Cal Newport Concepts

Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout

by Cal Newport · 5 Mar 2024 · 233pp · 65,893 words

ALSO BY CAL NEWPORT A World Without Email Digital Minimalism Deep Work So Good They Can’t Ignore You How to Be a High School Superstar How to Become

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books for every reader. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Newport, Cal, author. Title: Slow productivity : the lost art of accomplishment without burnout / Cal Newport. Description: [New York] : Portfolio/Penguin, [2024] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2023033502 (print) | LCCN 2023033503 (ebook) | ISBN 9780593544853 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780593719435 (international edition

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”: Tom Davenport quotes come from a phone interview conducted in December 2019. Here’s the original New Yorker article for which this interview was conducted: Cal Newport, “The Rise and Fall of Getting Things Done,” New Yorker, November 17, 2020, newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-rise-and-fall-of-getting

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.com/2023/03/24/remote-work-3-days-apple-discipline-terminates-tracks-tim-cook. GO TO NOTE REFERENCE IN TEXT “They’re at the vanguard”: Cal Newport, “What Hunter-Gatherers Can Teach Us about the Frustrations of Modern Work,” New Yorker, November 2, 2022, newyorker.com/culture/office-space/lessons-from-the

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-3. GO TO NOTE REFERENCE IN TEXT Consider Isaac Newton working: Cal Newport, “Newton’s Productive School Break,” Cal Newport (blog), March 23, 2023, calnewport.com/blog/2020/03/23/newtons-productive-school-break; and Cal Newport, “The Stone Carver in an Age of Computer Screens,” Cal Newport (blog), October 27, 2020, calnewport.com/blog/2020/10/27

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/the-stone-carver-in-an-age-of-computer-screens. GO TO NOTE REFERENCE IN TEXT As I’ll elaborate later: Cal Newport, “What If Remote Work Didn’t Mean Working from Home?,” New Yorker, May 21, 2021, newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/remote-work-not-from-home

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?, Microsoft, March 22, 2021, microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/hybrid-work. GO TO NOTE REFERENCE IN TEXT “and decisions start to drag”: Cal Newport, “Why Remote Work Is So Hard—and How It Can Be Fixed,” New Yorker, May 26, 2020, newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-inquiry/can-remote

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the excerpt cited here (the YouTube clip of the 1981 video has been taken down for copyright violation reasons): Cal Newport, “Richard Feynman Didn’t Win a Nobel by Responding Promptly to E-mails,” Cal Newport (blog), April 20, 2014, calnewport.com/blog/2014/04/20/richard-feynman-didnt-win-a-nobel-by-responding

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, I recommended: For more on time blocking, see the explanatory video here: timeblockplanner.com. GO TO NOTE REFERENCE IN TEXT It opened on the story: Cal Newport, “The Rise and Fall of Getting Things Done,” New Yorker, November 17, 2020, newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-rise-and-fall-of-getting

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might notice the homage in this name to the delightful Judge John Hodgman podcast. GO TO NOTE REFERENCE IN TEXT “Imagine everyone on your team”: Cal Newport, “It’s Time to Embrace Slow Productivity,” New Yorker, January 3, 2022, newyorker.com/culture/office-space/its-time-to-embrace-slow-productivity. GO TO

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Biography, transl. Vincent Sheean (New York: Da Capo Press, 2001), 160–62. GO TO NOTE REFERENCE IN TEXT In this piece, I observed: Cal Newport, “On Pace and Productivity,” Cal Newport (blog), July 21, 2021, calnewport.com/blog/2021/07/21/on-pace-and-productivity. GO TO NOTE REFERENCE IN TEXT “Galileo had a

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November 2022 New Yorker article on which much of this section (including all the details and quotes involving Richard Lee and Mark Dyble) is based: Cal Newport, “What Hunter-Gatherers Can Teach Us about the Frustrations of Modern Work,” New Yorker, November 2, 2022, newyorker.com/culture/office-space/lessons-from-the

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2022 I published an essay for The New Yorker that offered more detailed deconstruction of quiet quitting, including my interpretation of its meaning and importance: Cal Newport, “The Year in Quiet Quitting,” New Yorker, December 29, 2022, newyorker.com/culture/2022-in-review/the-year-in-quiet-quitting. GO TO NOTE REFERENCE

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/the-friendly-isles-in-the-footsteps-of-patrick-leigh-fermor-by-robin-hanbury-tenison. GO TO NOTE REFERENCE IN TEXT “A lot of those days”: Cal Newport, So Good They Can’t Ignore You (New York: Grand Central, 2012), 126. GO TO NOTE REFERENCE IN TEXT “It’s sometimes tempting”: “How We

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TEXT I originally told these: Many of the stories and all of the quotes in this section come from my original article on this topic: Cal Newport, “What If Remote Work Didn’t Mean Working from Home?,” New Yorker, May 21, 2021, newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/remote-work-not-from-home

A World Without Email: Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload

by Cal Newport · 2 Mar 2021 · 350pp · 90,898 words

Also by Cal Newport The Time-Block Planner Digital Minimalism Deep Work So Good They Can’t Ignore You How to Be a High School Superstar How to Become

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the CIA’s pneumatic tubes and the general push for practical asynchrony is adapted from my 2019 New Yorker article on the history of email: Cal Newport, “Was E-mail a Mistake?,” Annals of Technology, New Yorker, August 6, 2019, www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/was-e-mail-a-mistake

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Discourse in the Age of Show Business (New York: Penguin, 1985), 51. 17. For more on this history, see chapter 1 of my previous book: Cal Newport, Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World (New York: Portfolio/Penguin, 2019). 18. Blake Thorne, “Asynchronous Communication Is the Future of Work

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had witnessed at the nearby Chicago meatpacking plants, where the knife-wielding meatpackers stood in place while the animals moved by, hanging from chains. 6. Cal Newport, “5-Hour Workdays? 4-Day Workweeks? Yes, Please,” New York Times, November 6, 2019. 7. Winchester, Perfectionists, 160. 8. Peter F. Drucker, “Knowledge-Worker Productivity

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periods, such as those surrounding book launches. This would not have been possible in an age before web-based part-time remote work platforms. 9. Cal Newport, “A Modest Proposal: Eliminate Email,” Harvard Business Review, February 18, 2016, https://hbr.org/2016/02/a-modest-proposal-eliminate-email. 10. Jason Fried and

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Movement, November 24th,” Boston.com, November 20, 2009, http://archive.boston.com/business/technology/innoeco/2009/11/im_joining_the_open_office_hou.html. 14. Cal Newport, So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love (New York: Business Plus, 2012), 73. 15

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and summarized by Edward Tenner in Why Things Bite Back (cited in the preceding two notes), which is how I first came across it. 4. Cal Newport, “Is Email Making Professors Stupid?,” Chronicle of Higher Education, February 12, 2019, www.chronicle.com/interactives/is-email-making-professors-stupid. 5. Greg McKeown, Essentialism

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or board to work collaboratively with a small group on a hard problem will intensify the depth of concentration you achieve compared with working alone. Cal Newport, Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World (New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2016). 7. Anne Lamott, “Time Lost and Found,” Sunset, April

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E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z About the Author Cal Newport is an associate professor of computer science at Georgetown University, where he specializes in the theory of distributed systems, as well as a New York

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

by Cal Newport · 5 Jan 2016

the best kind there is.” I agree. So does Bill Gates. And hopefully now that you’ve finished this book, you agree too. Also by Cal Newport So Good They Can’t Ignore You How to Be a High School Superstar How to Become a Straight-A Student How to Win at

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Rule #1: Work Deeply Rule #2: Embrace Boredom Rule #3: Quit Social Media Rule #4: Drain the Shallows Conclusion Also by Cal Newport Notes Newsletters Copyright Copyright Copyright © 2016 by Cal Newport Cover design by Elizabeth Turner Cover copyright © 2016 by Hachette Book Group, Inc. All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S

Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World

by Cal Newport · 5 Feb 2019 · 279pp · 71,542 words

publish books for every reader. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Newport, Cal, author. Title: Digital minimalism : on living better with less technology / Cal Newport. Description: New York : Portfolio/Penguin, 2019. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2018041568 (print) | LCCN 2018043187 (ebook) | ISBN 9780525536543 (Ebook) | ISBN 9780525536512 (hardcover) | ISBN

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YouTube, 127, 168, 193 how-to lessons on, 192, 193, 195, 197–98 Zeiler, Michael, 17–18 Zuckerberg, Mark, 103, 222 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ About the Author Cal Newport is an associate professor of computer science at Georgetown University and the author of six books, including Deep Work and So Good They Can't

So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love

by Cal Newport · 17 Sep 2012 · 197pp · 60,477 words

wrote a career-advice book concurrently with my own, allowing us to share numerous useful conversations at all stages of the process. About the Author CAL NEWPORT is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University. He previously earned his PhD from MIT and his bachelor’s from Dartmouth College. Newport

Things That Matter: Overcoming Distraction to Pursue a More Meaningful Life

by Joshua Becker · 19 Apr 2022 · 215pp · 62,479 words

technology to become so pervasive in our lives. And while we appreciate the benefits, we rightly wonder what these advantages are costing us. Computer scientist Cal Newport wrote, These technologies as a whole have managed to expand beyond the minor roles for which we initially adopted them. Increasingly, they dictate how we

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kind of mind that wants and needs to take in and dole out information in short, disjointed, often overlapping bursts—the faster, the better.[9] Cal Newport echoed this by saying that however valuable our digital connectedness may be, we can’t lose the ability to do what he calls “deep work

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. I think most of us can relate readily to her reactions. It’s time to be afraid, very afraid. Addictive by Design In Digital Minimalism, Cal Newport said, “We added new technologies to the periphery of our experience for minor reasons, then woke one morning to discover that they had colonized the

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things that make you forget about checking your phone. For more specific guidance, I recommend the books Digital Minimalism and A World Without Email by Cal Newport. Is Life Without Social Media Possible? Kinsley Smith is a mother of four young children living in a small Pennsylvania town. In 2017, she did

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, 2019, www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2019/may/3/long-term-recidivism-studies-show-high-arrest-rates. BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 12 Chapter 10: Blinking Lights Cal Newport, Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World (New York: Penguin, 2019), 8. BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 1 “The Nielsen Total Audience Report

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8 Nicholas Carr, The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, updated ed. (New York: Norton, 2020), 10. BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 9 Cal Newport, Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World (New York: Grand Central, 2016). BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 10

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Cal Newport, quoted in Eric Barker, “Stay Focused: 5 Ways to Increase Your Attention Span,” Time, June 26, 2014, https://time.com/2921341/stay-focused-5-ways-

The 5 Types of Wealth: A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life

by Sahil Bloom · 4 Feb 2025 · 363pp · 94,341 words

on some minor task). Stopping to check your email or messages is just as bad as jumping from one major project to another. Bestselling author Cal Newport puts it well when he talks about the cultural propensity to “just check” on phone or email notifications: “If, like most, you rarely go more

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currently reading are a case in point! How to Concentrate Attention: The Flow State Boot-Up Sequence Pillar: Attention In his bestselling book Deep Work, Cal Newport pushes the importance of focused, uninterrupted, undistracted work on the most important priorities as the only way to grow and thrive in the modern economy

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actions and behaviors that create space in your life by mentally and physically marking the end of your professional day. The idea originated with author Cal Newport, who penned a blog post on the topic over a decade ago. An example of my fixed sequence might look something like this: Check email

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up to hit the ground running on that priority task. Initiate power-down: Create a mental trigger for the completion of the power-down ritual. Cal Newport had his own magic phrase (“Schedule shutdown, complete”), but you can create your own less nerdy version if you like. Using those three elements, sketch

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Work Tasks,” Organizational Behavior and the Human Decision Processes 109, no. 2 (July 2009): 168–81. BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 5 Cal Newport, “A Productivity Lesson from a Classic Arcade Game,” Cal Newport (blog), September 6, 2016, https://calnewport.com/a-productivity-lesson-from-a-classic-arcade-game/. BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 6 “Three

Free to Focus: A Total Productivity System to Achieve More by Doing Less

by Michael Hyatt · 8 Apr 2019 · 243pp · 59,662 words

you. Todd Henry, author, The Accidental Creative “Busyness is meaningless. What matters is consistently executing the work that actually matters. This book shows you how.” Cal Newport, New York Times bestselling author, Deep Work and Digital Minimalism “Success, we are often told, requires backbreaking work and never-ending hours in the office

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like a bad amateur plate-spinner.”1 This kind of switching comes with heavy costs. When you jump between tasks, according to Georgetown computer scientist Cal Newport, “your attention doesn’t immediately follow—a residue of your attention remains stuck thinking about the original task.”2 Switching isn’t seamless. “Attention residue

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media means people aren’t usually working for a long period and then taking a break. They’re breaking their concentration multiple times in what Cal Newport calls “quick checks” during the working period. Instead of taking a break, they’re breaking their focus. Doing Downhill Work. A lot of this has

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F. Drucker, Todd Duncan, Tim Ferriss, Daniel Harkavy, Charles Hobbs, Gary Keller, Jim Loehr, Leslie H. Matthies, Chris McChesney, Greg McKeown, Dan Meub, Ilene Muething, Cal Newport, Hyrum W. Smith, Dan Sullivan, Rory Vaden, and Stephanie Winston. My work is built on the foundation of yours. Joel Miller, our chief content officer

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Mail, August 11, 2009, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1205669/Is-multi-tasking-bad-brain-Experts-reveal-hidden-perils-juggling-jobs.html. 2. Cal Newport, Deep Work (New York: Grand Central, 2014), 42. 3. Christine Rosen, “The Myth of Multitasking,” New Atlantis, no. 20, Spring 2008, https://www.thenewatlantis.com

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2, 2013, https://psmag.com/environment/thinking-cap-gernsback-isolator-56505. 2. Nikil Saval covers the history of this trend in his book Cubed, and Cal Newport counts the cost it levies on focus in Deep Work. 3. “Can We Chat? Instant Messaging Apps Invade the Workplace,” ReportLinker, June 8, 2017, https

Working Hard, Hardly Working

by Grace Beverley

deep work, comprehensive tasks directed towards larger goals, and a number of quick boxes to tick. Deep work3 As defined by computer scientist and professor Cal Newport, deep work is any ‘professional activity performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that pushes your cognitive capabilities to their limit. These efforts create

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-blocking to the next level, I want to introduce deep work back into the conversation. We touched on it very briefly earlier, but as any Cal Newport diehard will know, a little is not enough. Deep work is all about accepting that we will be bombarded from all sides by notifications and

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Syed (2015) Can’t Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation, Anne Helen Petersen (2021) Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, Cal Newport (2016) Difficult Women: A History of Feminism in 11 Fights, Helen Lewis (2020) Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World

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, Cal Newport (2019) Find Your Why: A Practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team, Simon Sinek with David Mead and Peter Docker (2017) Flow:

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4-Hour Work Week: Escape the 9–5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich (New York: Crown Publishers, 2007). 3 ‘Deep work’, definition from Cal Newport, Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World (London: Piatkus, 2016). 4 ‘Ferriss sums up …’, Ferriss, op. cit. 5 ‘Deep work is …’, Newport

Blank Space: A Cultural History of the Twenty-First Century

by W. David Marx · 18 Nov 2025 · 642pp · 142,332 words

make-work. Microsoft’s Jared Spataro noted, “It sometimes seems as if the modern worker spends more time talking about work than actually working.” Academic Cal Newport gained traction with his call for “deep work” and “slow productivity,” as employees sought to reclaim focus from the chaos of hyperconnected offices. The original

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Now,” Atlantic, July 9, 2024, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/07/white-collar-meetings-more-frequent/678941. GO TO NOTE REFERENCE IN TEXT Cal Newport gained traction: Jennifer Szalai, “The Very Busy Writer Telling Everyone to Slow Down,” New York Times, March 6, 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03

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/06/books/review/slow-productivity-cal-newport.html. GO TO NOTE REFERENCE IN TEXT “lights just turned on”: Erin Griffith, “The End of Faking It in Silicon Valley,” New York Times, April