Deep Questions with Cal Newport

In this episode of IN-DEPTH, a semi-regular interview series with people at the frontiers of deep living, Cal welcomes the bestselling author Oliver Burkeman to the Deep Work HQ to talk about his new book, MEDITATIONS FOR MORTALS, and more generally the tension between wanting to get your act together and becoming unhealthily obsessed with productivity.Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmediaINTERVIEW: New York Times best seller Oliver Burkeman [3:40]Links:https://www.cal...

Do you struggle to consistently make progress on hard things that are important to you? In today’s episode, Cal describes a way to improve this state of affairs: a systematic training regime called the discipline ladder. He then answers listener questions about their own struggles with discipline and reacts to an article claiming that professors are lazy (gasp!). Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s t...

It has become second nature to maintain a continuous partial participation in the world of digital networks. In today’s episode, Cal reflects on a week in which he spent too much time online, and argues why this continuous partial participation is dehumanizing, and what you can do to escape. He then takes questions and calls from listeners and reviews the five books he read in September. Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions ...

One of the single most important factors in your attempts to cultivate a deep life is your job. Yet, many people don’t give much thought to the role their work will play in their conception of a life well-lived. In this episode, Cal looks deeper at this topic. He starts by outlining four common traps people fall into when thinking about their work and happiness, then offers an alternative model that works better. He continues by answering listener questions about jobs and happiness, and ends ...

In this episode of IN-DEPTH, a new semi-regular interview series with people at the frontiers of deep living, Cal interviews bestselling author Ryan Holiday about the systematic construction of an intentional life. They begin by talking about lessons from Ryan’s new book. RIGHT THING, RIGHT NOW, then go deep on Ryan’s own journey from a college drop-out working in a Hollywood talent agency to becoming a fully independent and massively successful writer and media personality.Video from today’s...

Why can you never seem to find enough time to make progress on the non-urgent but important priorities that can move you closer to the ideal of the deep life? In this episode, Cal reviews three common “time destroyers,” and for each offers solutions to fight back. He then takes questions and calls from his listeners and ends with a discussion of Amazon and the bureaucracy mailbox. Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by C...

One of the more viral suggestions from Cal’s recent book, SLOW PRODUCTIVITY, was to occasionally skip out of work to see a movie. In this episode, Cal dives deep into criticisms of this advice and decodes what this tells us about where knowledge work is faltering and how we can make things better. He then answers questions from listeners and reacts to some productivity advice given from a well-known CEO. Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Ge...

Becoming notably good at something valuable is one of the most powerful tools for crafting a deep life. But how do people do this? In this episode, Cal explores three useful rules for getting good in search of depth. He then answers listener questions and reacts to a remarkable collection of advice from almost seven decades ago. Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvoVideo from today’s...

The fall is the perfect time to tune up your productivity and organizational systems. With this in mind, in this episode, Cal discusses a tool he has long used in his own life but never discussed before in public: the weekly template. He then answers questions on the theme of personal productivity from listeners and reviews the books he read in August. Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3...

In this classic episode, Cal talks about the surprising myth of doing less. Cal then answers questions about discipline and solving complicated problems. Cal concludes the episode with a review of the books he read back in April 2022. Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvoVideo from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmediaDeep Dive: The Surprising Math of Doing Less [3:33]- How do I im...

In this classic episode Cal talks about the elements of the Deep Life. He then answers a variety of questions about work, family, and phone distractions.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 Deep Dive: The Elements of the Deep Life [2:31] - How should I get started in a new remote work job? [17:39] - How I time bl...

Summer is the perfect time to ready yourself for significant changes in your life. A chance to seek more depth in a distracted world. But for many, the goal for these changes is unclear. They know they want something deeper, but they don’t know what exactly that is. In this episode, Cal describes a method called structured journaling that can help you clarify your vision for what you seek. He then answers readers’ questions and ends with a final segment in which reacts to a provocative claim ...

It’s mid-summer, people have some extra breathing room in their schedule, they’re relaxed. This moment of quiet seems like a perfect time to revisit some of this show’s most popular ideas about finding productivity in a world drowning in digital distractions. In this episode, Cal reviews his five most effective productivity related ideas. He then answers reader questions and reviews the seven books he read in July 2024. Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their times...

In our current digital world, distracting world events have a way of completely destabilizing our ability to focus on work that matters. In today’s episode, Cal provides advice for escaping these destabilizing attention environments and regaining some sense of mental peace and depth. He then answers questions, takes a call, and reports on some fun sightings of his book Deep Work out in the wild. Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your qu...

Discipline is critical to cultivating a deep life, but what exactly does this concept mean? In this episode, Cal uses a concrete case study from Reddit to dive deeper into the nuances of discipline and to then identify concrete, practical advice for improving your ability to take disciplined action. He then answers listener questions and asks for Jesse’s judgment on a battle of the writing sheds. Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your q...