Cal Newport is a computer science professor and a New York Times bestselling author who writes about the impact of technology on society, and the struggle to work and live deeply in a world increasingly mired in digital distractions. On this podcast, he answers questions from his readers and offers advice about cultivating focus, productivity, and meaning amidst the noise that pervades our lives.
407 episodes transcribedDo 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 c...
In this episode, Cal visits eight of the most influential books in personal productivity, identifying for each a single idea that ended up most resona...
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 Stulb...
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 inste...
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...
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...
One of the most popular (and widely forgotten) slogans of the ancient world was Festina Lente, or, “Make Haste Slowly.” In this episode, Cal looks dee...
Do you ever feel completely overwhelmed by everything you have to do? The writer Oliver Burkeman recently experimented with an unexpected response to...
Do history’s greatest thinkers care about time management? In today’s episode, Cal analyzes the system that the mathematician and philosopher, Kurt Go...
Sometimes the most effective way to contain your workload is to simply declare how long you’re willing to work and then refuse to violate your pledge....
In Cal’s new “deep life stack” the first layer toward finding more meaning is to develop discipline. Why does this come first? In this episode, Cal di...
Over the past twenty years, “productivity” has come to be synonymous with using digital tools to speed up non-essential parts of knowledge work. As ca...
Some of the most interesting and impactful people in the world build their work around a commitment to doing only a few things very well. No one remem...
In this episode, Cal is joined by Laura Vanderkam (author of Tranquility by Tuesday and co-host of the Best of Both Worlds podcast). Cal and Laura tac...
How do you leave a life of superficial distraction and cultivate something deeper? In today’s episode, Cal describes “The Deep Life Stack,” an approac...
Productivity YouTube is filled with breathless videos about optimizing systems and squeezing every ounce of speed out of your common habits. But does...
The art of thinking – plain, old-fashioned, hard concentration on useful ideas – is rapidly vanishing as our culture recasts humans as the custodians...
Do you live to work or work to live? In this episode, Cal talks with author Simone Stolfzoff about his provocative new book, THE GOOD ENOUGH JOB. Cal...
Few professional experiences feel worse than overload. But what really causes this unfortunate state? In this episode, Cal takes a closer look at over...
We talk a lot on this show about how to be more organized and intentional in how you spend your time at work. But what about at home? In this episode,...
