DeepSummary
Adam Grant interviews Cal Newport, a computer science professor and author of books about productivity. They discuss Newport's new book 'Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout' and his ideas for working in a more sustainable way. Newport argues that the current cultural idea of productivity as doing more is flawed, and suggests focusing on doing fewer things at a natural pace while obsessing over quality.
Grant and Newport debate approaches like doing fewer things at once, having meeting-free days, and the four-day workweek as potential solutions to burnout and excessive workload. Newport emphasizes the need to be intentional about how work gets done, rather than defaulting to constant digital communication and meetings. He advocates for systems that make workloads transparent and manageable.
The discussion also touches on Newport's avoidance of social media for philosophical reasons, as well as Grant's view that thoughtful email responses are part of being helpful and respectful, leading to some productive disagreement. Overall, the episode provides an insightful critique of hustle culture and tips for achieving meaningful work in a sustainable manner.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- The cultural mindset of defining productivity as doing more and outputting rapidly is flawed and leads to burnout.
- A more sustainable approach is to do fewer things at once, work at a natural pace, and obsess over quality rather than quantity.
- Strategies like meeting-free days, limited email response, and greater workload transparency can help create space for focused work.
- Leaders should give employees explicit permission to take on less to boost quality and prevent burnout.
- Both workplace systems and individual habits need adjustment to promote intentional, meaningful productivity.
- There are valid arguments for and against being extremely responsive to email and using social media.
- Finding the right personal productivity approach requires intentionality around values and goals.
- An obsession with quality work has to be part of any sustainable productivity framework.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “What was happening in our current world of work around this nebulous idea that we informally refer to as productivity was clearly broken.“ by Cal Newport
- “Do fewer things at the same time, work at a more natural pace. So not just full intensity, 8 hours a day, five days a week, 50 weeks a year. But couple that with principle three, obsessing over the quality of what you do.“ by Cal Newport
- “If you care about people, or even about the quality of the work they do, give them permission to do less.“ by Adam Grant
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Episode Information
WorkLife with Adam Grant
TED
3/5/24
Cal Newport knows a thing or two about productivity: when he’s not teaching computer science at Georgetown, he’s writing for The New Yorker, hosting a podcast, or authoring New York Times bestsellers like Deep Work and Digital Minimalism. In his new book, Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout, Cal proposes that we trade current standards of rapid output for slower, higher-quality, and sustainable ways of working. Adam and Cal dig into the data on productivity, debate the benefits and drawbacks of doing fewer things (and spending less time on email and social media), and discuss individual habits and organizational practices for preventing burnout and promoting worthwhile work.
Transcripts for ReThinking are available at go.ted.com/RWAGscripts