Cal Newport – The Light Appears

Over the last several years, writer Cal Newport has become a very popular figure in the productivity/business world. His seminal book, Deep Work, is an essential read for knowledge workers. His latest book, Slow Productivity, came out in the late winter of 2024. With a subtitle of “The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout”, the book’s three main tenets that are written about extensively are Do Fewer Things – Work at a Natural Pace – Obsess Over Quality.

This is a very important topic for office workers who are in a constant state of busyness to the point of burnout. Several of the ideas presented by Newport in the book are quite good. An example is estimating the amount of time a project will take to give others a realistic idea of when it will be complete. This along with keeping a running list of upcoming projects will help you and others see where you are spending your time. Other ideas do not seem as fleshed out and seemed rushed. Better than the book, listening to Newport’s appearance on the Art of Manliness podcast may be all that a curious person would need on this topic.

7/10

Among all the self-improvement books out there, one that appears every now and again is Cal Newport’s 2016 book, Deep Work. At the beginning, the book is more scholarly but then it starts to settle in to rules to follow. Much of today’s work life involves reading emails, answering instant messages, and being tugged in 20 different directions. What Newport gets into is the importance of going deep on a project without distractions for a few hours a day. He also preaches such ideas as getting off social media, think about problems when doing other activities, focus on important tasks, and not working so late that you burn yourself out. All of these items while simple in theory can be hard to do in the office so one must find ways to incorporate deep work into their routine. A fine book about an important topic.

8.5/10

Sebastian Barry’s A Long Long Way was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2005. The novel tells of Irishman Willie Dunne who signs up with the allies to fight in WWI. The war conflict also causes much conflict for those left behind in Ireland who are under British rule. Willie has a hard time connecting with his policeman father and the love of his life who he meets just before joining. The novel is wonderfully written as it speaks of the horrors of war on both the front and home lines.

7.5/10

Tag: Cal Newport

Cal Newport – Slow Productivity

Q3 Read It 2021