Deep Questions with Cal Newport

Ep. 293: Can A.I. Empty My Inbox?

25 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Imagine a world in which AI could handle your email inbox on your behalf. No more checking for new messages every five minutes. No more worries that p...

Ep. 292: Single-Purpose Notebooks

18 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On his recent book tour, Cal found great success using a small notebook dedicated to developing a single idea. In this episode, he explores this “si...

Ep. 291: Do Better, Do Less

11 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What does the story of the rise of the singing superstar Jewel teach us about escaping busyness in our knowledge work jobs? In this episode, Cal makes...

Ep. 290: Financing the Deep Life (w/ Noah Kagan)

04 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One of the most common strategies for achieving a powerful ideal lifestyle vision is to leverage entrepreneurial activities to find a stable source...

Ep. 289: The Email Catastrophe

26 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Ep. 288: Confronting Your Phone

19 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 bec...

Ep. 287: Minimalist Notes

12 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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,...

Ep. 286: Rethinking Self Help

05 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 e...

Ep. 285: The Productivity Paradox

29 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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, ...

Ep. 284: Feel-Good Productivity (w/ Ali Abdaal)

22 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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,”...

Ep. 283: How To Organize Your Life

15 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Ep. 282: Slow Distractions

08 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 epis...

Ep. 281: Learning Hard Things

01 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One of the more important abilities to cultivate for the year ahead is comfort learning complicated (and therefore valuable) new things. In this episo...

Ep. 280: Proven Rules for Deep Living (w/ Arthur Brooks)

25 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Ep. 279: Confronting Overload

18 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We talk a lot on this show about getting more done, but what’s the best way to handle the inevitable situation in which you have too much to do? Cal...

Ep. 278: How to Think

11 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

One of the most important skills for cultivating a satisfying and high impact life is one we rarely discuss: the art of serious thinking. In this epis...

Ep. 277: From Chaos to Calm (in 1 day)

04 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We talk a lot on this show about remaining organized in a digital workplace that drowns us with incoming obligations. In this episode, Cal focuses on ...

Ep. 276: Lazy or Disorganized?

27 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

One of the most common types of messages sent in from listeners of this podcast are self-recriminations about laziness. But what does “laziness” a...

Ep. 275: Accomplishing Hard Goals

20 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

 How you accomplish important goals: The type that can transform your life in remarkable ways? In this episode, Cal breaks down the common mistakes w...

Ep. 274: The Deep Life Stack v2.0

13 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Based on extensive feedback from listeners and new research, Cal is ready to unveil his new and improved version of the Deep Life Stack, his foundatio...

Ep. 273: A Deep Response to Distraction

06 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A viral video making the rounds recently argues that the key to promoting learning is to deliver education in apps that are equally addictive as socia...

Ep. 272: The Essential Tools (w/ David Epstein)

30 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Cal reviews what he believes to be the four essential tools for feeling on top of everything you need to do. If you’re missing one ...

Ep. 271: The Long Game

23 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Much of the advice we discuss is about how to improve things right now. But what are the right strategies for ensuring that we’re happy about where ...

Ep. 270: Depth vs. Distraction

16 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

An increasing number of people are suffering from “super distractions” that rise above the level of harmless diversion and instead start to active...

Ep. 269: Don’t Get Started

09 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After an episode in which Cal reviewed ancient wisdom on cultivating a deeper life, he turns his attention back to more recent advice. Focusing on thr...

Ep. 268: Stoicism and the Deep Life

02 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Stoicism seems to be all the rage at the moment. In what ways is it relevant to our question to live deeply in a distracted world? And in what ways is...

Ep. 267: Why Are You Tired?

25 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Knowledge workers increasingly describe themselves as exhausted and burnt out. Why is this happening? In this episode, Cal argues that some of the obv...

Ep. 266: Take Control of Your Technology Habits

18 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Do we need to move to a ranch in the middle of nowhere to take control of our technology habits? Cal argues that these types of extreme examples are c...

Ep. 265: Big Ideas for Deeper Living

11 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Cal visits eight of the most influential books in personal productivity, identifying for each a single idea that ended up most resona...

Ep. 264: IN-DEPTH: How to Master Change (with Brad Stulberg)

04 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Change is unavoidable. You can either fear it or learn to master it. In this interview episode, Cal talks with longtime friend of the show, Brad Stulb...

Ep. 263: Overhaul Your Life

28 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Too many people believe that the New Year is the right time to undertake major improvements to your life. In this episode, Cal argues that it is inste...

Ep. 262: Creativity Hacking

21 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When it comes to generating fantastic ideas – the type that can make your career – you don’t have to passively wait for inspiration to strike. Y...

Ep. 261: Control Your Time

14 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In celebration of the newly released *second* edition of the Time Block Planner, Cal provides some additional expert tips for getting the most out of ...

Ep. 260: Make Haste Slowly

07 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

One of the most popular (and widely forgotten) slogans of the ancient world was Festina Lente, or, “Make Haste Slowly.” In this episode, Cal looks...

Ep. 259: The Four-Hour Work Day

31 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Do you ever feel completely overwhelmed by everything you have to do? The writer Oliver Burkeman recently experimented with an unexpected response to ...

Ep. 258: Godel’s Deep Life Stack

24 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Do history’s greatest thinkers care about time management? In today’s episode, Cal analyzes the system that the mathematician and philosopher, Kur...

Ep. 257: Refusing Overwork

17 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes the most effective way to contain your workload is to simply declare how long you’re willing to work and then refuse to violate your pledg...

Ep. 256: Start with Discipline

10 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In Cal’s new “deep life stack” the first layer toward finding more meaning is to develop discipline. Why does this come first? In this episode, ...

Ep. 255: The Failure of Cybernetic Productivity

03 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Over the past twenty years, “productivity” has come to be synonymous with using digital tools to speed up non-essential parts of knowledge work. A...

Ep. 254: The Laws of Less

26 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Some of the most interesting and impactful people in the world build their work around a commitment to doing only a few things very well. No one remem...

Ep. 253: Making Time for What Matters (w/ Laura Vanderkam)

19 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Cal is joined by Laura Vanderkam (author of Tranquility by Tuesday and co-host of the Best of Both Worlds podcast). Cal and Laura tac...

Ep. 252: The Deep Life Stack

12 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How do you leave a life of superficial distraction and cultivate something deeper? In today’s episode, Cal describes “The Deep Life Stack,” an a...

Ep. 251: The Efficiency Trap

05 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Productivity YouTube is filled with breathless videos about optimizing systems and squeezing every ounce of speed out of your common habits. But does ...

Ep. 250: In Defense of Thinking

29 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The art of thinking – plain, old-fashioned, hard concentration on useful ideas – is rapidly vanishing as our culture recasts humans as the custodi...

Ep. 249: The Good Enough Job (w/ Simone Stolzoff)

22 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Do you live to work or work to live? In this episode, Cal talks with author Simone Stolfzoff about his provocative new book, THE GOOD ENOUGH JOB. Cal ...

Ep. 248: Decoding Overload

15 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Few professional experiences feel worse than overload. But what really causes this unfortunate state? In this episode, Cal takes a closer look at over...

Ep. 247: The Productive Life (w/ Sarah Hart-Unger)

08 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We talk a lot on this show about how to be more organized and intentional in how you spend your time at work. But what about at home? In this episode,...

Ep. 246: Kids and Phones

01 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Are smartphones bad for kids? Cal walks through the data on this question, including how researchers came to be worried, their findings, critiques of ...

Ep. 245: “Crazy” Productivity

24 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode Cal – against his better judgment – answers questions on the fly, with no advance plan or preparation. He also does a Deep Dive ab...

Ep. 244: Thoughts on ChatGPT

17 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Are new AI technologies like ChatGPT about to massively disrupt our world? Drawing from his recent New Yorker article on the topic, Cal explains exact...

Ep. 243: In The Weeds!

10 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Cal Newport answers 10 questions from his audience ranging from idea management to the Deep Life to writing. Throughout all the answers, you’ll hear...

Ep. 242: The Simple Life

03 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Why do stories of people moving to the country to dedicate their lives to simple living resonate so strongly with us overworked knowledge workers? Cal...

Ep. 241: The Virality Trap

27 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Why does Twitter maintain such a strong grip on those who produce things with their minds for a living? Is it really so critical that we all spend so ...

Ep. 240: Disciplined Laziness

20 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

You can’t just turn a “work harder” or “relax” knob. Once you realize that productivity ideas can offer you great autonomy in shaping your l...

Ep. 239: On Time and Stress

13 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The relationship with time is one of the more interesting things going on in work culture. Many knowledge workers take on too much work and become ove...

Ep. 238: The Joys of the Reading Life

06 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The reading life is a deep life. The screen-filled life can be primitive and exhausting. Which one do you want?Below are the questions covered in toda...

Ep. 237: Reimagining the Internet

27 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: https://bit.ly/3U3s...

Ep. 236: Hacking Remote Work

20 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: https://bit.ly/3U3s...

Ep. 235: Is Productivity Overrated?

13 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvoVideo...

Ep. 234: Ambition without Burnout

06 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvoVideo...

Ep. 233: Escaping Your Tyrannical Inbox

30 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvoVideo...

Ep. 232: The Lumberjack Paradox

23 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: https://bit.ly/3U3s...

Ep. 231: Fight Burnout with Work Cycles

16 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvoVideo...

Ep. 230: How Well Are You Living?

09 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvoVideo...

Ep. 229: Developing Discipline

02 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/po...

Ep. 228: A World Without Busyness

26 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvoDEEP DIVE: A World Without Busyness? [4:51]- In an era of Quiet Quitting is it ea...

Ep. 227: Visions of the Deep Life?

19 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvo- DEEP DIVE: Should I Manage Time or Stress? [2:50]-  How do I switch from a pus...

Ep. 226: The Productivity Dragon

12 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvo- CALL: How do I balance different productivity systems? [5:24]- How do I deal wi...

Ep. 225: Should I Become A Thriller Writer? (w/ J.T. Ellison)

05 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvoDEEP DIVE: Did Alan Turing Invent The Computer? [5:25]INTERVIEW: Thriller writer ...

Ep. 224: A World Without Twitter?

28 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvoDEEP DIVE: A World Without Twitter? [7:28]bit.ly/3hQ9Wh4LIVE CALLER: Starting a n...

Ep. 223: Could This Meeting Have Been An Email?

21 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvoDEEP DIVE: Could This Meeting Have Been An Email? [5:48]bit.ly/3EDcuZ0Questions f...

Ep. 222: Did Cavemen Use To-Do Lists?

14 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvoDEEP DIVE: Did Caveman Use To-Do Lists? [1:28]Article Link: bit.ly/3NYRbnF- LIVE ...

Ep. 221: Can Parents Do Deep Work?

07 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvoDEEP DIVE: The 20% Paradox [4:54]- INTERVIEW with Yael Schonbrun [18:59]- Cal and...

Ep. 220: The Two Types of Ambition

01 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvoDEEP DIVE: The Two Types of Ambition [4:36]- LIVE CALL: Escaping the “Second Co...

Listen to This: The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

26 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Here’s a special preview of the new season of The Happiness Lab, a podcast from Pushkin Industries. You might think you know what it takes to lead a...

Ep. 219: The Deep Reset

24 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Link to submit questions: bit.ly/3U3sTvoDEEP DIVE: The Deep Reset [8:58]- Should I use Seinfeld’s “Don’t Break the Chain” method? [37:48]- Doe...

Ep. 218: Work vs. Meaning

17 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Link to submit questions: bit.ly/3U3sTvoDEEP DIVE: Work vs. Meaning [4:48]- How do I design a life I love? [33:37]- Is it okay that I use adult colori...

Ep. 217: Slow Productivity Advice

10 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Link to submit questions: bit.ly/3U3sTvoCAL REACTS: Brandon Sanderson’s Underground Lair [2:49]- Was it a mistake to drop out of college? [21:49]- W...

Ep. 216: Deep Walking To Work Less

03 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Link to submit questions: bit.ly/3U3sTvo- Interesting Mail Bag [7:10]- Does walking help or hurt my work? [25:01]- How do I tame the flow of work from...

Ep. 215: RYAN HOLIDAY: Discipline Is Destiny

26 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Link to submit questions: bit.ly/3U3sTvo- INTERVIEW with Ryan Holiday [10:00] - Cal and Jesse talk about Holiday interview [1:13:57]Thanks to our Spon...

Ep. 214: Quiet Quitting

19 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Link to submit questions: bit.ly/3U3sTvo- Deep Dive: Quiet Quitting [4:00]- How can I motivate my kids to have Cal’s work ethic? [24:28]- What are C...

Ep. 213: The Art Of Saying No

12 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

- Deep Dive: The art of “no” [7:06]- CALL: Anxiety and timeblock planning [27:38] - How do I choose a hobby to master? [37:01]- Should I leave my...

Ep. 212: The Productivity Dragon Returns

05 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

- Deep Dive: Will 4-Day Weeks Solve Burnout? [7:01]- How do I know if I’m doing too much? [24:03]- Who invented the idea to “follow your passion”...

Ep. 211: How Cal Organizes His Life

29 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

- Deep Dive: How does Cal organize his life? [4:47]- How do I improve my estimates of how long a task will take?  [27:49]- How does Cal feel about op...

Ep. 210: Visions of a Deep Life

22 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Please take a moment to provide feedback on the podcast using this survey: bit.ly/3zMTLXpDEEP DIVE: Loops, Networks, and Links [5:32]DEEP WORK QUESTIO...

Ep. 209: Email and Living with Purpose

15 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Click Here To Take Cal’s Survey: https://bit.ly/3zMTLXpCal reacts to the news: TikTok and the Fall of the Social Media Giants [3:05]- How long shoul...

Ep. 208: To-Do Lists Are Inhumane

08 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Habit Tune-Up: To-Do Lists Are Inhumane [2:03]- Is distracted deep work the same as shallow work? [18:10]- How does Cal do quarterly reviews? [23:03]-...

Ep. 207: A Digital Minimalism Intervention (w/ JAMIE KILSTEIN)

02 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s episode, we try something different: a special two-part conversation in which Cal coaches his longtime friend, comedian and podcast pione...

Ep 206 – Striving to do less

25 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

With Cal away on vacation, he decides to tackle 8 questions in a row, all in one take, with no breaks! Ian Fleming’s writing process [1:13] - How ...

Ep. 205: Why I’m a Bad Correspondent

18 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

With Jesse away on vacation, Cal decides to tackle 10 questions in a row, all in one take, with no breaks, covering everything from complaints about C...

Ep. 204: Deep Life Principles

11 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Cal Reacts: A slow productivity case study [5:19]- What do you think about planning two weeks out instead of one? [25:52]- How can I brainwash my litt...

Ep. 203: Taming Meetings

04 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/po...

Ep. 202: TikTok Dismisses Facebook

27 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/po...

Ep. 201: Making a Living Online

20 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/po...

Ep. 200: Decoding the Deep Life

13 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/po...

Ep. 199: Quieting an Ambitious Brain

10 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/po...

Ep. 198: The Second Principle of Slow Productivity

30 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/po...

Ep. 197: I’m Writing a New Book

23 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/po...

Ep. 196: Shutting Down Anxiety

15 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/po...

Ep. 195: Deep Walks

09 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/po...