Cal Newport: Lifestyle Design, Slow Productivity and Contrarian Writing

If you were to imagine the lifestyle you want and reverse engineer your career from that start point, what would your life look like? How much control do you have over your schedule? What’s your work life balance? What are you known for? This week I sat down for a conversation with one of the most highly requested guests yet, Cal Newport. Cal is a computer science professor at Georgetown University and New York Times bestselling author of seven books including Digital Minimalism and Deep Work where he writes about the intersection of digital technology and culture. In the episode we discuss how to design a career that’s fulfilling to you, the creator business model and how to take control of your productivity in a world where you’re confronted by forces trying to throw you off track. Enjoy!

(00:00) Intro

(02:01) How do you approach the word productivity?

(05:24) What does a week in your life look like?

(13:43) Creator businesses vs academia

(27:17) The social status and complexities of careers

(33:43) The creatorpreneur lifestyle

(43:05) How to design your lifestyle and career

(47:18) Book writing

(55:59) Contrarian writing

(01:07:27) Do you get criticism about Deep Work?

(01:11:59) What's your take on toxic productivity?

(01:17:09) Personal productivity in corporate jobs doesn't work

(01:21:58) What is slow productivity?

(01:37:12) What's your note taking method?