Deep Questions with Cal Newport

On his recent book tour, Cal found great success using a small notebook dedicated to developing a single idea. In this episode, he explores this “single-purpose notebook” strategy, identifying when it...

What does the story of the rise of the singing superstar Jewel teach us about escaping busyness in our knowledge work jobs? In this episode, Cal makes the connection, extracting a key lesson about qua...

One of the most common strategies for achieving a powerful ideal lifestyle vision is to leverage entrepreneurial activities to find a stable source of income that allows autonomy and flexibility. To h...

How did we end up tyrannized by our inboxes? How is this related to Tyrannosaurus? What was it like working at a high-tech company at the exact moment email was introduced? In this episode, Cal weaves...

We’ve become so used to our phones in our lives that we’ve stopped realizing how arbitrary and unusual the content we’re watching really has become. In this episode, Cal looks closer at what we’re rea...

A deep life requires that you encounter and make sense of a large amount of incoming information, from narrow data relevant to a professional project, to broad insights into your purpose. How do you k...

A key step in cultivating a deep life is reflecting on what matters to you and the best strategies for pursuing it. This, in turn, requires that you engage in the consumption of some manner of self he...

One of the more interesting realities of people who live remarkable lives is that they are often much less busy than the rest of us. In this episode, Cal explores three ideas that help explain why thi...

Call talks with Ali Abdaal about his journey from doctor to YouTube sensation, and then dives deep into Ali’s new book, “Feel-Good Productivity,” and the possibilities of making accomplishment somethi...

What is the correct first step in transforming your life into something deeper? Traditional advice says to start with a clear vision of what you value. Cal has been arguing that it’s instead more impo...