Ep. 281: Learning Hard Things

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast.OPENING CHAT: The 5 Books I Read in November (Bonus Rant: Why did Jurassic Park need an assessment from a chaos theoretician?) [2:06]DEEP WORK QUESTIONS:- Is it worth becoming good at skills that you only need short term? [21:51]- How do I seem present online when working on side projects? [26:43]- Should I revise my weekly plan if things change? [36:09]- How should I manage reading I want to do? [39:29]DEEP LIFE QUESTIONS:- How can I take a deep approach to networking? [46:21]- How can I focus on deep work with so much suffering around me? [50:59- How do I teach my students to not buy into the hyperactive hive-mind? [57:35]- What’s your (Cal’s) advice for “jack of all trades” people who want to become so good they can’t be ignored? [59:37]Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

6 Dec 20211h 2min

Below are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast.OPENING CHAT: YouTube vs. Social MediaLISTENER CALLS:- The magic of autopilot scheduling [16:35]- Tips for finding a non-hyperactive good boss [23:18]- Alternatives to email-based workflows [27:24]- Taming Trello [35:07]- Study tactics [38:58] Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

2 Dec 202145min

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast.DEEP DIVE: Should you move to the country?  [3:55]DEEP WORK QUESTIONS:- Is it worth time blocking for long projects? [20:11]- What’s your (Cal’s) opinion on bosses stopping by the office to chat?  [22:16]- How can I remember all of your advice? [25:39]- How do I avoid the feeling of just going through the motions? [32:41]- How do I better get started in the morning? [38:31]DEEP LIFE QUESTIONS:- What’s your advice for studying while also working in a warehouse? [44:38]- How can I improve my meditative walks? [50:10]- How can working parents maximize time spent with children? [54:12]- Are you so good you can’t be ignored in computer science?  [58:40]- How do I choose a thesis topic? [1:03:41]  Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

29 Nov 20211h 6min

Below are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast.DEEP DIVE: When should tasks live on my calendar? [7:24]LISTENER CALLS:- Online presences for novelists  [14:13]- Not getting stuff done outside of work [26:10]- Managing team workload [32:19]- Finding more family time [39:37]- Leveraging career capital early in one’s career [47:48]Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

25 Nov 202154min

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast.DEEP DIVE: How do I tame email? [9:51]DEEP WORK QUESTIONS:- How to accomplish deep work in the context of meeting overload? [29:09]- What is difference between the productivity funnel and capture/configure/control? [36:06]- Do you (Cal) have a filing system for emails? [40:18]- What time blocking granularity is best? [42:53]- How do you (Cal) manage projects vs tasks on your board system? [44:52]DEEP LIFE QUESTIONS:- How does one get a sense of satisfaction from goals that continue ad infinitum? [50:33]- How soon after the birth of a child is it realistic to start employing time blocking? [55:29]- How should one combine having young children and pursuing newfound ambitions? [59:24]- How should I think about career capital when taking time off to be a stay-at-home parent? [1:03:19]Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

22 Nov 20211h 9min

Below are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast.DEEP DIVE: Decoding the Productive Pause [2:43]LISTENER CALLS:- Finding a research interests.  [10:00]- Trading moments of your life for money. [13:23] - Scheduling more deep work. [23:14]- Handling the difficult switch from work to leisure and then back again.  [27:30]            - Creating temporal Eudamonia Machines.  [32:31]      - Leading a new team away from email.  [39:14]Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

18 Nov 202146min

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast.DEEP WORK QUESTIONS:- Are some people more suited for deep work than others?  [4:54]- How do I tame post-shutdown excitement?   [8:33]- How to I deal with ambiguous deep work?  [14:41]- Can you  (Cal) elaborate on the Friction/Flow/Finalization project pathway?  [17:41] - How do you time-block plan in a company obsessed with last minute meetings?  [23:21]DEEP LIFE QUESTIONS:- Are you (Cal) a control freak?  [41:16]- What have you (Cal) learned from the pandemic?  [45:07]- Would you (Cal) do your CS research and writing if you couldn’t share it?  [51:54]- How did you (Cal) never get tempted to join a social media platform?  [56:11]- Is the monastic life the ultimate deep life?  [59:24]Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

15 Nov 20211h 6min

Below are the topics covered in today's listener calls mini-episode (with timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast.A conversation with Producer Jesse about my next book [1:48]LISTENER CALLS:- Twitter FOMO for a journalist. [16:40]- Tracking small amounts of time. [25:12]- My quarterly planning process. [30:07]- Tedious tasks with an entry level job. [34:22]- Timeblock planners spiral bindings. [38:24]- Struggling to balance teaching with research (PLUS: a bonus rant about the coming knowledge work revolution). [42:15]Thanks to Jay Kerstens for the intro music and Mark Miles for mastering. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

11 Nov 202151min