A Productivity System To Remember Everything You Learn & Get Ahead In Life | Cal Newport

Added: Feb 13, 2024

Reducing Friction in Note-Taking

Newport explains the concept of friction in work, which refers to the extra effort, time, or complexity surrounding a task. While some tasks benefit from friction, such as John McPhee's elaborate process for writing articles, note-taking requires minimal friction to efficiently capture information. Complicated systems can hinder the ability to take action and capture important information, leading to missed opportunities. Newport advocates for a simple and low-friction approach to note-taking to ensure that valuable information is not lost.

Three Types of Note-Taking

1. Books

Newport uses the corner marking method to take notes on books. He marks the corner of pages with important information and makes simple marks in the margins to indicate key points. This minimalistic approach allows him to quickly revisit and reconstitute important ideas from books without the need for elaborate systems. By keeping notes in the book itself, Newport ensures that the information is easily accessible and can be integrated into his mental schemas.

2. Projects

Newport stores notes relevant to professional projects in the location where he will work on them. For example, he creates Scrivener documents for articles and books and adds ideas, links, and brainstorming notes directly to the project folders. This approach reduces friction and ensures that all relevant information is readily available when it comes time to work on the project. By reviewing and adding to these notes regularly, he keeps the project ideas fresh in his mind and allows for background processing to generate new insights.

3. Ideas about Life

Newport recommends using a physical notebook or a digital notebook like Remarkable to capture ideas about life. By keeping a cool and aspirational notebook, individuals can engage in the process of crafting their own lives and reflecting on meaningful ideas. Regularly reviewing and summarizing key ideas from the notebook helps prioritize and remember important insights for personal growth and development.

Balancing Work and Life

Newport cautions against applying the same organizational productivity thinking used in work to life outside of work. Life outside of work is about living well and engaging in activities that bring fulfillment and satisfaction. By reframing the question of how to best use time outside of work as a way to live well, individuals can focus on activities that align with their values and contribute to a deep and meaningful life. By giving oneself permission to relax and not stress about productivity outside of work, individuals can approach their time with a more relaxed mindset.

Improving focus and attention span

One of the key topics discussed is the declining attention spans and the myths surrounding attention span. Cal Newport highlights the misconception that individuals should always strive to be focused and feel guilty when they can't. He also debunks the myth that mindless activity on devices is always wasteful of time, emphasizing the importance of aligning technology use with personal values.

Addressing distractions and improving concentration

Newport delves into the challenges of dealing with distractions, particularly in the context of working on a dissertation while juggling a full-time job. He suggests that individuals struggling with concentration should consider establishing a morning routine for deep work, similar to training for a marathon. By dedicating focused time in the morning before other tasks and distractions take over, individuals can make consistent progress on challenging projects.