Deep Questions with Cal Newport Cal Newport

Do we need to move to a ranch in the middle of nowhere to take control of our technology habits? Cal argues that these types of extreme examples are counter-productive, making it seem like real changes are close to impossible. He offers instead an alternative approach based on zero-based budgeting your technological 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 
 
Today’s Deep Question: What does it really take to cure your smartphone addiction? [3:33] 
 
- How can I build an audience without being consumed by social media? [31:20] 
- If my kid uses an iPad for school, will he become cursed with digital distraction? [40:33] 
- Does the digital minimalist community approve of Goodreads and Letterboxd? [48:52] 
- I’m 30 years old and lost. How can I get my life back on track? [53:43] 
- How can I stay on top of current events without scrolling social media? [1:02:11] 
 
Closing Discussion: Is the Friendship Recession Real? What can you do to escape it? (w/ Jamie Kilstein) [1:08:38] 

 Links:

https://www.thefp.com/p/why-i-traded-my-smartphone-for-an-ax
https://midland-school.org

Thanks to our Sponsors: 
 
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Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

In this episode, Cal visits eight of the most influential books in personal productivity, identifying for each a single idea that ended up most resonating both with his own work and the culture more generally. 
 
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: What productivity ideas from other authors are the most worth paying attention to? [4:54] 
 
- How do I time-block for the unanticipated “a-ha!” moment of insight? [40:23] 
- Is my life as a surgeon dooming me to a reactive life? [45:19] 
- Is it possible to read too many productivity books? [52:10] 
- Is the Deep Life influenced by The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People? [58:55] 
- Am I a disciplined worker if I only respond to deadlines? [1:01:09] 
 
The 5 Books Cal Read in August 2023 [1:09:31] 
 
Thanks to our Sponsors: 
 
cozyearth.com 
hensonshaving.com/deep 
mintmobile.com/deep 
moshlife.com/deep 
 
Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

Change is unavoidable. You can either fear it or learn to master it. In this interview episode, Cal talks with longtime friend of the show, Brad Stulberg, about his new book, “Master of Change.” 
 
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 
 
INTERVIEW: How to Master Change (with Brad Stulberg) [3:55] 
 
Links: 
 
bradstulberg.com/ 
 
Thanks to our Sponsors: 
 
blinkist.com/deep 
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expressvpn.com/deep 
zocdoc.com/deep 
 
Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

Too many people believe that the New Year is the right time to undertake major improvements to your life. In this episode, Cal argues that it is instead right now, at the beginning of fall, that is the best time to turn over a new page. He lays out a detailed 4-month journey through the deep stack that will have you done with a major overhaul by the time everyone else is just getting started early next year. 
 
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 can I reinvent my life in 4 months? [6:30] 
 
- How can I ease into Cal's more advanced time management strategies? [44:06] 
- Can unstructured work be a part of the deep life? [47:42] 
- How can I stop changing my mind about what I want to do with my life? [51:50] 
- Can I pursue the deep life if I need a job? [59:33] 
- How do you pursue the deep life with depression? [1:03:58] 
 
Cover Reveal for Slow Productivity [1:13:20] 
 
Thanks to our Sponsors: 
 
mybodytutor.com 
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Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

When it comes to generating fantastic ideas – the type that can make your career – you don’t have to passively wait for inspiration to strike. You can, instead, *hack* the creative process to increase the odds of coming up with something great. In this episode, Cal explores one of the more powerful forms of “creativity hacking”: making use of strange locations.


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: Why do you work better in strange locations? [3:31]


- Does Cal read online articles? [34:35]
- Is fitness tracking on my Apple Watch an excuse to stay distracted? [40:09]
- Which is better for original thinking: the city or the country? [43:05]
- How do I organize the pursuit of deep ideas? [47:19]
- Does reading books from unrelated genres help idea generation? [51:57]




CAL REACTS: Over stimulation is ruining your life! [59:11]


Links:


blog.computationalcomplexity.org/2020/02/pre-publish-and-perish.html


calnewport.com/on-using-inspiring-locations-to-inspire-deeper-work/


youtube.com/watch?v=yYWvUoN4yt8


Thanks to our Sponsors:


This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/deepquestions and get on your way to being your best self
hensonshaving.com/cal
blinkist.com/deep
ladderlife.com/deep


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

In celebration of the newly released *second* edition of the Time Block Planner, Cal provides some additional expert tips for getting the most out of a time blocking discipline before answering listener questions on the general topic of time management. He closes by discussing the recent claim that phones are ruining peoples’ ability to watch movies. 
 
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 can I double what I accomplish each week by better controlling my time? [16:54] 
 
- How do I deal with the guilt of missing time blocks? [44:17] 
- How does Cal reconcile slow productivity with the urgency of time blocking? [49:22] 
- How do I block enough time to keep up with all the internet content I want to read? [52:40] 
- How do I stick to my block schedule if no one is forcing me to? [1:02:11] 
- How can Cal be both a computer science professor and yet still be so bad at technology? [1:07:00] 
 
Something Interesting: Have Phones Ruined Movies? [1:15:45] 
 
Links: 
 
washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/08/05/barbenheimer-bad-movie-behavior/ 
 
Thanks to our Sponsors: 
 
moshlife.com/deep 
mintmobile.com/deep 
expressvpn.com/deep 
80000hours.org/deep 
 
Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.