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)

#560: The Magic of Walking

#560: The Magic of Walking

Walking. It can seem, well, rather pedestrian. But my guest today makes the case that walking can act as a gateway to explore memory, meaning, and what it means to be human. His name is Erling Kagge, ...

13 Nov 201944min

#559: How to Handle Difficult Conversations

#559: How to Handle Difficult Conversations

Asking for a raise. Disagreeing with your boss. Telling your neighbor that their dog's barking is bothering you. Talking about money with your spouse. Debating politics with a friend. These are all di...

11 Nov 20191h 2min

#558: The Strenuous President

#558: The Strenuous President

In the first year of his presidency, the press used Theodore Roosvelt's name in connection with the word "strenuous" over 10,000 times. He was known as "the strenuous president," and with good reason:...

6 Nov 201948min

#557: Grow, Adapt, and Reinvent Yourself Through Ultralearning

#557: Grow, Adapt, and Reinvent Yourself Through Ultralearning

Many of us want to learn a new skill or master a new area of expertise, either to further or change our career or simply for the sake of personal fulfillment. But going deep in a subject seems like it...

4 Nov 201953min

#556: How to Find Your Calling in Life

#556: How to Find Your Calling in Life

Nearly everyone has experienced the sense of being nudged and prompted to take certain actions. These intuitive hints can spur us to do big things like change jobs, or smaller things like text a frien...

30 Okt 201958min

#555: Dandelion Children vs. Orchid Children

#555: Dandelion Children vs. Orchid Children

You've probably observed families in which one of the kids is super resilient and easy-going while the other is super sensitive and anxious. Same family, same parents, but two extremely different chil...

28 Okt 201934min

#554: Babe Ruth and the World He Made

#554: Babe Ruth and the World He Made

The Sultan of Swat. The Colossus of Clout. The King of Crash. The Great Bambino. Babe Ruth died over 70 years ago, but his legend still lives on in big league stadiums and little league fields across ...

23 Okt 201951min

#553: How to Become Indistractable

#553: How to Become Indistractable

If you struggle with feeling distracted, you likely think that modern technology is to blame, and that if your phone wasn't so infuriatingly desirable to check, you'd be a lot more focused and product...

21 Okt 201955min

Populært innen Fakta

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