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Top takeaways from Cal Newport books so far

Even though I didn’t love the newest book, Slow Productivity, it did have a few valuable takeaways that got somewhat lost in my book review. What’s more, there really are a good number of takeaways from all the Newport books I’ve read in the past (actually all of them), so here comes my best of.

Here’s a summary of my most important takeaways from Cal Newport’s Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout (2024) and some from his other books:

  1. Simply being busier (pseudo-productivity) does not equate to producing more meaningful results. Effectiveness over the long term is achieved by adhering to three core principles: doing fewer things, working at a more natural pace, and prioritizing quality over quantity (obsess over quality, i.e. deep work).
  2. Obsessing over quality naturally eliminates busyness and pseudo-productivity, as they cannot coexist.
  3. Mastery of your craft grants you more freedom. Avoid seeking autonomy in your job before achieving some level of mastery (“bids for freedom”, “control trap”, see Book Review: So good they can’t ignore you).
  4. The Laundry List Fallacy cautions against accumulating low-quality achievements simply for extending your CV (for CV tips see Applications in Academia 101: A Survival Guide (Part 1) and The 7 Best Tips from ‘The Professor is in’ (Book review)). It’s better to do fewer things exceptionally well than many things poorly.
  5. Underschedule, i.e. schedule less than you think you can handle, because this allows for deeper, more focused work on fewer tasks, which enhances their individual quality.
  6. Employ seasonality and “quiet quitting” to work at a more natural pace—taking deliberate breaks to slow down, refocus and balance work and life, as this will enhance productivity and sustainability in the long run.
  7. Setting up office hours can minimize the inefficiencies of asynchronous communication, allowing for concentrated periods of problem-solving and reducing the back-and-forth of emails. See also: [Book Review] A world without email.
  8. Avoid unnecessary meetings that could have been a single email and don’t extend meetings longer than necessary (it doesn’t have to take up the allotted hour).
  9. Create an autopilot schedule with rituals for recurring tasks at specific times and places, focusing on process over product. This helps in batching similar tasks.
  10. “Throw money at it”: investing in outsourcing and premium services can save time and reduce non-productive overhead, provided it’s financially feasible.
  11. Embrace automation and decluttering as strategies for simplifying tasks and commitments. Consider one-time-actions that have long-term benefits, like unsubscribing from unnecessary emails or services to save future time and resources (this tip was actually from Book Review: Essentialism). But Newport’s also all about digital minimalism, see Digital Minimalism – More than just a book review.

That’s it.

Best,

S


OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Sarah Lang (August 2, 2024). Top takeaways from Cal Newport books so far. Epigrammetry. Retrieved April 25, 2025 from https://doi.org/10.58079/124rt


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