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.

Episoder(1158)

What Happened to the Idea of Self-Control?

What Happened to the Idea of Self-Control?

As long as humans have existed, we’ve had to choose between our lower and higher desires — between what we want in the moment, and what we want in the long-term. As long as humans have existed, we’ve ...

17 Okt 202243min

What People Get Wrong About Walden

What People Get Wrong About Walden

The two years, two months, and two days Henry David Thoreau spent at Walden Pond represent one of the most well-known experiences in American literary and philosophical history. Thoreau's time at Wald...

12 Okt 202253min

When to Quit

When to Quit

“Don’t be a quitter!” “Quitters never win, and winners never quit!”These maxims encapsulate our usual attitude towards quitting, which is to see it as a bad thing, a weakness, a character defect. We c...

10 Okt 202251min

The Vagabond Travel Ethos

The Vagabond Travel Ethos

Travel can often be approached as just another consumer good; travelers quickly dive in and out of a place, check off the things they want to see, harvest the requisite pictures to prove they were the...

5 Okt 202245min

Can Virtue Be Taught?

Can Virtue Be Taught?

The ancient Greeks and Romans thought a lot about what it means to live a virtuous life. They believed that good character was essential for achieving both individual excellence and a healthy, well-fu...

3 Okt 202242min

The Cues That Make You Charismatic

The Cues That Make You Charismatic

Charisma can make everything smoother, easier, and more exciting in life. It's a quality that makes people want to listen to you, to adopt your ideas, to be with you.While what creates charisma can se...

28 Sep 202244min

Jack London's Literary Code [Rebroadcast]

Jack London's Literary Code [Rebroadcast]

Note: My guest in this episode, Dr. Earle Labor, died on September 15 at the age of 94. Earle was the world's foremost authority on one of the Art of Manliness' guiding inspirations and lights: Jack L...

26 Sep 20221h 6min

Data-Backed Answers to Personal Finance Controversies

Data-Backed Answers to Personal Finance Controversies

Dip your toes into the world of personal finance and you can find plenty of questions which are the subject of endless debate. How much of your income should you save? Is it okay to take on debt? Whic...

21 Sep 202246min

Populært innen Fakta

mikkels-paskenotter
fastlegen
dine-penger-pengeradet
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
foreldreradet
treningspodden
jakt-og-fiskepodden
sinnsyn
rss-kull
rss-bisarr-historie
rss-kunsten-a-leve
fryktlos
gravid-uke-for-uke
hverdagspsyken
level-up-med-anniken-binz
hagespiren-podcast
rss-var-forste-kaffe
uroskolen
takk-og-lov-med-anine-kierulf