Productivity Fatigue: Is Striving To "Get Things Done" Causing Burnout? | Cal Newport

the Archive

A software that uses Txt files to create simple notes and link them, used by Scott Young to compress and organize a large volume of research papers for his book.

@ 1:07:14

Trello

A collaborative project management tool used by Cal Newport for structured task management and organizing ongoing tasks into categories.

@ 1:38:40

Google Docs

A simple tool used by Cal Newport for task management, dockets, and general organization in deep productivity processes.

@ 1:33:22

Zocdoc

A free app and website that allows users to search, compare, and instantly book appointments with highly rated, in-network doctors.

@ 1:57:10

How to Win at College

Cal Newport's first book, a sage advice guide for students, influenced by 'How to Become CEO.'

@ 15:31

How to Become a Straight-A Student

Cal Newport's second book, based on Stephen Covey's style, providing systems for students to achieve good grades without being overwhelmed, prioritizing simplicity and sustainability.

@ 16:18

The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

Tim Ferriss's influential book from 2007, which introduced the concept of 'lifestyle design' as an alternative to managing overwhelming work, advocating for automation and non-traditional work-life structures.

@ 19:03

How to Become a High School Superstar

Cal Newport's third book, a 'subversive' college admissions guide promoting an alternative notion of ambition and success for students, allowing them to excel without feeling overloaded or stressed.

@ 22:29

So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love

Cal Newport's fourth book, focusing on building career control by mastering skills rather than following passion, to avoid being overloaded and stressed.

@ 25:27

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

Greg McKeown's 2014 book, initiating the 'fighting back' era of productivity by advocating for discerning what is essential and eliminating everything else to make the highest possible contribution.

@ 28:26

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

Cal Newport's fifth book, a 'fighting back' book that addresses high velocity and interruption in work, emphasizing undistracted focus for creating value and pushing back against constant responsiveness.

@ 29:52

The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

Gary Keller's book, also a 'fighting back' book, emphasizing focus on the most important 'one thing' for achieving results.

@ 30:36

How to do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy

Jenny Odell's 2019 book that explored resisting the attention economy and brought academic formalisms, particularly Marxist analysis, to critique productivity and work.

@ 32:08

Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World

Cal Newport's sixth book, released the same week as Jenny Odell's 'How to do Nothing,' also grappling with technology and focus.

@ 33:28

Get Better at Anything: 12 Maxims for Mastery

Scott Young's new book, a deep dive into how learning works, identifying fundamental ingredients for improvement across three components: learning from others, deliberate practice, and feedback.

@ 55:36

Ultra-learning

Scott Young's first book, mentioned in the context of research organization challenges before developing a systematic note-taking method.

@ 1:02:23

An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood

A history by Neal Gabler about the early tycoons of Hollywood, focusing on their psychology and immigrant backgrounds.

@ 2:01:19

Co-intelligence: Thinking with AI

A book by Ethan Mollick that serves as an introduction to AI, explaining how it works, how people use it, and its impact on various sectors.

@ 2:03:07

Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence

A non-fiction book by Carl Sagan from the 1970s, exploring neuroscience and evolution, including the evolution of the human brain and the origins of fear/fantasies.

@ 2:04:35

The Perfect Mile: Three Athletes, One Goal, and the Race to Break the Four-Minute Barrier

A narrative sports non-fiction book by Neal Bascomb about the quest to break the four-minute mile, detailing the experiences of three different runners with distinct training styles.

@ 2:06:58

To Heal a Fractured World: The Ethics of Responsibility

A book by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks exploring ethics derived from Judaism, connecting it to secular philosophy and tracing modern liberal ideas back to Abrahamic monotheism.

@ 2:10:05

Tim Ferriss

Author of 'The 4-Hour Workweek,' who popularized the concept of lifestyle design and radical ways to escape traditional work structures.

@ 19:03

Leo Babauta

Creator of Zen Habits, who quit his job through ebook sales to live a simple life, exemplifying the minimalism movement.

@ 21:43

Greg McKeown

Author of 'Essentialism,' who advocated for pushing back against overwhelming workloads by saying 'no' to non-essential tasks.

@ 28:23

Gary Keller

Author of 'The One Thing,' who contributed to the 'fighting back' era of productivity literature.

@ 30:36

Jenny Odell

Author of 'How to do Nothing,' known for her academic and Marxist-influenced critique of the attention economy and productivity.

@ 32:08

Gia Tolentino

A writer for The New Yorker who reviewed both Cal Newport's and Jenny Odell's books, grappling with their themes.

@ 33:51

Franco 'Bifo' Berardi

Italian Marxist thinker whose work on modernizing Marxist ideas for knowledge work heavily influenced Jenny Odell's critique of the attention economy.

@ 34:31

Scott Young

Guest on the podcast, an expert in learning and author of 'Get Better at Anything,' known for his intentional approach to life and work.

@ 54:40

Gloria Mark

A researcher of whose papers Cal Newport read extensively to understand how technology impacts our lives.

@ 1:11:35

Thiago Forte

Author of 'Building a Second Brain' and developer of the PARA method for organizing knowledge and information.

@ 1:01:30

Andrew Ericson

An academic mentioned in connection with a dense Cambridge Manual for Performance, highlighting the complexity of learning science.

@ 57:24

Linda Stone

A researcher known for the concept of 'partial continuous attention,' describing a lifestyle of constant context switching.

@ 1:28:47

Neal Gabler

Author of 'An Empire of Their Own' and Walt Disney's biography, known for his biographical writing.

@ 2:01:19

Walt Disney

Subject of an epic biography by Neil Gabler, mentioned as a favorite book by the speaker.

@ 2:01:47

Ethan Mollick

A professor at Penn and author of 'Co-intelligence,' known for his popular newsletter that keeps readers updated on AI developments.

@ 2:03:10

Carl Sagan

Author of 'Dragons of Eden,' a scientist (astronomer/planetary physicist) who won a Pulitzer Prize for his neuroscience book and is admired for his public communication of science.

@ 2:04:35

Neal Bascomb

Author of 'The Perfect Mile,' praised for his well-researched and engaging narrative writing style.

@ 2:06:58

Roger Bannister

A British runner featured in 'The Perfect Mile' who broke the four-minute mile, representing the British amateur training style.

@ 2:08:03

Jonathan Sacks

A late Modern Orthodox Rabbi and former Chief Rabbi of the UK, known for his accessible writing that merges secular philosophical knowledge with Jewish thought on ethics.

@ 2:10:09