In his bestselling books Deep Work and Digital Minimalism, Cal Newport explores our evolving and complicated relationship with technology. Technology has transformed the way we work and live- but at what cost? In a world defined by electronic busyness, we no longer value deep work. And in our personal lives, we have become addicted to our devices at the expense of human connection. On this episode, Cal walks us through a digital detox, an intentional decluttering process that thousands of people have used to simplify their lives. Learn how to make technology work for you— not the other way around.
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Show Notes
- What sparked Cal’s interest in our evolving relationship with technology (1:48)
- The definition of deep work (3:37)
- Understanding the difference between shallow and deep work (4:20)
- How context shifting hurts our work (5:57)
- How people are confusing shallow work for productivity (6:38)
- The average worker checks email or Slack every 5-6 minutes (8:55)
- Why you should schedule deep work on your calendar (11:24)
- How leaders can encourage deep work (13:00)
- Defining digital minimalism (15:31)
- Why Cal has never had a social media account (17:06)
- How technology companies reengineered how we use our phones by creating social approval indicators (18:27)
- How to discover the joy of missing out (23:03)
- The 3-step digital declutter process (25:47)
- Setting guidelines for technology use at work (27:47)
- The habits that Cal has found powerful in his own life (29:30)
- Two ways to approach technology and social media as a parent (33:24)
Resources / People Mentioned
- Cal Newport’s Blog
- Deep Work by Cal Newport
- Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport
- Cal Newport, Georgetown University professor
- The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker
- RescueTime (software)
- Marie Kondo, author
- Joe Rogan & Jonathan Haidt: Social Media is Giving Kids Anxiety
- Workflowy (app)
- Medieval Society and Technology Change by Lynn White, Jr.
- Jaron Lanier, computer scientist
- You Are Not A Gadget: A Manifesto by Jaron Lanier
Recommended For You
Did you enjoy this episode? Then listen to:
- Greg McKeown on How to Think Like an Essentialist
- Juliet Funt on Reclaiming White Space at Work
- Adam Grant on Finding Meaning and Motivation at Work
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