Ep. 308: The Power of the Quiet Mind

Deep Questions with Cal Newport

One of the trickiest aspects of new technology is that it can sometimes destabilize parts of our lives that we didn’t even realize existed and are important. In this episode, Cal talks about one such idea: the quiet mind. Our constant phone usage is eliminating this critical cognitive state, and by doing so is diminishing our humanity. Cal makes the case for the importance of the quiet mind, and then gives concrete ideas for cultivating it in a distracted world. He also answers questions from listeners and reviews the five books he read in June.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvo

Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia

Deep Dive: The Power of the Quiet Mind [3:58]

- What are the benefits of walking meditation? [29:13]

- How can a new dad find time to advance his career? [34:16]

- How do I manage a temporary increase in admin responsibilities? [38:48]

- How can my son organize his sports and school schedule? [43:31]

- How can I do less when my colleagues are getting ahead for doing more? [45:54]

- CALL: Pre-scheduling with a pull system [51:14]

CASE STUDY: Collaborating with colleagues to effectively do hard work [57:54]

FINAL SEGMENT: The 5 Books Cal Read in June 2024 [1:08:05]

Links:

Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at calnewport.com/slow

Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/

Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?

Thanks to our Sponsors:

indeed.com/deep

notion.com/cal

shopify.com/deep

expressvpn.com/deep

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, Kieron Rees for the slow productivity music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

Chapters

1. Ep. 308: The Power of the Quiet Mind (00:00:00)

2. Deep Dive: The Power of the Quiet Mind (00:03:58)

3. What are the benefits of walking meditation? (00:29:13)

4. How can a new dad find time to advance his career? (00:34:16)

5. How do I manage a temporary increase in admin responsibilities? (00:38:48)

6. How can my son organize his sports and school schedule? (00:43:31)

7. How can I do less when my colleagues are getting ahead for doing more? (00:45:54)

8. CALL: Pre-scheduling with a pull system (00:51:14)

9. CASE STUDY: Collaborating with colleagues to effectively do hard work (00:57:54)

10. FINAL SEGMENT: The 5 Books Cal Read in June 2024 (01:08:05)