Escape Your Desk: A Simple Way To Find Clarity & Make Hard Work Feel Like Play | Cal Newport

Environments Adventure Working Productivity

Self-Improvement

Cal Newport

May 29, 2024

1 min read

In this podcast episode, Cal Newport delves into the concept of Adventure working, a strategy to transform the character of professional life by working in inspiring and unusual places. He introduces the idea of Adventure studying, which he developed in 2008, focusing on college and university life. The core idea is to engage in exam preparation and paper writing in novel environments to enhance engagement, creativity, and enjoyment of the process. Newport provides examples of individuals who have radically changed their work environments, such as Neil Gaiman, Mary Oliver, and Ian Rankin, and shares his own experiences of Adventure work in various outdoor locations.

Key takeaways

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Adventure Working: Cal Newport introduces the concept of Adventure working, which involves performing professional tasks in inspiring and unusual places to enhance engagement, creativity, and enjoyment.

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Adventure Studying: Newport's idea of Adventure studying, developed in 2008, focuses on college and university life, encouraging students to prepare for exams and write papers in novel environments.

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Optimal Environments: Newport emphasizes the importance of choosing inspiring and unusual places for cognitive work, such as hiking to a waterfall, visiting museums, or working in scenic spots.

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Benefits of Novelty: The effectiveness of Adventure working is attributed to the lack of familiar cues, which helps focus, sparks creative insights, makes work more interesting, and provides a separation from regular work settings.

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Natural Pace and Seasonality: Newport discusses the importance of working at a natural pace and incorporating seasonality into one's routine to avoid burnout and achieve more impactful results.

Table of contents

• Optimal Environments for Cognitive Work • The Benefits of Adventure Working • Embracing Natural Pace and Seasonality

Optimal Environments for Cognitive Work

Newport emphasizes the importance of considering where you do your most important cognitive work. He suggests tackling demanding or interesting tasks in inspiring and unusual places, such as hiking to a waterfall, visiting museums, working in pubs or bars, or finding a scenic spot in a park. He highlights the significance of having a clear objective, capturing your thinking, and following an iterative process during Adventure work sessions.

The Benefits of Adventure Working

The effectiveness of Adventure working is attributed to several factors. Firstly, the lack of familiar cues in novel environments helps focus. Secondly, creative insights are often sparked in new settings. Thirdly, the work itself becomes more interesting. Lastly, it provides a separation from regular work settings, promoting a sense of humanity in an increasingly digital world. Newport encourages giving Adventure working time, as its perceived slowness can lead to greater rewards in terms of productivity and creativity. He suggests incorporating Adventure work into weekly plans and making a conscious effort to work in novel and inspiring locations to generate interesting thoughts and produce better work.

Embracing Natural Pace and Seasonality

Newport also discusses the importance of working at a natural pace and incorporating seasonality into one's work routine. He suggests varying the intensity of work at different time scales, such as having lighter days within a week or slowing down the pace of working on new ideas over longer periods. This deliberate and sustainable approach helps avoid burnout and achieve more impactful results in the long run.