Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout
by Cal Newport
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25:19
Newport discusses slow productivity on his YouTube channel
148K
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Feb, 2022
Spoiler:
The author says the current pushback against accelerated productivity predates the pandemic but that the lockdown certainly magnified it. In the face of being exhausted by what he calls “chronic overload,” he suggests that we work at a natural pace, doing one thing at a time, and that we obsess over quality, not quantity. In addition, we should observe seasonal rhythms, perhaps doing less in winter, for example. Instead of worrying about how much we accomplish on a scale of days and weeks, we should focus on a scale of months and years.
121:38
Ryan Holiday sit-down with author about slow productivity
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Mar, 2024
Spoiler:
Cal Newport and Ryan Holiday discuss time scale and how to focus on the big picture instead of an hourly or daily schedule. Newport says that one of his book’s main concepts is to obsess over quality rather than quantity and to ask yourself what “moves the needle.” They emphasize that what does not move the needle are emails and meetings. Holiday and Newport compare notes on their writing processes, trying to draw the line between procrastination and slow productivity.
35:10
UK’s Virgin Radio hosts sit-down interview with author
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May, 2024
Spoiler:
Newport says that we have the erroneous idea that being busy will alchemize into results. Email caused more of our work to become talking about work, rather than actually accomplishing anything. Meetings became less efficient during the pandemic because a quick conversation that we may have had in the office hallway became a thirty-minute Zoom meeting. Mother Nature “wrote the script” with seasons and light and dark, meaning that we as a species are not meant to work eight hours a day year-long. We should take a clue from our ancestors and intersperse activity with rest.
Follow the author
Cal Newport, an MIT-trained computer science professor at Georgetown University, writes about technology, work, and achieving focus in a distracted world. He contributes to the New Yorker and hosts the Deep Questions podcast. He is the author of multiple non-fiction books and writes a blog called "Study Hacks" with the aim of helping readers achieve academic and career success.
Other books by Cal Newport
Publications
The New York Times: The Very Busy Writer Telling Everyone to Slow Down
Financial Times: Slow Productivity by Cal Newport — when less means more
Wall Street Journal: ‘Slow Productivity’ Review: Working Better, Not Busier
The Times: Slow Productivity by Cal Newport review — how to avoid burn out at work
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