reflect on work concepts without feeling the urge to work? [51:48] 
- How does Ultralearning apply to Slow Productivity? [55:36] 
- CALL: Recommendations on learning [58:02] 
 
CASE STUDY: Designing a system to learn [1:00:50] 
 
The 5 books Cal read in October 2023 [1:10:14] 
 
Links: 
 
www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6FORpg0KVo 
youtu.be/wmdG-uZk6JY?si=2_S6Mer1VnBJE3Wv&t=120

sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2018/dopamine-smartphones-battle-time/ 
calnewport.com/the-father-of-deliberate-practice-disowns-flow/ 
ideas.ted.com/mental-time-travel-is-a-great-decision-making-tool-this-is-how-to-use-it/ 
 
 
Thanks to our Sponsors: 
 
zocdoc.com/deep 
hensonshaving.com/cal 
blinkist.com/deep 
expressvpn.com/deep 
 
Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.