Cal Newport: Lifestyle Design, Slow Productivity and Contrarian Writing

If you were to imagine the lifestyle you want and reverse engineer your career from that start point, what would your life look like? How much control do you have over your schedule? What’s your work life balance? What are you known for? This week I sat down for a conversation with one of the most highly requested guests yet, Cal Newport. Cal is a computer science professor at Georgetown University and New York Times bestselling author of seven books including Digital Minimalism and Deep Work where he writes about the intersection of digital technology and culture. In the episode we discuss how to design a career that’s fulfilling to you, the creator business model and how to take control of your productivity in a world where you’re confronted by forces trying to throw you off track. Enjoy!

Sponsored by Huel - go to https://www.huel.com/deepdive and with your first order you’ll get a free t-shirt and shaker.

Sponsored by Trading 212 - download the Trading 212 app https://trading212.com/promocodes/ALI and use the promo code "ALI" after signing up and depositing to receive a random free share worth up to £100. This is not financial advice. Investments can fall and rise. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Other fees may apply*. Capital is at risk.

Sponsored by WeWork - visit https://www.we.co/ali and use the code ‘ALI’ at checkout to redeem 50% off your first booking.

📚Check out my New York Times Bestselling book Feel-Good Productivity!
Amazon
Website

(00:00) Intro
(02:01) How do you approach the word productivity?
(05:24) What does a week in your life look like?
(13:43) Creator businesses vs academia
(27:17) The social status and complexities of careers
(33:43) The creatorpreneur lifestyle
(43:05) How to design your lifestyle and career
(47:18) Book writing
(55:59) Contrarian writing
(01:07:27) Do you get criticism about Deep Work?
(01:11:59) What's your take on toxic productivity?
(01:17:09) Personal productivity in corporate jobs doesn't work
(01:21:58) What is slow productivity?
(01:37:12) What's your note taking method?

Creators & Guests

• Amber Baxter-Clarke - Producer
• Ali Abdaal - Host

🔗 CONNECT WITH CAL

🎥 YouTube Channel
💻 Website
🐦 Twitter

🔗 CONNECT WITH ALI

📚 Download my FREE 100 Books To Live Your Best Life Reading List
🎥 YouTube Channel
💻 Website
📸 Instagram
🐦 Twitter
👥 Linkedin

Find the show notes and the transcript on the website: https://aliabdaal.com/podcast/

Leave a review

If you enjoy listening to the podcast, please do leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts - even one line helps! You can also Tweet @AliAbdaal with any feedback, thoughts from the lessons you've learnt from the episodes and we can thank you personally for tuning in 🙏

Want to start your own podcast? We use Transistor! https://go.aliabdaal.com/transistor

Check out the episode on the Deep Dive YouTube Channel.

See privacy policy at https://transistor.fm/privacy