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Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout
~ Do Fewer Things. Work at a Natural Pace. Obsess over Quality . ~
From the New York Times bestselling author of Digital Minimalism and Deep Work , a groundbreaking philosophy for pursuing meaningful accomplishment while avoiding overload
Our current definition of “productivity” is broken. It pushes us to treat busyness as a proxy for useful effort, leading to impossibly lengthy task lists and ceaseless meetings. We’re overwhelmed by all we have to do and on the edge of burnout, left to decide between giving into soul-sapping hustle culture or rejecting ambition altogether. But are these really our only choices?
Long before the arrival of pinging inboxes and clogged schedules, history’s most creative and impactful philosophers, scientists, artists, and writers mastered the art of producing valuable work with staying power. In this timely and provocative book, Cal Newport harnesses the wisdom of these traditional knowledge workers to radically transform our modern jobs. Drawing from deep research on the habits and mindsets of a varied cast of storied thinkers – from Galileo and Isaac Newton, to Jane Austen and Georgia O’Keefe – Newport lays out the key principles of “slow productivity,” a more sustainable alternative to the aimless overwhelm that defines our current moment. Combining cultural criticism with systematic pragmatism, Newport deconstructs the absurdities inherent in standard notions of productivity, and then provides step-by-step advice for workers to replace them with a slower, more humane alternative.
From the aggressive rethinking of workload management, to introducing seasonal variation, to shifting your performance toward long-term quality, Slow Productivity provides a roadmap for escaping overload and arriving instead at a more timeless approach to pursuing meaningful accomplishment. The world of work is due for a new revolution. Slow productivity is exactly what we need.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Digital Minimalism and Deep Work , a groundbreaking philosophy for pursuing meaningful accomplishment while avoiding overload
Our current definition of “productivity” is broken. It pushes us to treat busyness as a proxy for useful effort, leading to impossibly lengthy task lists and ceaseless meetings. We’re overwhelmed by all we have to do and on the edge of burnout, left to decide between giving into soul-sapping hustle culture or rejecting ambition altogether. But are these really our only choices?
Long before the arrival of pinging inboxes and clogged schedules, history’s most creative and impactful philosophers, scientists, artists, and writers mastered the art of producing valuable work with staying power. In this timely and provocative book, Cal Newport harnesses the wisdom of these traditional knowledge workers to radically transform our modern jobs. Drawing from deep research on the habits and mindsets of a varied cast of storied thinkers – from Galileo and Isaac Newton, to Jane Austen and Georgia O’Keefe – Newport lays out the key principles of “slow productivity,” a more sustainable alternative to the aimless overwhelm that defines our current moment. Combining cultural criticism with systematic pragmatism, Newport deconstructs the absurdities inherent in standard notions of productivity, and then provides step-by-step advice for workers to replace them with a slower, more humane alternative.
From the aggressive rethinking of workload management, to introducing seasonal variation, to shifting your performance toward long-term quality, Slow Productivity provides a roadmap for escaping overload and arriving instead at a more timeless approach to pursuing meaningful accomplishment. The world of work is due for a new revolution. Slow productivity is exactly what we need.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published March 5, 2024
About the author
Cal Newport
115 books8,443 followersCal Newport is Provost’s Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University, and the author of seven books. His ideas and writing are frequently featured in major publications and on TV and radio.
From his website: "I write about the intersection of digital technology and culture. I’m particularly interested in our struggle to deploy these tools in ways that support instead of subvert the things we care about in both our personal and professional lives."
From his website: "I write about the intersection of digital technology and culture. I’m particularly interested in our struggle to deploy these tools in ways that support instead of subvert the things we care about in both our personal and professional lives."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 395 reviews
March 10, 2024
Unfortunately, I didn’t like this book. I wholeheartedly agree that we have to change how we measure productivity in knowledge work and that you need time to produce something of value, so I expected clear proposals of possible solutions or at least a well structured how-to guide.
It was everything but. The book is a collection of stories about famous people from different fields (Jewel, Benjamin Franklin, Stephenie Meyer, Steve Jobs etc.) which are relatively entertaining. Then the author draws whatever conclusions he needs to get to his point, sometimes contradicting the story or simply focusing on whatever he wants. It felt like he had read a bunch of biographies and wanted to write about them. The self-help aspect was just to sell the book to wider audiences.
When we actually get to the parts where he offers advice, it’s either very vague or non-applicable to the majority of knowledge workers. And while he addresses some of that (what to do if your schedule is not your own etc.) I found it very superficial. Many of his suggestions left me feeling like I’m not privileged enough to implement them. Find an investor? Yeah, sure.
Also, he constantly confuses knowledge work with creative work. I was confused whether I need to work less to pursue my creative hobbies that I would be able to monetise in the future (a.k.a hustling) or do I have to dedicate less time to administrative tasks so I can focus on valuable tasks in my field?
Finally, his advice is full of contradictions. Scale down your living expenses to work less but have more time! But also pay 2K for app subscriptions to make your work easier. Simplicity is the key! But also you should buy expensive things like software, hardware and notebooks to feel more “pro”. It feels like he wanted this book to be applicable to so many different people that it ended up being applicable to no one.
This book should have been a blog post.
It was everything but. The book is a collection of stories about famous people from different fields (Jewel, Benjamin Franklin, Stephenie Meyer, Steve Jobs etc.) which are relatively entertaining. Then the author draws whatever conclusions he needs to get to his point, sometimes contradicting the story or simply focusing on whatever he wants. It felt like he had read a bunch of biographies and wanted to write about them. The self-help aspect was just to sell the book to wider audiences.
When we actually get to the parts where he offers advice, it’s either very vague or non-applicable to the majority of knowledge workers. And while he addresses some of that (what to do if your schedule is not your own etc.) I found it very superficial. Many of his suggestions left me feeling like I’m not privileged enough to implement them. Find an investor? Yeah, sure.
Also, he constantly confuses knowledge work with creative work. I was confused whether I need to work less to pursue my creative hobbies that I would be able to monetise in the future (a.k.a hustling) or do I have to dedicate less time to administrative tasks so I can focus on valuable tasks in my field?
Finally, his advice is full of contradictions. Scale down your living expenses to work less but have more time! But also pay 2K for app subscriptions to make your work easier. Simplicity is the key! But also you should buy expensive things like software, hardware and notebooks to feel more “pro”. It feels like he wanted this book to be applicable to so many different people that it ended up being applicable to no one.
This book should have been a blog post.
March 6, 2024
I've read enough of Newport to see that like 80% of the book is just rehashing his old ideas. There are some nuggets of novelty, but also some boring anecdotes about famous people that kind of extend this book even longer. If you're in this productivity space and have heard his pitch before, there's not much to be gained here.
January 1, 2024
Cal Newport is my productivity sherpa. He does it again. “Do fewer things. Work at a natural pace. Obsess over quality.” He confronts the cult of pseudo-productivity and argues for a slow and steady pace. Many of his insights were tried in different formats, including his writing for The New Yorker and his podcast. So a lot of of the tactical suggestions are what he calls his “best hits.” I appreciated the ample use of historical examples, living and dead (e.g. John McPhee, Benjamin Franklin, Jane Austen, Kerouac, Ian Fleming, Lin Manuel-Miranda, Georgia O’Keefe, Jewel, John Grisham, Neil Gaiman, Tolkien, et al.).
March 17, 2024
I've been a follower of Cal Newport for a while, and highly respect his approach to productivity. I particularly enjoy his typical analysis to productivity topics - he often takes a pragmatic and scientific approach to determining why his proposed theories and strategies on producing quality work actually work. This book, in no way, rises to the quality that I expect from him.
Firstly, a large portion of the book feels like re-hashed lessons from other books of the Newport canon. For instance, strategies to implement point #1 ("Do fewer things") was literally described as "greatest hits" from Deep Work and other previous books.
Second, the book excessively describes biographies of historical figures. 90% of the book seems to be retelling the history of: scientists of the 17th and 18th centuries, singer-songwriters from the late 20th century, and modern day writers. If you are the average cubicle-dwelling "knowledge worker" that Cal is apparently writing for, I hope you can relate to Jewel, because you are going to get her entire life story.
The advice here is sparse, and a large portion is inaccessible to the knowledge workers he's trying to write for. What I walked away with is: I need to be more of cinephile, have a remote cabin in the woods, not take meetings on Mondays, and tell my coworkers to basically f-off. Great, thanks Cal, I think these tips will really help my career...
When I think of this book, on a good day it makes me sad, and on a bad day it makes me mad. Why? Because Cal is better than this. This is barely a step up from those absolute trash articles like "Why YOU need to start Benjamin Franklin's ELITE morning routine". One step up. It's cherry picked historical examples that are wildly tangential.
And what makes my most mad of all is that the terrible quality of this book betrays the deep truth it's trying to advocate for - that taking your time, choosing quality and persistence over mania, pays off. And it didn't. This book had tremendous responsibility and utterly betrayed it, if not invalidated it - which is why this is such a travesty.
Firstly, a large portion of the book feels like re-hashed lessons from other books of the Newport canon. For instance, strategies to implement point #1 ("Do fewer things") was literally described as "greatest hits" from Deep Work and other previous books.
Second, the book excessively describes biographies of historical figures. 90% of the book seems to be retelling the history of: scientists of the 17th and 18th centuries, singer-songwriters from the late 20th century, and modern day writers. If you are the average cubicle-dwelling "knowledge worker" that Cal is apparently writing for, I hope you can relate to Jewel, because you are going to get her entire life story.
The advice here is sparse, and a large portion is inaccessible to the knowledge workers he's trying to write for. What I walked away with is: I need to be more of cinephile, have a remote cabin in the woods, not take meetings on Mondays, and tell my coworkers to basically f-off. Great, thanks Cal, I think these tips will really help my career...
When I think of this book, on a good day it makes me sad, and on a bad day it makes me mad. Why? Because Cal is better than this. This is barely a step up from those absolute trash articles like "Why YOU need to start Benjamin Franklin's ELITE morning routine". One step up. It's cherry picked historical examples that are wildly tangential.
And what makes my most mad of all is that the terrible quality of this book betrays the deep truth it's trying to advocate for - that taking your time, choosing quality and persistence over mania, pays off. And it didn't. This book had tremendous responsibility and utterly betrayed it, if not invalidated it - which is why this is such a travesty.
March 27, 2024
This book was a disappointment. I love Cal Newport‘s podcast and was excited to pick this book.
I feel more confused after reading this book. Cal contradicts himself so much. I liked his other two books - Deep work and So good they can’t ignore you. They provided solid advice and were coherent. This book is incoherent though.
I think Cal had clear target audience for his other two books and he catered for them really well. In this book, he didn’t seem to have a clear target audience. He was writing for everyone and no one at the same time.
I have got more useful nuggets from his single podcast episode than this whole book. I recommend his podcast and other books, not this one.
I feel more confused after reading this book. Cal contradicts himself so much. I liked his other two books - Deep work and So good they can’t ignore you. They provided solid advice and were coherent. This book is incoherent though.
I think Cal had clear target audience for his other two books and he catered for them really well. In this book, he didn’t seem to have a clear target audience. He was writing for everyone and no one at the same time.
I have got more useful nuggets from his single podcast episode than this whole book. I recommend his podcast and other books, not this one.
April 1, 2024
This gave me SO MUCH to think about both in my work life and my personal life!
March 5, 2024
“I have two goals for this book. The first is focused: to help as many people as possible free themselves from the dehumanizing grip of pseudo-productivity. As I noted in the introduction, not everyone has access to this outcome. The philosophy I developed is meant primarily for those who engage in skilled labor with significant amounts of autonomy”
I feel like this quote should have been in the introduction and this is the issue I have with most of Cal's advice. Still giving it 4 stars cause this is good advice, but advice that many people will not be able to apply to their own work. I feel like his books are written for people who are either freelancers or higher executives. Most of us regular knowledge workers do not have any say in the way we use email or how we set up meetings.
“My suggestion is to try to put aside an afternoon to escape to the movies once per month, protecting the time on your calendar well in advance so it doesn’t get snagged by a last-minute appointment”>
That made me laugh, like I am not the master of my own hours :D I cannot do that unless I take the afternoon off. I still do it once in a while (taking the afternoon off) and I highly recommend doing the same, cause there is something so satisfying about going to the movies when everyone is at work.
Also kind of annoyed with the obsession of many digital minimalists advocates over "talking to real people". First some of us like to avoid that thank you very much, then when did you have an impromptu conversation that only laster 5 minutes? I will introduce you to some of my coworkers. As someone who works in an open plan office when I'm on site, the office is not a place where I can do deep work. At least if I'm at home I can manage the distractions (cause I am the master of the notifications of my digital tools)
So I did like the book, but I feel like the slower productivity community has the same issues as the regular one (it's very masculine for starters), it only talks to and about a very specific category of workers. Which now that I think of it, might be why I can't stick to one productivity system (or tools), those are developed by the same kind of people, and they won't work for me (you're welcome for that sudden realisation).
I feel like this quote should have been in the introduction and this is the issue I have with most of Cal's advice. Still giving it 4 stars cause this is good advice, but advice that many people will not be able to apply to their own work. I feel like his books are written for people who are either freelancers or higher executives. Most of us regular knowledge workers do not have any say in the way we use email or how we set up meetings.
“My suggestion is to try to put aside an afternoon to escape to the movies once per month, protecting the time on your calendar well in advance so it doesn’t get snagged by a last-minute appointment”>
That made me laugh, like I am not the master of my own hours :D I cannot do that unless I take the afternoon off. I still do it once in a while (taking the afternoon off) and I highly recommend doing the same, cause there is something so satisfying about going to the movies when everyone is at work.
Also kind of annoyed with the obsession of many digital minimalists advocates over "talking to real people". First some of us like to avoid that thank you very much, then when did you have an impromptu conversation that only laster 5 minutes? I will introduce you to some of my coworkers. As someone who works in an open plan office when I'm on site, the office is not a place where I can do deep work. At least if I'm at home I can manage the distractions (cause I am the master of the notifications of my digital tools)
So I did like the book, but I feel like the slower productivity community has the same issues as the regular one (it's very masculine for starters), it only talks to and about a very specific category of workers. Which now that I think of it, might be why I can't stick to one productivity system (or tools), those are developed by the same kind of people, and they won't work for me (you're welcome for that sudden realisation).
March 7, 2024
I listened to this book and the author/narrator (same person) left much to be desired. I felt good about myself while listening because I feel like I already do a lot of the things they talk about. One (and most importantly) is switching my career for something more sustainable for myself and adopting a more leisurely pace when it comes to getting stuff done and taking more intentional breaks to make sure I'm working from a full cup. Did I need to read this book? No. Am I happy I read it? Eh. Would I recommend it? Probably not.
March 25, 2024
Ik las nooit eerder iets van Cal Newport hoewel ik al twee boeken van hem in mijn boekenkast heb staan. Ongelezen dus. Oeps.
Maar soms kruist een bepaald boek je weg en moet je het gewoon lezen. Dit was the right book at the right time voor mij. Ik heb er ontzettend veel aan gehad. Het heeft me aan het denken gezet over hoe ik processen binnen mijn eigen zaak kan vereenvoudigen of kan aanpakken zodat ik niet altijd aanwezig moet zijn in mijn zaak.
Voor het push/pull principe neem ik mee, want volgens mij was dat toch wel één van de redenen waardoor ik een beetje begon door te draaien. En social media blijft nog even van mijn telefoon. Als ik Instagram wil checken, dan kan ik altijd via de website snel een blik werpen.
Sowieso een boek dat ik er in de toekomst nog een aantal keren bij zal nemen en wie weet zelfs opnieuw zal lezen. En misschien moet ik toch ook maar eens werk maken van die ongelezen boeken van dezelfde auteur die hier stof staan te verzamelen. Misschien staat daar ook nog het één en het andere interessant in. Ahum.
Maar soms kruist een bepaald boek je weg en moet je het gewoon lezen. Dit was the right book at the right time voor mij. Ik heb er ontzettend veel aan gehad. Het heeft me aan het denken gezet over hoe ik processen binnen mijn eigen zaak kan vereenvoudigen of kan aanpakken zodat ik niet altijd aanwezig moet zijn in mijn zaak.
Voor het push/pull principe neem ik mee, want volgens mij was dat toch wel één van de redenen waardoor ik een beetje begon door te draaien. En social media blijft nog even van mijn telefoon. Als ik Instagram wil checken, dan kan ik altijd via de website snel een blik werpen.
Sowieso een boek dat ik er in de toekomst nog een aantal keren bij zal nemen en wie weet zelfs opnieuw zal lezen. En misschien moet ik toch ook maar eens werk maken van die ongelezen boeken van dezelfde auteur die hier stof staan te verzamelen. Misschien staat daar ook nog het één en het andere interessant in. Ahum.
March 12, 2024
Es muy interesante la evolución personal que ha tenido este autor. Aunque su línea es consistente (elegir aquello que es importante y eliminar distracciones, desarrollar la concentración y la capacidad de hacer cosas desafiantes), ha pasado de estar mucho más cerca de la productividad por y para señores, fan del libre mercado y todo eso, a ser plenamente consciente de la importancia de los cuidados, la carga mental que recae mucho más sobre las mujeres e, incluso, una crítica al capitalismo actual que te hace un par de veces un Marx tenía razón.
En este libro se centra en criticar el ritmo de trabajo del trabajador intelectual y la falsa definición de productividad en la que vivimos, para desarrollar una serie de sistemas para hacer menos y mejor. No esperaba una defensa del quiet quitting pero aquí está. Un gran libro, aunque quizá podría haber profundizado un poco más, que es por lo que lleva 4* en vez de 5. Muy bien.
En este libro se centra en criticar el ritmo de trabajo del trabajador intelectual y la falsa definición de productividad en la que vivimos, para desarrollar una serie de sistemas para hacer menos y mejor. No esperaba una defensa del quiet quitting pero aquí está. Un gran libro, aunque quizá podría haber profundizado un poco más, que es por lo que lleva 4* en vez de 5. Muy bien.
March 8, 2024
This book is a miss for Newport, and it feels very much like he’s cashing in on the anti-work/quiet quitting trend. What’s good here is nothing new from his other books (especially Deep Work). Very conspicuously absent in the book is the counter, which would be the successes of people who are incessantly hustling.
Newport calls out pseudo-productivity, and this is good. But that’s also the whole point of Deep Work.
He gives his permission (thanks Cal!) and provides techniques to get away with doing less without getting noticed. Maybe some people do want or need this?
I am actually fine with what quiet quitting says that it is: stop going above and beyond and just fulfill your basic job duties. But this isn’t really what quiet quitters do. They try to see how little work they can do without getting caught and reprimanded.
If you need a break from going above and beyond and you fear that somehow that will make you fall behind in the rat race, then maybe you will find this book interesting or useful.
I found all of the stories of other people who took things slow to be interesting and inspiring (but not completely consistent).
Also, the book is written by someone who hustles incessantly.
Newport calls out pseudo-productivity, and this is good. But that’s also the whole point of Deep Work.
He gives his permission (thanks Cal!) and provides techniques to get away with doing less without getting noticed. Maybe some people do want or need this?
I am actually fine with what quiet quitting says that it is: stop going above and beyond and just fulfill your basic job duties. But this isn’t really what quiet quitters do. They try to see how little work they can do without getting caught and reprimanded.
If you need a break from going above and beyond and you fear that somehow that will make you fall behind in the rat race, then maybe you will find this book interesting or useful.
I found all of the stories of other people who took things slow to be interesting and inspiring (but not completely consistent).
Also, the book is written by someone who hustles incessantly.
March 14, 2024
I wanted to like this an awful lot more than I did. It's surprisingly full of padding for such a short book; far too many rambling digressions and anecdotes to illustrate points that were perfectly obvious without them. It's a pity, because I was a big fan of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World. I've noticed that the author is doing the rounds on the Podcast circuit and I think you'd be likely to get everything of value from one of those programmes in quarter of the time.
March 25, 2024
Kind of choppy: Lots of “I wrote in a 2021 article that…” It felt like 30 podcasts and blog posts stitched together.
Definite step down from Deep Work and Digital Minimalism. This one was an easier/quick read but felt like an intentional move toward more story-telling a la Malcolm Gladwell, Charles Duhigg, and the Heath brothers (whereas, I prefer a more to-the-point approach). I don't need to be entertained. The upside: easy to ingest via audiobook.
Previously I would have said that Newport is on a very short list (6!) of "authors I will automatically buy and read anything they publish” but I think I’ll wait on his next one and see if it’s worth reading.
One major miss of the book: I think he mis-diagnoses what drives our need to be insanely busy.
Newport attributes it to a need to appear busy. Sending a lot of emails, constantly responding to slack makes you look like you’re a good worker. He calls this enemy "Pseudo-productivity- the use of visible activity as the primary means of approximating actual productive effort.”
That definitely happens and is a helpful reminder that activity ≠ progress.
But I don’t think that’s at the root of what drives us to fill our schedules to the breaking point. I really like how all his books are very practical and immediately applicable. But because his diagnosis is wrong, his prescriptions are inadequate.
I think Byung-Chul Han is much closer to the truth in Burn Out Society re the auto-exploitation that is inevitable in the Achievement Society.
"Today, everyone is an auto-exploiting labourer in his or her own enterprise."
We’re all on a treadmill constantly asking “How much more do I need to achieve?” And the answer is always “More!"
But no one is making us work hard. We’re doing it to ourselves. WHY?
Because there is no one on earth who will say to us - “That’s enough.” “YOU are enough.”
Only by receiving the approval of God can we get off the treadmill.
Definite step down from Deep Work and Digital Minimalism. This one was an easier/quick read but felt like an intentional move toward more story-telling a la Malcolm Gladwell, Charles Duhigg, and the Heath brothers (whereas, I prefer a more to-the-point approach). I don't need to be entertained. The upside: easy to ingest via audiobook.
Previously I would have said that Newport is on a very short list (6!) of "authors I will automatically buy and read anything they publish” but I think I’ll wait on his next one and see if it’s worth reading.
One major miss of the book: I think he mis-diagnoses what drives our need to be insanely busy.
Newport attributes it to a need to appear busy. Sending a lot of emails, constantly responding to slack makes you look like you’re a good worker. He calls this enemy "Pseudo-productivity- the use of visible activity as the primary means of approximating actual productive effort.”
That definitely happens and is a helpful reminder that activity ≠ progress.
But I don’t think that’s at the root of what drives us to fill our schedules to the breaking point. I really like how all his books are very practical and immediately applicable. But because his diagnosis is wrong, his prescriptions are inadequate.
I think Byung-Chul Han is much closer to the truth in Burn Out Society re the auto-exploitation that is inevitable in the Achievement Society.
"Today, everyone is an auto-exploiting labourer in his or her own enterprise."
We’re all on a treadmill constantly asking “How much more do I need to achieve?” And the answer is always “More!"
But no one is making us work hard. We’re doing it to ourselves. WHY?
Because there is no one on earth who will say to us - “That’s enough.” “YOU are enough.”
Only by receiving the approval of God can we get off the treadmill.
March 13, 2024
I’m a fan of Cal Newport’s writing and found this book an easy read with so many stories and examples that supported his points.
I also liked the concept of viewing productivity differently. I was one of those guys who got totally sucked into GTD and productivity hacks and overtime felt disillusioned by trying to milk more out of every minute of my day. We’re not wired for that type of thing.
There’s some good stuff in here. As someone who considers himself a recovering workaholic, I personally think there could be even more but the book isn’t about burnout, healing from burnout or developing a healthy relationship with work. It’s about a healthy approach to being productive, and I can get on board with that.
To sum up the idea in my own words, slow productivity means doing more meaningful work, focusing on quality and doing it at your pace.
I appreciate that message, I currently feel the need to “crank out more projects” and don’t even know why. Some long lost lie I believed once “do more, try harder, be better and you’ll measure up”. I don’t believe those lies anymore but find myself pulled in that direction when doing work. What I like about Cals message is that he actually argues the opposite, better is not about more, but about better. And better takes time. It means going slow. I need this reminder often.
If you can resonate, I definitely recommend. I may revisit Deep Work (a favorite) and read it through this slow productivity lens, I think it’d be a good follow-up heavy on application.
I also liked the concept of viewing productivity differently. I was one of those guys who got totally sucked into GTD and productivity hacks and overtime felt disillusioned by trying to milk more out of every minute of my day. We’re not wired for that type of thing.
There’s some good stuff in here. As someone who considers himself a recovering workaholic, I personally think there could be even more but the book isn’t about burnout, healing from burnout or developing a healthy relationship with work. It’s about a healthy approach to being productive, and I can get on board with that.
To sum up the idea in my own words, slow productivity means doing more meaningful work, focusing on quality and doing it at your pace.
I appreciate that message, I currently feel the need to “crank out more projects” and don’t even know why. Some long lost lie I believed once “do more, try harder, be better and you’ll measure up”. I don’t believe those lies anymore but find myself pulled in that direction when doing work. What I like about Cals message is that he actually argues the opposite, better is not about more, but about better. And better takes time. It means going slow. I need this reminder often.
If you can resonate, I definitely recommend. I may revisit Deep Work (a favorite) and read it through this slow productivity lens, I think it’d be a good follow-up heavy on application.
April 10, 2024
This could have been an email…
While the ideas in the book are good, they could have been described in a much shorter text, or even a 5-minute discussion. The examples used are also quite weak, but sometimes that is necessary to extend an essay into a full length book.
While the ideas in the book are good, they could have been described in a much shorter text, or even a 5-minute discussion. The examples used are also quite weak, but sometimes that is necessary to extend an essay into a full length book.
April 20, 2024
A slow DEATH.
I usually love Cal, let me first add that. But, this book !
Gave absolutely no value, recycled and repetitive “ideas” & if i hear “knowledge worker” one more time I’m gonna shoot myself
Sorry but this was excruciating
I usually love Cal, let me first add that. But, this book !
Gave absolutely no value, recycled and repetitive “ideas” & if i hear “knowledge worker” one more time I’m gonna shoot myself
Sorry but this was excruciating
March 14, 2024
Like many others, I’m a massive fan of Cal Newport. I read all of his books, even if I think he goes a bit overboard with some of his “deep work” philosophy. He still has a lot of great ideas and thoughts about doing good work. With that said, this book is extremely niche and may not appeal to a wide range of readers like some of his other books. This book is specifically for an about knowledge workers like writers, philosophers, and people who have the privilege of getting paid to think.
As per usual, Cal makes extremely strong arguments. This book is all about slowing down and creating the space necessary to think through projects to perform our best work. He shares a lot of stories from famous knowledge workers and creates some principles so we can do better work.
Even if you’re not a full-time knowledge worker, you can probably benefit from this book. I’m only a part-time knowledge worker with my writing, and I gained some value from this book. But for the majority of the population, I could imagine them just getting annoyed by this book. Newport is a pretty progressive thinker, but the people this book appeals to is mainly those of us who are privileged enough to get paid for writing, thinking, teaching, and other forms of knowledge work.
A lot of academics read my book reviews, so for most of you, this is probably a good read. But if you’re working a normal office job with little to no control over your day-to-day tasks, you can probably skip this one. Well, you can give a copy to your boss and hope they change how things are done or potentially get fired.
As per usual, Cal makes extremely strong arguments. This book is all about slowing down and creating the space necessary to think through projects to perform our best work. He shares a lot of stories from famous knowledge workers and creates some principles so we can do better work.
Even if you’re not a full-time knowledge worker, you can probably benefit from this book. I’m only a part-time knowledge worker with my writing, and I gained some value from this book. But for the majority of the population, I could imagine them just getting annoyed by this book. Newport is a pretty progressive thinker, but the people this book appeals to is mainly those of us who are privileged enough to get paid for writing, thinking, teaching, and other forms of knowledge work.
A lot of academics read my book reviews, so for most of you, this is probably a good read. But if you’re working a normal office job with little to no control over your day-to-day tasks, you can probably skip this one. Well, you can give a copy to your boss and hope they change how things are done or potentially get fired.
March 14, 2024
Slow Productivity
If you are a fan of academic-level productivity, this book is for you.
Being an avid listener of Cal's wonderful podcast, Deep Questions with Cal Newport, I had been learning about the writing process and content of this book for a while - and I had a lot of excitement for it.
That being said, I found this book a lot more academic than some of his earlier work (namely Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World, which remains as my favorite book of his). This book does quite nicely follow the same type of writing style and research that A World Without Email: Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload.
This book delves deeply into some big thinkers of our time (and especially the past) and what made them able to crank out many books, speeches, or careers in such a time.
Surrounded with big thoughts and deep meanings, this book is quite a read!
I found it a little dryer at times than some of his books, but all-in-all it is a great and important book on focus and how to be careful about where we spend that focus, and time.
Check it out if this sounds up your alley!
3.8/5
If you are a fan of academic-level productivity, this book is for you.
Being an avid listener of Cal's wonderful podcast, Deep Questions with Cal Newport, I had been learning about the writing process and content of this book for a while - and I had a lot of excitement for it.
That being said, I found this book a lot more academic than some of his earlier work (namely Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World, which remains as my favorite book of his). This book does quite nicely follow the same type of writing style and research that A World Without Email: Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload.
This book delves deeply into some big thinkers of our time (and especially the past) and what made them able to crank out many books, speeches, or careers in such a time.
Surrounded with big thoughts and deep meanings, this book is quite a read!
I found it a little dryer at times than some of his books, but all-in-all it is a great and important book on focus and how to be careful about where we spend that focus, and time.
Check it out if this sounds up your alley!
3.8/5
Read
April 5, 2024Anyone who is a so-called “knowledge worker” knows that you can’t just stick more hours into your brain/body and expect to get our more work on the other side. You probably also know that three hours of focused effort is almost always more #productive than six hours of hazy attention.
The awkward thing, though, is that no one has any clue how to measure email job productivity. So we can’t really say for sure. In Slow Productivity, Newport argues that this is knowledge work’s rotten core. We continue to structure our days based on the rhythms of industrial work despite literally no evidence that the 40 hour week (of “hard-won policy to limit physical fatigue from factory work” origins) translates into the very different context of contemporary office life.
And since there’s no reliable way to measure actual productivity, we engage instead in “pseudo productivity,” which Newport defines as “the use of visible activity as the primary means of approximating actual productive effort.” Since no one can tell how productive anyone else is, the easiest way to appear as such is to respond quickly to Slack messages, join every meeting you’re invited to, stay late, publicly juggle multiple projects and responsibilities, etc. etc. Newport takes it as a given that this frenetic approach produces low-quality work and is also kinda soul-damaging.
Newport offers three principles to resist the cheap thrills of pseudo-productivity: do fewer things, work at a natural pace, and obsess over quality. He calls the framework “slow productivity,” after the Slow Food/Slow Cities/other Slow X movements of the eighties and nineties. Newport: “As I read more about [the founder of the Slow Food movement], I discovered that Slow Food is about more than meals, it’s an instantiation of two deep, innovative ideas that can be applied to many different attempts to build a reform movement in response to the excesses of modernity.”
While the book does offer genuinely useful strategies for individual productivity — I’ve already benefited from using some of them — absolutely NOTHING in it resembles anything like the seeds of a “movement,” if we define that as individuals coming together to achieve a social or political end. It’s almost impressive to watch how athletically Newport has to strive to avoid the blindingly obvious political conclusions of his points. Simone Biles of mental gymnastics.
Consider Newport’s argument for bringing “seasonality” to knowledge work. He suggests that it is “unnatural” for humans to work at a consistent pace day in and day out. And since we don’t have the external structure of literal seasons that structured agricultural work, he thinks we should just impose our own:
I find this unbearably depressing. How bleak to create a personal season! I’d say that the number one coolest thing about seasons is that everyone in the same place experiences them together. And the “advanced tactic” of being duplicitous about your own little season — even darker and more alienating. The rhythms of life hit different when you’re producing them for yourself and experiencing them alone. When the Soviet Union staggered people’s weekends in order to keep factories going at all times, people were miserable.. “it is no holiday if you have to have it alone”. What if people put their energy into organizing for federally mandated paid vacation days for everyone instead of figuring out ways to trick their employer/colleagues into not noticing when they are taking their own slow season? Ugh!!!!!!!!
Despite how uninspired I find individual seasonality, I have to concede that it would probably be net-positive for people who have enough autonomy to pull it off. And I guess that’s this book’s whole deal. Useful for individuals who have the freedom to take its advice, soul-crushingly unimaginative as any kind of vision for the future.
The awkward thing, though, is that no one has any clue how to measure email job productivity. So we can’t really say for sure. In Slow Productivity, Newport argues that this is knowledge work’s rotten core. We continue to structure our days based on the rhythms of industrial work despite literally no evidence that the 40 hour week (of “hard-won policy to limit physical fatigue from factory work” origins) translates into the very different context of contemporary office life.
And since there’s no reliable way to measure actual productivity, we engage instead in “pseudo productivity,” which Newport defines as “the use of visible activity as the primary means of approximating actual productive effort.” Since no one can tell how productive anyone else is, the easiest way to appear as such is to respond quickly to Slack messages, join every meeting you’re invited to, stay late, publicly juggle multiple projects and responsibilities, etc. etc. Newport takes it as a given that this frenetic approach produces low-quality work and is also kinda soul-damaging.
Newport offers three principles to resist the cheap thrills of pseudo-productivity: do fewer things, work at a natural pace, and obsess over quality. He calls the framework “slow productivity,” after the Slow Food/Slow Cities/other Slow X movements of the eighties and nineties. Newport: “As I read more about [the founder of the Slow Food movement], I discovered that Slow Food is about more than meals, it’s an instantiation of two deep, innovative ideas that can be applied to many different attempts to build a reform movement in response to the excesses of modernity.”
While the book does offer genuinely useful strategies for individual productivity — I’ve already benefited from using some of them — absolutely NOTHING in it resembles anything like the seeds of a “movement,” if we define that as individuals coming together to achieve a social or political end. It’s almost impressive to watch how athletically Newport has to strive to avoid the blindingly obvious political conclusions of his points. Simone Biles of mental gymnastics.
Consider Newport’s argument for bringing “seasonality” to knowledge work. He suggests that it is “unnatural” for humans to work at a consistent pace day in and day out. And since we don’t have the external structure of literal seasons that structured agricultural work, he thinks we should just impose our own:
What if, for example, you decided to “quiet quit” a single season each year: Maybe July or August, or that distracted period between Thanksgiving and the New Year? You wouldn’t make a big deal about this decision. You would just, for lack of a better word, quietly implement it before returning without fanfare to a more normal pace…An advanced tactic here is to take on a highly visible but low-impact project during this season that you can use to temporarily deflect new work that comes your way.
I find this unbearably depressing. How bleak to create a personal season! I’d say that the number one coolest thing about seasons is that everyone in the same place experiences them together. And the “advanced tactic” of being duplicitous about your own little season — even darker and more alienating. The rhythms of life hit different when you’re producing them for yourself and experiencing them alone. When the Soviet Union staggered people’s weekends in order to keep factories going at all times, people were miserable.. “it is no holiday if you have to have it alone”. What if people put their energy into organizing for federally mandated paid vacation days for everyone instead of figuring out ways to trick their employer/colleagues into not noticing when they are taking their own slow season? Ugh!!!!!!!!
Despite how uninspired I find individual seasonality, I have to concede that it would probably be net-positive for people who have enough autonomy to pull it off. And I guess that’s this book’s whole deal. Useful for individuals who have the freedom to take its advice, soul-crushingly unimaginative as any kind of vision for the future.
Read
April 11, 2024I really wanted to love this because I have liked Cal Newport’s other books (especially Deep Work) and found them applicable to my life and work routines. This one, unfortunately, did not quite hit the mark. It seemed like a sort of post-pandemic memorandum to the world that could have been boiled down to a 10,000-word article. Or less. Even then, I'm not sure how helpful it would be. There wasn’t much revelatory advice or groundbreaking news. (We all know we're burned out, and we know precisely why.) It also wasn't clear who this book was for, exactly. He leans heavily on creative examples of productivity (writers, musicians, artists, etc.). Then he swings back to office work as if the two are comparable, which I think is why it felt so contradictory and inconsistent at times. For every bit of advice, there is the opposite advice. (e.g. Obsess over quality. But don't let perfectionism keep you from finishing! A conundrum I have struggled with over and over.) There is wisdom in what he's saying; it just isn't clear how and in what situation it should be applied. As an experienced writer, I have a pretty good sense of what works for me, but I think this would confuse and perhaps even hinder a novice. It's really difficult to pin down what "slow productivity" even looks like in any given context, especially a creative one. The artistic process is incredibly nuanced and individual. One creator's "slow" might be another's "fast", and I can't confidently say the speed at which someone creates necessarily has anything to do with quality or success. There are too many variables. At the end of the day, there are some things that can only be learned through experience and trial and error, and the results are never guaranteed. I guess he sort of says that somewhere in the book. Maybe.
Short version: You might find some useful nuggets in this book, but I think Deep Work is far clearer, more useful, and more applicable across disciplines. Turn to other sources for creative inspiration. The Creative Act by Rick Rubin is a recent favorite. On Writing by Stephen King. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott.
Short version: You might find some useful nuggets in this book, but I think Deep Work is far clearer, more useful, and more applicable across disciplines. Turn to other sources for creative inspiration. The Creative Act by Rick Rubin is a recent favorite. On Writing by Stephen King. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott.
March 17, 2024
"PSEUDO-PRODUCTIVITY The use of visible activity as the primary means of approximating actual productive effort.
Slow productivity emphatically rejects the performative rewards of unwavering urgency. There will always be more work to do. You should give your efforts the breathing room and respect required to make them part of a life well lived, not an obstacle to it."
2-3 stars for the book itself, but 5 stars for the concept. Newport critiques the modern workplace, it's structure, hours, expectations, etc.; but his examples of individuals who've embraced alternative ways of being are all either self-employed or in self-directed professions (artists, writers, professors, scientists). Too much of his book is spent summarizing his previous, Deep Work, and it honestly could have been whittled down to an article length piece without loosing much. That being said, I'm grateful this book exists for naming what I've been thinking and feeling for the past year and a half.
Slow productivity emphatically rejects the performative rewards of unwavering urgency. There will always be more work to do. You should give your efforts the breathing room and respect required to make them part of a life well lived, not an obstacle to it."
2-3 stars for the book itself, but 5 stars for the concept. Newport critiques the modern workplace, it's structure, hours, expectations, etc.; but his examples of individuals who've embraced alternative ways of being are all either self-employed or in self-directed professions (artists, writers, professors, scientists). Too much of his book is spent summarizing his previous, Deep Work, and it honestly could have been whittled down to an article length piece without loosing much. That being said, I'm grateful this book exists for naming what I've been thinking and feeling for the past year and a half.
March 24, 2024
I love Cal Newport with all my heart but unfortunately, I have read so many of his books/productivity content that I did not find any of this ground-breaking. I'd like to see Newport branch out of the productivity sphere and write about something else as I find his writing style clear, engaging and informative regardless of the topic.
March 20, 2024
- too many, too long stories
- too few interesting thoughts
- too superficial
- too self-referential
https://marcel.io/library/slow-produc...
- too few interesting thoughts
- too superficial
- too self-referential
https://marcel.io/library/slow-produc...
April 3, 2024
I am a recovering workaholic. My workload in high school, college, and grad school was intense. In college, I had three majors, a job, a club (that I founded, organized, advertised, and often financed), managed off-campus apartment living, had a long-term out-of-town boyfriend, and went to church every week. In grad school, it got worse: at one point I had something like five part-time jobs, in addition to being a full-time thesis-writing student (and TA!) in the middle of Covid. When I had an ovarian cyst rupture, the doctor suggested that it was from stress. "Stress? I mean, I guess I've been a little stressed," I remember thinking. I got home and talked to my husband, and he told me I had a major problem with overworking and over-committing.
Fast-forward four years. I'm out of grad school, working remote, and trying to embrace the life of an artist/writer/hermit pseudo-homesteader. I had a nice cry with my husband about a week before starting this book, about how "I never do anything anymore," how "I used to be so productive and get so much done in college and grad school and now I don't do anything!"
"Molly," he said. "I don't think that's a fair comparison. You had a problem in college and grad school. You still get a lot done, you're just not burning yourself out doing it."
This book was really what convinced me that he was right. (I love you Jonathan but sometimes I need a second opinion.) I really like Cal Newport, and I think this is the best book he's written (that I've read, anyway) so far. We're all trying to do a billion things and chop up our time into little 15 minute productivity chunks and grindset mindset side hustle girlboss our way into....???? What exactly? Doing more things, in a worse way, and getting miserable (or worse, having health crises)???
You need to simplify things. You need to dedicate serious time to large projects. You need to create big chunks of time in your schedule, yes, but you also need to create an entire environment where you feel comfortable enough to do meaningful work.
There's a lot of overlap in this book with his previous stuff (It was honestly a nice refresher on Deep Work), but I feel like there's also enough new stuff to merit reading it even if you've read him before. His stuff on how to manage mono-tasking as a freelancer/solopreneur or in a cubicle desk job was so extremely helpful. His warnings against apps like Slack or any other form of office texting/email nightmare child were spot on. His use of artists, writers, and scientists from the 18th–20th centuries was SUPER interesting, and I think way more helpful than trying to reinvent the wheel like so many of the productivity/anti-productivity gurus out there are doing.
Cal Newport is great at summarizing a ton of things into a digestible, interesting single read you can get through in a weekend (or 22 days of spotty audiobook listening, if you're like me). This is a great book to read as a "knowledge worker" (somebody who makes things with their mind, or spirit, or whatever, rather than, say, a highly skilled metal worker: a writer, or a graphic designer, or clergy, or a social media manager), especially if you have a lot of independence, really care about your work, and do a lot of project(ish)-based work. I also think he manages to address some of the content missing from his previous books (E.g.: There was some stuff about how women who were stay-at-home or working moms, or who just did a lot of the chores at home, did "slow productivity" for their passion projects, something which was lacking from previous books), and he also is never whiny or nihilist or super political, like a lot of these types of books sometimes get. It's a great book to help you navigate balance in your work so you can put forth your best effort without sacrificing your health, family, or, really, your finite life as a person. Thank you, Cal, for helping me see that (and for proving my husband right).
Fast-forward four years. I'm out of grad school, working remote, and trying to embrace the life of an artist/writer/hermit pseudo-homesteader. I had a nice cry with my husband about a week before starting this book, about how "I never do anything anymore," how "I used to be so productive and get so much done in college and grad school and now I don't do anything!"
"Molly," he said. "I don't think that's a fair comparison. You had a problem in college and grad school. You still get a lot done, you're just not burning yourself out doing it."
This book was really what convinced me that he was right. (I love you Jonathan but sometimes I need a second opinion.) I really like Cal Newport, and I think this is the best book he's written (that I've read, anyway) so far. We're all trying to do a billion things and chop up our time into little 15 minute productivity chunks and grindset mindset side hustle girlboss our way into....???? What exactly? Doing more things, in a worse way, and getting miserable (or worse, having health crises)???
You need to simplify things. You need to dedicate serious time to large projects. You need to create big chunks of time in your schedule, yes, but you also need to create an entire environment where you feel comfortable enough to do meaningful work.
There's a lot of overlap in this book with his previous stuff (It was honestly a nice refresher on Deep Work), but I feel like there's also enough new stuff to merit reading it even if you've read him before. His stuff on how to manage mono-tasking as a freelancer/solopreneur or in a cubicle desk job was so extremely helpful. His warnings against apps like Slack or any other form of office texting/email nightmare child were spot on. His use of artists, writers, and scientists from the 18th–20th centuries was SUPER interesting, and I think way more helpful than trying to reinvent the wheel like so many of the productivity/anti-productivity gurus out there are doing.
Cal Newport is great at summarizing a ton of things into a digestible, interesting single read you can get through in a weekend (or 22 days of spotty audiobook listening, if you're like me). This is a great book to read as a "knowledge worker" (somebody who makes things with their mind, or spirit, or whatever, rather than, say, a highly skilled metal worker: a writer, or a graphic designer, or clergy, or a social media manager), especially if you have a lot of independence, really care about your work, and do a lot of project(ish)-based work. I also think he manages to address some of the content missing from his previous books (E.g.: There was some stuff about how women who were stay-at-home or working moms, or who just did a lot of the chores at home, did "slow productivity" for their passion projects, something which was lacking from previous books), and he also is never whiny or nihilist or super political, like a lot of these types of books sometimes get. It's a great book to help you navigate balance in your work so you can put forth your best effort without sacrificing your health, family, or, really, your finite life as a person. Thank you, Cal, for helping me see that (and for proving my husband right).
March 23, 2024
Okay so this book has the same flaws other Cal Newport books have—way too awkwardly jumps around from random historical and business anecdotes to practical advice—but ultimately is filled with really solid ideas. I have been a huge Cal Newport stan ever since I found his college advice books my junior year of undergrad and became enamored with his clear, methodical, rules-based form of advice-giving—it's I think what made me fall back in love with school again, so much so that I'm now on my 7th year of post-secondary education!! But yeah, this book gives more of that, and presents a compelling argument for thinking about reaching work-related accomplishments on a scale that is much larger than what we're used to. I found it especially comforting as a first-year PhD student, navigating the confusing landscape that is having not much due soon, but knowing that making it in academia = eventually producing a lot of high-quality research papers. This book provides a nice overall framework within which to fit more process-oriented productivity advice (like that of deep work), arguing that creative/intellectual success is about playing the long game, slowly but consistently working towards goals that matter to you and enjoying the process along the way. One fairly large caveat is that I feel like the advice in this book is really only applicable to people who have near complete autonomy over their schedules? Cal mentions this multiple times, but I even feel like most freelancers probably won't find a lot of this to be helpful/feasible, and that it's by far best suited for writers and academics (of which he is both...big surprise).
April 7, 2024
I'm lucky enough to work in a job that is pleasant and meaningful to me, but I do struggle a lot with the idea of "performing busy-ness" and trying to appear occupied and productive every minute of every day. I think the first chapters of this book really spoke to those frustrations and made me feel validated. Later on, though, I thought a lot of his examples and case studies were a little bizarre; focusing on Jewel in a chapter on integrity and quality, for example, only makes sense if you ignore her notoriously cringy, trend-chasing work from the early 2000s. Don't get me wrong, I love that album of hers, but a deep commitment to folk in a pop-obsessed radio landscape it is not.
Digital Minimalism wasn't only interesting--it was useful. This is less of both. It would've made a good longform essay, but it's a bit repetitive and bland for a book.
Digital Minimalism wasn't only interesting--it was useful. This is less of both. It would've made a good longform essay, but it's a bit repetitive and bland for a book.
March 18, 2024
Newport's three recommendations
to those in a knowledge-economy
for SLOW PRODUCTIVITY-
1. Do Fewer Things
2. Work at a Natural Pace
3. Obsess Over Quality
-appear counterintuitive to productivity
until one considers the goal here
is better work not just more work.
Plus, Newport seems to have tapped into
something ancient and wise,
which is certainly counterintuitive
to an American workforce.
Without ever mentioning it,
Newport's SLOW PRODUCTIVITY
points towards greater joy
and self-fulfillment in work,
which an America so obsessed with the self
would seemingly be keen to embrace,
but, as he highlights, we're still too
hinged on "psuedo-productivity"
to allow the best in us to truly surface.
I needed this book.
I trust Newport's voice.
I already plan to gift it widely this year.
to those in a knowledge-economy
for SLOW PRODUCTIVITY-
1. Do Fewer Things
2. Work at a Natural Pace
3. Obsess Over Quality
-appear counterintuitive to productivity
until one considers the goal here
is better work not just more work.
Plus, Newport seems to have tapped into
something ancient and wise,
which is certainly counterintuitive
to an American workforce.
Without ever mentioning it,
Newport's SLOW PRODUCTIVITY
points towards greater joy
and self-fulfillment in work,
which an America so obsessed with the self
would seemingly be keen to embrace,
but, as he highlights, we're still too
hinged on "psuedo-productivity"
to allow the best in us to truly surface.
I needed this book.
I trust Newport's voice.
I already plan to gift it widely this year.
March 13, 2024
Another great book from Cal Newport. He certainly understands the problems of the modern workplace. I appreciate how his guidance is informed by wisdom and a deeper conception of human flourishing. I came away from this with practical ideas I can implement now, as well as thoughts for how to make my work life more meaningful. This book is not quite as well-written as his others, but still very well worth any one's time.
March 10, 2024
With the publication of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, Newport can be counted as a proponent of the 'slow movement' with a focus on work and productivity; this volume does not significantly add to his previous work but does a useful job in working out some details on how to implement this basic insight; in particular liked the ' pull based' work flow approach.
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