Deep Questions with Cal Newport

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP WORK QUESTIONS  - How do virtual office hours work with multiple participants? [4:26]  - Is time spent in front of a computer screen bad (bonus rant: we work too much!)? [8:18]  - How do I remember goals when I'm in danger of distraction?...

Below are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. RANT FOLLOW-UP: A doctor's perspective on kids and smartphones. [0:35]GUEST CHAT: Scott Young stops by to talk about our new online course. [5:00]LISTENER CALLS: - Returning to regular deep work after the pandemic. [22:06] - Decidin...

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP DIVE: Is the Desire to Produce Negative? [5:14]DEEP WORK QUESTIONS - What are the most popular workflows used to escape excessive email? [17:07] - How do I read academic papers effectively? [27:40] - How much studying is enough for a coll...

OPENING RANT: Facebook Knows It's Hurting Teenagers [3:22]LISTENER CALLS: - Interfacing with the hive mind. [17:45] - The relationship between tasks and daily plans. [24:58] - My weekly planning ritual. [31:04] - Discovering books. [39:42] - How I manage my non-work tasks. [46:25] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. ANNOUNCEMENT: I'm hiring! [0:20]DEEP DIVE: The Elements of the Deep Life [3:51]DEEP WORK QUESTIONS - How should I get started in a new remote work job? [16:56] - How I time block a purely reactive job? [21:56] - Should I bother capturing tasks...

Below are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast.- Balancing availability and depth as a leader. [5:12]- Being available to students without being overwhelmed. [12:08]- Rapid fire questions (each answer under 1 minute). [18:18]     -- Working eight hours in a row.     -- Quarterly...

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP DIVE: Is Organization the Opiate of the Knowledge Work Masses? [1:02]DEEP WORK QUESTIONS - How do I choose skills to work deeply on? [15:18] - What if I don't know what I want to do with my career or life? [20:11] - How do I stop my stude...

Below are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. OPENING: My new reading habit [6:53]LISTENER CALLS: - Retaining information from books. [11:16] - The value of an agile personal productivity system. [18:33] - An impractical vision for a highly productive building. [26:16] - Market...

In today's episode, I am joined by longtime friend of the show Brad Stulberg, who has a new book out called THE PRACTICE OF GROUNDEDNESS (https://thegrowtheq.com/books/groundedness/).Brad helps me answer your questions on topics including the decision to start a company, recovering from a pandemic-induced demotion, preventing productivity from diminishing leisure, and dealing with inertia. Thanks...

Below are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast.- My home office setup. [3:59]- Working while tired. [12:29]- Writing three hours a day. [17:19]- Details of my strategic plans. [26:09]- Ignoring strategic plans. [31:08]Thanks to Jay Kerstens for the intro music and Mark Miles for...

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP DIVE: How Reachable Should We Be? [1:48]DEEP WORK QUESTIONS - What should I do if I finish a time block early? [8:31] - How do I work deeply at home with a crying newborn? [12:57] - How I work deeply while taking care of a child full time...

Below are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. - Organizing notes on technical articles and books. [3:00] - Finding depth amidst a vast shallows. [8:35] - Should I get an MBA if it's free? [24:12] - Optimal counts of deep projects. [33:30] - The value habit. [36:37]Thanks to Jay...

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP WORK QUESTIONS - Does deep work apply to everybody? [5:15] - Who watches your kids when you do deep work? [12:48] - How do I design a deeper work environment from scratch? [19:23] - What should I focus on as a postdoc? [23:39] - Do I (Cal...

Below are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. - Naturally disorganized people. [3:23] - Coping with highly reactionary schedules. [11:07] - Digital versus analog weekly plans. [16:32] - Summer reading (plus: my idea for a novel). [21:29]  - Prioritizing friendly connections. [3...

In today's episode, I am joined in studio by my longtime podcasting friend Srini Rao, host of the incredible Unmistakable Creative podcast (https://unmistakablecreative.com/), on which I've been a guest many times. Srini helps me answer your questions on both deep work and the deep life. We also talk about his podcasting company recently raising a series A round of venture capital funding, and wha...

Below are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. - Saving a software team from the hyperactive hive mind. [3:21] - Working from near home on a student budget [6:18] - Students' diminishing focus. [13:10] - Useful academic work. [24:15] - Deep work subverting deep leisure. [29:09]T...

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP DIVE: Does Accomplishment Require Overload? [3:16]DEEP WORK QUESTIONS - How do you figure out what to get good at? [15:35] - Should I quit teaching to become a lifestyle coach? [23:24] - Why did I (Cal) become a computer scientist? [28;39...

Below are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast.- Stopping excess emails from students. [8:39]- Finding ideas for books. [16:46]- The nuances of weekly planning. [19:58]- A primer on my value-driven planning philosophy. [29:46]- Deep work for politicians. [43:47]- Inefficient work...

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. DEEP WORK QUESTIONS - How do I find free time as a working mother? [2:10] - How do I time block unpredictable support tasks? [13:56] - How many items are on my (Cal's) task lists and how often do I review? [18:51] - How do I stay productive wi...

In this episode, Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness join me to talk through Matt Crawford's classic 2009 book: "Shop Class as Soulcraft." We get into its impact on our own thinking, attempt to deconstruct its popularity, and seriously consider quitting our jobs to repair motorcycles. For more on Brad and Steve: https://wthegrowtheq.comThanks to Jay Kerstens for the intro music and Mark Miles for mast...

In this episode, podcast maven Jordan Harbinger joins me for a collaborative deep dive on the topic of podcasting. We take a close look at the current state of this technology, including a look at specific numbers: How much money are people making? How many people are making that money? Why is SMARTLESS worth $20 million a year to Amazon? We then tackle the future of the industry. Will independent...

Below are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast.- Balancing necessary shallow and important deep work. [3:23]- Increasing reading retention. [9:556]- Keeping track of goals or ideas for future pursuit. [13:59]- Growing a podcast without social media. [19:32]- Seasonal breaks from...

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. BOOK REPORT: The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin [1:30]DEEP WORK QUESTIONS - How do I eliminate the hive mind from interaction with other departments? [13:36] - How do I capture small tasks so I don't forget them? [23:23] - How do I (Cal)...

Below are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. - Breaking up big projects into small tasks. [4:19]- The productivity baby steps (epic answer alert). [8:58]- Taming late night meetings. [26:02]- Best book of mine for college students. [34:45]- Shutdown routines with unpredictable...

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast. FROM THE NEWSLETTER: Notes on Quentin Tarantino's Writing Routine [3:39]DEEP WORK QUESTIONS - How fluid are my quarterly plans? [17:00] - What is a good approach to take notes in meetings? [19:59] - What do you include ads o your podcast? [23:...