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:
- 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).
- Obsessing over quality naturally eliminates busyness and pseudo-productivity, as they cannot coexist.
- 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).
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.
- “Throw money at it”: investing in outsourcing and premium services can save time and reduce non-productive overhead, provided it’s financially feasible.
- 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