Down With Pseudo-Productivity: Why We Need to Transform the Way We Work

Down With Pseudo-Productivity: Why We Need to Transform the Way We Work

The last several years have seen the rise of a sort of anti-productivity movement. Knowledge workers who feel burned out and that work is pointless, meaningless, and grinding, have been talking more about opting out, “quiet quitting,” and doing nothing.

My guest would argue that, in fact, productivity itself isn’t the problem and that most people actually want to do good work. Instead, he says, it’s our whole approach to productivity that’s broken and needs to be transformed.

Cal Newport is a professor of computer science and the author of books like Deep Work and Digital Minimalism. His latest book is Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout. Today on the show, Cal explains what’s led to the rise of what he calls “pseudo-productivity” and the fallout when we apply the structures of the industrial revolution to modern work. He then unpacks the tenets and tactics of the “slow productivity” approach to work, and how to implement them whether you work for yourself or for a boss. We discuss why you need to do fewer things in the short-term to do more things in the long term, the artificiality of working at the same intensity every day and how to inject more seasonality in your work, the role quiet quitting can play in achieving greater balance, and many other ideas on how to make modern work more sustainable, humane, and fruitful.

Resources Related to the PodcastConnect With CalNewport

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jaksot(1157)

The Fourth Turning — How History's Crisis Period Could Unfold

The Fourth Turning — How History's Crisis Period Could Unfold

While studying history back in the 1990s, Neil Howe and the late William Strauss noticed something: there seemed to be a pattern to history that repeated itself again and again. Howe and Strauss devel...

19 Heinä 202350min

Here's What It Could Look Like to Put the Trades Back in School

Here's What It Could Look Like to Put the Trades Back in School

Lately, I've been talking to my son Gus about considering a career in the trades. A lot of the white collar jobs out there don't seem very fulfilling, and A.I. is going to make more and more of them d...

17 Heinä 202341min

The Science of Getting Psyched Up

The Science of Getting Psyched Up

If you’re an athlete, you know that it can be helpful to get psyched up before a big game. But getting in the right mindset is important in any kind of high-stakes scenario, whether you want to perfor...

12 Heinä 202342min

Thick Desires, Political Atheism, and Living an Anti-Mimetic Life

Thick Desires, Political Atheism, and Living an Anti-Mimetic Life

The last time we had entrepreneur, professor, and author Luke Burgis on the show, he discussed the concept of mimetic desire, which says that we want the things we want because other people want them....

10 Heinä 202343min

Master Microtransitions to Improve the Happiness, Success, and Flow of Your Life

Master Microtransitions to Improve the Happiness, Success, and Flow of Your Life

Throughout each day, all of us make little shifts in our roles and responsibilities; we take off one hat and put on another. Sometimes these shifts are physical, as when we commute from home to the of...

5 Heinä 202354min

Would You Have Been a Patriot or a Loyalist?

Would You Have Been a Patriot or a Loyalist?

When Americans think back to the War of Independence, most are apt to feel that, had they lived back then, they would have been Patriots for sure. In retrospect, the decision to rebel and get out from...

3 Heinä 202346min

How to Read a Tree

How to Read a Tree

When you’re walking in the woods, you’re often surrounded by trees. But you probably don’t notice them much, and when you do spot some irregularity, like a strange bulge in the trunk of a tree, you li...

28 Kesä 202340min

Stop Being a Complainer

Stop Being a Complainer

My flight was awful. The restaurant's service was terrible. The traffic was horrible. My boss is the worst. Our culture is the stupidest.Whenever we get together with other people, we hear lots of com...

26 Kesä 202341min

Suosittua kategoriassa Koulutus

rss-murhan-anatomia
psykopodiaa-podcast
voi-hyvin-meditaatiot-2
adhd-podi
rss-narsisti
aamukahvilla
rss-rahamania
rss-liian-kuuma-peruna
rahapuhetta
rss-vapaudu-voimaasi
psykologia
rss-koira-haudattuna
rss-eron-alkemiaa
rss-the-leafy-lounge
rss-duodecim-lehti
rss-valo-minussa-2
leikitaanko-laakaria
jari-sarasvuo-podcast
mielipaivakirja
rss-turun-yliopisto