Everyday Small Habits That Lead To Incredible Results | Cal Newport

Added: Jul 16, 2024

Smart Work Habits

For work, he suggests using reciprocal meeting blocks - scheduling a corresponding block of deep work time for every meeting scheduled. This helps prevent the calendar from becoming overly saturated with meetings. He also recommends adding a 20-minute "recovery block" after meetings to process action items and clear mental residue.

Another work strategy is using quotas for common types of work tasks. By establishing a quota for how many of a particular type of project to do per month/quarter/year, it becomes easier to say no when the quota is full. This provides a clear rationale for declining requests that is hard to argue against. Newport suggests being willing to use the quota to turn down requests before it's full if better opportunities are expected.

For structuring the work week, Newport proposes "coordination Mondays" - dedicating Mondays to organizing work, collaboration, and getting a handle on what's going on. Meetings and check-ins are pushed to Mondays as much as possible. He also suggests "summer Fridays" - ending work early on Fridays and avoiding scheduling meetings then to allow for a slower wind-down into the weekend.

A key productivity tool Newport swears by is using a "working memory.txt" file - a plain text file on the desktop used as an extension of working memory throughout the day. This allows for quickly jotting down notes, action items, and thoughts without having to keep everything in your head. The file grows and contracts throughout the day as a digital extension of the brain.

Personal Life and Deep Living Strategies

For cultivating a deeper life outside of work, Newport recommends using single-purpose notebooks dedicated to particular complex problems or challenges. By having a dedicated place to capture thoughts and insights about a specific issue, it accelerates progress toward solutions by tapping into more brain power across different mind states.

Taking daily "thinking walks" is another habit Newport suggests for making sense of life and finding meaning. Walking while thinking about yourself, your life, or things on your mind - without screens or other distractions - allows for processing thoughts and emotions in a way humans are wired for.

Newport strongly advises against posting on social media unless absolutely necessary for professional reasons. He argues that posting is where the deepest tendrils of social media addiction take hold, warping one's understanding of the world and creating unhappiness.

To build discipline, Newport recommends regularly doing something hard, then moving on to the next hard thing. This raises one's "discipline threshold" and makes it easier to resist temptations and do difficult but important tasks. Starting with physical challenges like diet/exercise changes can be a good entry point.

Multiscale Planning and Weekly Reviews

Newport emphasizes the importance of weekly planning as part of his multiscale planning approach. He suggests experimenting with different formats - handwritten in a planner, digital text file, emailed to oneself, etc. The key is having the discipline to look at the week ahead and figure out what needs to be done, where, and what might need to be moved. This wider aperture prevents taking each day as it comes.

For tracking deep vs. shallow work ratios, Newport clarifies that only uninterrupted blocks of at least an hour should count as deep work time. Fragmented shorter blocks don't provide the same benefits. He recommends working with supervisors to determine the ideal deep-to-shallow work ratio for one's particular role.

Conclusion

Newport emphasizes that while these are smaller tactics, they can add up to make a significant difference in cultivating a deeper, more intentional life. He encourages listeners to experiment with the ideas that resonate, rather than feeling obligated to implement everything. The overarching goal is to live more deeply and purposefully in a world increasingly dominated by digital distractions.

By focusing on both work strategies (like reciprocal meeting blocks and coordination Mondays) and personal life habits (like thinking walks and single-purpose notebooks), Newport provides a holistic approach to improving productivity and life satisfaction. He stresses the importance of recognizing that there are multiple aspects of life that matter, rather than fixating on singular grand goals.

Throughout the episode, Newport weaves together practical tactics with deeper philosophical considerations about what constitutes a good life. He encourages listeners to think critically about how they structure their time, manage their attention, and pursue their goals - both professionally and personally. By making intentional choices in these areas, Newport suggests we can cultivate richer, more meaningful lives even in the face of increasing digital distractions and demands on our time and attention.