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)

#552: How to Optimize Your Metabolism

#552: How to Optimize Your Metabolism

If you struggle to lose weight, you may blame an inherently slow metabolism. But is your metabolism really to blame, and can you increase it in order to burn more fat?Today we tackle these questions a...

16 Okt 201958min

#551: Inside the Gangsters' Code

#551: Inside the Gangsters' Code

Lou Ferrantewas a mobster who worked for the Gambino crime family and made a trade out of hijacking trucks loaded with expensive goods. Eventually, the law caught up with him and he ended up in prison...

14 Okt 201957min

#550: How to Strengthen Your Marriage Against Divorce

#550: How to Strengthen Your Marriage Against Divorce

While the divorce rate has fallen over the last several decades, plenty of couples still don't pass the test of time. Fortunately, the odds as to whether or not you divorce are not a matter of pure ch...

9 Okt 201959min

#549: Leadership Lessons from the Gridiron's Greatest Coaches

#549: Leadership Lessons from the Gridiron's Greatest Coaches

Why do some NFL teams dominate year after year? Some would chalk it up to talent, but my guest today says it all comes down to the culture the head coach intentionally develops for the entire organiza...

7 Okt 201952min

#548: How to Start and Sustain Conversations

#548: How to Start and Sustain Conversations

Whether sitting next to someone on the subway, mingling at a wedding, or chatting around the water cooler, chances to make conversation and new friends abound in our lives. But how do you meet and tal...

2 Okt 201953min

#547: Achieving Success Through the Pursuit of Fulfillment

#547: Achieving Success Through the Pursuit of Fulfillment

The standard route to success in modern life goes as follows: work hard in high school, score high on your SAT, get into a good college, do well in your classes, get a good job. For some people, that ...

30 Sep 201947min

#546: How to Get a Memory Like a Steel Trap

#546: How to Get a Memory Like a Steel Trap

Have you ever walked into a room to get something, only to forget why you walked into that room in the first place? Do you constantly forget where you parked your car in a parking garage? Or have trou...

25 Sep 201945min

#545: How Not to Get Scammed, Conned, or Duped

#545: How Not to Get Scammed, Conned, or Duped

When you think about people getting scammed, you probably think of the elderly getting conned out of money over the phone.But my guest today says that Millennials are actually more likely to get scamm...

23 Sep 201945min

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