How to Embrace Slow Productivity, Achieve Mastery, and Defend Your Time — Cal Newport & Tim Ferriss

Cal Newport is a professor of computer science at Georgetown University, where he is also a founding member of the Center for Digital Ethics. His books have sold millions of copies and been translated into over forty languages. He is also a contributor to The New Yorker and hosts the popular Deep Questions podcast. His new book is Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout: https://www.amazon.com/Slow-Productiv... Everything discussed in this interview: https://tim.blog/2024/02/21/cal-newpo... Subscribe to Cal's YouTube channel: ‪@CalNewportMedia‬ Cal Newport's official website: https://calnewport.com/ Please enjoy! This episode is brought to you by: AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: https://drinkag1.com/tim (1-year supply of Vitamin D (and 5 free AG1 travel packs) with your first subscription purchase.) Eight Sleep’s Pod Cover sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating: https://eightsleep.com/Tim (save $200 on the Pod Cover by Eight Sleep this winter) Momentous high-quality supplements: https://livemomentous.com/tim (code TIM for 20% off) [00:00] Preview [01:13] Unforced Errors: The Internet Story. [04:47] Techno-selectionism. [13:54] Why YouTube and podcasts aren't ideal bedfellows. [19:24] Amish technology and Steve Martin. [25:02] What prompted Cal to write Slow Productivity? [28:48] Becoming a better writer through blogging. [37:47] The benefits of obsessing over quality. [42:12] How did Cal decide to identify himself as a writer? [49:54] People who exemplify slow productivity. [57:13] Trade-offs on the path to twenty-first-century slow productivity. [1:02:00] Push systems vs. pull systems. [1:03:23] Quota systems. [1:05:06] Why slow productivity isn't a zero-sum game. [1:08:40] Language that clarifies. [1:12:42] Sender filters. [1:16:11] What people might miss about Slow Productivity's message. [1:21:34] How Cal defines productivity. [1:26:01] Derek Sivers and money as a neutral indicator of value. [1:29:07] Contemporary slow productivity champions. [1:33:44] Asynchronous vs. real-time conversations. [1:37:13] Making group scheduling less hellish. [1:41:49] Cal's problem with Frederick Winslow Taylor. [1:43:30] How The New Yorker maintains its old-timey charm where other publications fail. [1:51:26] Cal's dream publications. [1:53:31] Mental models for cultivating a slow productivity mindset. [1:59:51] The consequences of playing the algorithm game. [2:07:30] The renewed viability of newsletters. [2:12:04] Parting thoughts. Tim Ferriss is one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Business People” and an early-stage tech investor/advisor in Uber, Facebook, Twitter, Shopify, Duolingo, Alibaba, and 50+ other companies. He is also the author of five #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers: The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, The 4-Hour Chef, Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors. The Observer and other media have named him “the Oprah of audio” due to the influence of his podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, which has exceeded 900 million downloads and been selected for “Best of Apple Podcasts” three years running. Sign up for "5-Bullet Friday" (Tim's free weekly email newsletter): https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-yt/ Follow the Tim Ferriss Podcast: https://tim.blog/podcast/ Visit the Tim Ferriss Blog: https://tim.blog/ Follow Tim Ferriss on Twitter:   / tferriss   Follow Tim Ferriss on Instagram:   / timferriss   Like Tim Ferriss on Facebook:   / timferriss