4 Counterintuitive Tips for Deep Work Productivity
A new take on producing long-term value.
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I’ve been listening to Cal Newports podcast a lot lately and this guy has some cool ideas that resonate with me.
I read four of his books so far: Deep work, Digital Minimalism, So Good They Can’t Ignore You And How To Become A Straight A Student.
All four of his books have had a profound impact on my life.
I discovered his material about two years ago when I decided to make a shift back into the STEM field. I was struggling with concentrating on one task at a time so I decided to spend less time on social media and noticed a shift in my ability to be productive.
At first, I didn’t connect the dots. In other words, I didn’t realize that these websites were diminishing my ability to concentrate long enough to get anything meaningful done.
Then I came across a TED talk with Cal Newport explaining why we should quit social media.
Soon after, I started to read his book “Deep Work” and then it was a wrap — I’m now a lifelong student of Cal Newport.
My initial thoughts on slow productivity
“The tortoise and the hare” teaches us that “slow and steady wins the race.”
Recently, he has impacted my life once again with his developing philosophy of “slow productivity.”
Slow productivity is a response to the anti-productivity movement which started in 2019–maybe even before then. The anti-productivity movement is essentially a reaction to productivity and hustle culture burnout.
At first, the phrase “slow productivity” sounded like an oxymoron to someone who worked for UPS for nine years. At UPS, fast means productive. And my first thought upon hearing slow productivity was:
“How can productivity be slow?”
But when we think about it, it makes sense. “The tortoise and the hare” teaches us that “slow and steady wins…
