Deep Questions with Cal Newport

How did we end up tyrannized by our inboxes? How is this related to Tyrannosaurus? What was it like working at a high-tech company at the exact moment email was introduced? In this episode, Cal weaves together all these questions into a story about the unexpected ways technology impacts our lives and what we can do after the fact to make things better.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps)...

We’ve become so used to our phones in our lives that we’ve stopped realizing how arbitrary and unusual the content we’re watching really has become. In this episode, Cal looks closer at what we’re really spending time doing on our phones, then provides step-by-step instructions for healing this relationship. 

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit...

A deep life requires that you encounter and make sense of a large amount of incoming information, from narrow data relevant to a professional project, to broad insights into your purpose. How do you keep track of all of this? In this episode, Cal proposes a minimalist approach aimed at minimizing the friction required to keep tabs on what matters.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit...

A key step in cultivating a deep life is reflecting on what matters to you and the best strategies for pursuing it. This, in turn, requires that you engage in the consumption of some manner of self help. It’s here that many people sell themselves short, limiting this intake to short videos and the occasional advice guide...

One of the more interesting realities of people who live remarkable lives is that they are often much less busy than the rest of us. In this episode, Cal explores three ideas that help explain why this is true, then explains how we can use these ideas to reduce our own workloads.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvo

Video from today’s episode:  youtube...

Call talks with Ali Abdaal about his journey from doctor to YouTube sensation, and then dives deep into Ali’s new book, “Feel-Good Productivity,” and the possibilities of making accomplishment something enjoyable. 

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvo

Video from today’s episode:  youtube...

What is the correct first step in transforming your life into something deeper? Traditional advice says to start with a clear vision of what you value. Cal has been arguing that it’s instead more important to develop a foundation of discipline. In this episode, he explores a more specific variation of this idea: perhaps the best way to prepare to pursue the big is to first learn how to control the small.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps)...

During the New Year season it is common to talk about how to be more productive. But what about the downtime between your major pursuits? In this episode, Cal argues for rewiring your brain to crave slow distractions over their faster (often digital) alternatives. The goal here is not to get more done but to transform your life into something slower and more meaningful.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps)...

One of the more important abilities to cultivate for the year ahead is comfort learning complicated (and therefore valuable) new things. In this episode, Cal tackles the myths surrounding mastery and presents a new mental model for internalizing non-trivial information. As he elaborates, there is both good news and bad news when it comes to this topic: you can learn almost anything, but you can’t learn everything...

The mega-bestselling writer Arthur Brooks is one of the rare individuals to have both lived a carefully cultivated deep life and written a book on the topic (co-authored with Oprah!). In today’s episode, Cal interviews Brooks, going deep into the details of his unusual and inspiring career and extracting proven rules from his experience.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit...