Ep. 222: Did Cavemen Use To-Do Lists?

In this episode of Deep Questions I answer reader questions on book publicity without social media, Facebook's fatal flaw, and escaping soul-crushing jobs. I also try out a new segment where I answer on the fly randomly selected questions I have not previously seen (to interesting effect). To submit your own questions, sign up for my mailing list at calnewport.comFull list of topics tackled in today’s episode: * Do I plan to ever have guests on the podcast to help me answer questions? (Yes.) * Deep work in a reactive organization (rant alert). * Tackling an overwhelming number of obligations. * Dealing with unproductive days. * Building good depth rituals. * Deliberate practice and social skills. * When is a PhD program worth it? * Productive people who also use social media. * The good and bad sides of technology. * Side-stepping the YouTube rabbit hole. * Publicizing books when you don't use social media. * Reducing text volume when dating. * Encouraging teens to spend last time on their phones (difficult, but possible!). * Facebook's fatal flaw. * Dealing with a job that "eats" your soul. * Advice for teenagers about to start college. * Fear of failure while pursuing a PhD. * Quarantine ruts impacting productivity (sermon alert). * PLUS: two randomly selected questions (mega sermon alert)Thank you to listener Bit Holiday for the original theme music and transition sound effect (bitholiday.net). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

14 Jun 20201h 11min

In this episode of Deep Questions I answer reader queries on the origin of my productivity obsession, how digital minimalists can form relationships in a distracted world, and how to care less about what people thing about you (hint: stop using social media).To submit your own questions, sign up for my mailing list at calnewport.comFull list of topics tackled in today’s episode: * Ideal length of deep work sessions. * Origin of my productivity obsession. * Making progress on projects in lockdown. * Dealing with jobs that don’t respect deep work. * My notebook habits. * Finding relationships as a digital minimalist. * How to study on a phone. * Building a blog audience. * Caring less about what people thing about you. * The origins of drive. * Cutting back on self-help. * Advice for my 20-year-old self. * Better organizing information. * Solidifying lockdown lessons.Thank you to listener Bit Holiday for the original theme music and transition sound effect (bitholiday.net). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

9 Jun 202050min

In this episode of Deep Questions I answer reader queries on how to improve your ability to concentrate, books that proved influential on my thinking (including the origin of the term “deep work”), the complex process of figuring out what to devote your limited attention toward, and so much more.For more about me about my writing: www.calnewport.comThis episode features the Swoosh 1 sound effect, used under a Sampling Plus 1.0 license (see here for details: http://soundbible.com/682-Swoosh-1.html). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

1 Jun 202050min

In this episode of Deep Questions I answer reader queries on how I manage my tasks, the conflict between deep work and kids, moving beyond fairy tale messages when seeking purpose in difficult times, and so much more.For more about me about my writing: www.calnewport.comThis episode features the Swoosh 1 sound effect, used under a Sampling Plus 1.0 license (see here for details: http://soundbible.com/682-Swoosh-1.html). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

28 Mai 202049min