Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout
by Cal Newport
Rating: 4.0 / 5 · Read · Finished 2025-05-13
Many of the same ideas of Deep Work, but I like listening to them, so I had a good time listening to this book too. The big new thing I liked was “Work at a natural pace”, which jives with another mantra I’ve tried to use: “Go at a pace you can sustain indefinitely”. Generally meaning: avoid burnout and be productive by having slow periods and intense periods at every time scale. E.g. intense focus in the morning with a long lunch break, or no-meeting Mondays and meeting-packed Wednesdays, or a long weekend every month, or a long vacation every summer, or a couple months off in between jobs.
- Interesting recommendation: go see a matinee once per month
- Neat heuristic: We only turn down obligations when we feel stressed. But that’s too late. Our productivity is already suffering
- Great quote: “Little value was to be gained in rushing, as the work itself provided reward”