Ep. 398: How Do I Find Purpose in a Distracted World? (W/ Arthur Brooks)

Ep. 398: How Do I Find Purpose in a Distracted World? (W/ Arthur Brooks)

Here’s a key question: Did technology like smartphones make us miserable, or were we already miserable and smartphones made it worse? To help figure out this answer, I talked to Arthur Brooks, the #1 New York Times bestselling author, Atlantic columnist, and Harvard professor, about this new book: The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness. In our conversation, Brooks argues that our current Age of Emptiness began in the 1990s, but technology like smartphones and social media made it worse. We then discuss smart strategies for finding purpose in our current moment.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Send an email to podcast@calnewport.com.

Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia

INTERVIEW: How Do I Find Purpose in a Distracted World? (W/ Arthur Brooks) [1:44]

INBOX:

Tech employees being evaluated through LLM tokens [1:01:49]
Can Cal comment on reading digital books? [1:07:35]

WHAT CAL IS UP TO:

What Cal is reading [1:13:00]
Deep Work HQ update [1:14:37]

Books:
Mistborn (Brandon Sanderson)

Links:
Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at calnewport.com/slow
Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/
Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?
gizmodo.com/tech-employees-are-reportedly-being-evaluated-by-how-fast-they-burn-through-llm-tokens-2000736627

Thanks to our Sponsors:

monarch.com (Use code “DEEP”)
butcherbox.com/deep
drinklmnt.com/deep
meetfabric.com/deep

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, Nate Mechler for research and newsletter, and Mark Miles for mastering.


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IN-DEPTH: The Art of Non-Conformity (w/ Chris Guillebeau)

IN-DEPTH: The Art of Non-Conformity (w/ Chris Guillebeau)

In this episode of IN-DEPTH, Cal is joined by Chris Guillebeau, the author of the new book, TIME ANXIETY, and creator of the beloved Art of Non-Conformity blog and World Domination Summit annual confe...

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Ep. 356: How Much Should We Work?

Ep. 356: How Much Should We Work?

The data shows knowledge workers really are more exhausted and more prone to burnout than ever before. But why? In this episode, Cal draws inspiration from an unlikely source to help unpack this troub...

9 Kesä 20251h 3min

Ep. 355: Quit Social Media (For Real This Time)

Ep. 355: Quit Social Media (For Real This Time)

A common complaint about social media skepticism is that we’re falling into a classic moral panic. We’ve been concerned about many past mass media technologies, and ultimately came to realize that the...

2 Kesä 20251h 11min

Ep. 354: The Workload Fairytale

Ep. 354: The Workload Fairytale

A few years ago, in a spirit of post-pandemic experimentation, multiple countries ran formal trials to test a radical idea: shortening the workweek. In this episode, Cal returns to the results of thes...

26 Touko 20251h 14min

Ep. 353: Summer Schedules

Ep. 353: Summer Schedules

Summer is here. It’s time to slow down. In this episode, Cal discusses his radically simplified summer schedule and then suggests you similarly inject some “seasonality” into your life, offering tips ...

19 Touko 20251h 20min

Ep. 352: It’s Okay to Slow Down

Ep. 352: It’s Okay to Slow Down

When we think about important accomplishments, we think about grinding through long hours of work. But is this really necessary? In this episode, Cal turns to the lives of two famous authors to argue ...

12 Touko 20251h 9min

Ep. 351: Making the Internet Good Again

Ep. 351: Making the Internet Good Again

Tyler Cowen recently wrote an article arguing that spending lots of time online is in fact a good thing. In this episode, Cal looks deeper at Cowen’s argument and finds some surprising common ground. ...

5 Touko 20251h 13min

Ep. 350: Is Inbox Zero Possible?

Ep. 350: Is Inbox Zero Possible?

The white whale of modern productivity discourse is achieving an empty email inbox; a goal state that’s often referred to simply as “inbox zero.” In this episode, Cal looks at why the original advice ...

28 Huhti 20251h 9min

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