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Cal Newport

author · in 21 sources (2018–2023)

Works: Digital Minimalism, Deep Questions

Speaks in 8 sources; this page lists what is said about them.

Sources by year: 2018: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2021: 5 · 2022: 7 · 2023: 6

Also known as: @CalNewportMedia

Also named in the threads: Ali's first book, which a publisher asked him to write (2020)

Often together

What comes up in the same parts of the videos; the number is how many parts.

deep work (concept) (6) · Tim Ferriss (9) · Derek Sivers (5) · Shortform (3) · Ryan Holiday (3) · The 4-Hour Workweek (4) · Feel-Good Productivity (book) (3) · World of Warcraft (2) · Book Club (2) · Angus (2)

What the videos say

The most important statements of each year; all statements.

2023

  • 2023-01-12 · How to Find a Career You Genuinely Love — Cal Newport (quoted): Cal Newport's career capital theory, as Ali sums it up: a career you enjoy does not fall into your lap; you earn it by building career capital, rare and valuable skills. — 00:06:23
  • 2023-03-27 · How to Improve Your Focus 🧘 — recommendation: Ali: For students struggling to stay focused, Ali recommends adventure studying, a concept from Cal Newport based on the brain craving novelty: adding adventure to your work makes you more productive and the work more enjoyable. — 00:00:00
  • 2023-04-30 · My Productive Phone Setup — recommendation: Ali has really been enjoying Cal Newport's podcast Deep Questions and Brendon Burchard's marketing podcast. — 00:12:24
  • 2023-08-04 · I Read 107 Productivity Books. Here's What Actually Works. — recommendation: Ali: For people who struggle with focus, Ali points to Deep Work by Cal Newport, a whole book on how to focus. — 00:09:48
  • 2023-09-11 · One of My Favourite Productivity Books 📚 — Cal Newport (quoted): Cal Newport's Deep Work says that to be truly productive you should log out of all communication tools and work uninterrupted for long periods every day. — 00:00:00
    • Cal Newport (quoted): Deep Work argues, counterintuitively for those who think productivity means working for hours on end, that the most productive thing you can do is often to take a break. — 00:00:00
    • Ali recommends Cal Newport's Deep Work to anyone who wants to build on The 4-Hour Workweek with a clear, detailed method for being more productive in their working time. — 00:00:29
  • 2023-11-24 · 7 Mistakes Students Make Every Year — Cal Newport (quoted): Cal Newport argues that students narrow their job options by their degree (economics to banking, consulting or accounting); instead of asking what job a degree allows, ask what life you want and reverse-engineer the career, a view Ali fully shares. — 00:06:28
  • …and 3 statements more in 2023 — all statements of 2023

2022

  • 2022-03-21 · The Biggest Lessons from 110 Books — Ali has not read Cal Newport's Digital Minimalism cover to cover: he read a summary, thinks he got most of the insights, and it is part of the research for the book he is writing. — 00:08:07
  • 2022-05-12 · What Am I Doing With My Life? — Ali: For his own unusual career, Ali would aim at a combination of Tim Ferriss, Naval Ravikant, Ryan Holiday, Cal Newport and Derek Sivers. — 00:19:46
  • 2022-08-23 · How I Stopped Overthinking — Ali's mental board of advisors are authors whose writing he likes, Tim Ferriss, Cal Newport and Ryan Holiday; when overthinking he asks what they, and Derek Sivers, would say. — 00:11:04
  • 2022-09-02 · How To Find The Perfect Career - The 3 Part Decision Framework — recommendation: Ali broadly agrees with Cal Newport: find a career that ticks other boxes and fits the lifestyle you want, then get really good at it, building career capital you can cash in for autonomy. — 00:05:08
    • Cal Newport (quoted): In So Good They Can't Ignore You, Cal Newport argues that following your passion is a bit of a myth: what most people enjoy, like video games, Netflix or fantasy novels, is very hard to make a career of. — 00:05:08
  • 2022-11-27 · Follow Your Passion is Terrible Advice. Here’s Why. — Ali read Cal Newport's So Good They Can't Ignore You in 2016 while still a medical student, and it significantly shaped what he decided to do with his career. — 00:00:00
    • Cal Newport (quoted): The model of So Good They Can't Ignore You: if you become so good that they can't ignore you, you will find a career or job that you love. — 00:01:18
    • Cal Newport (quoted): Since desirable jobs are contested, Cal Newport argues you need career capital, meaning rare and valuable skills, which you can cash in for a desirable job. — 00:05:12
    • Cal Newport (quoted): The craftsman mindset is the pursuit of rare and valuable skills, focusing on becoming so good they can't ignore you; it is the opposite of the passion mindset. — 00:05:41
    • Cal Newport (quoted): Cal Newport cites studies that autonomy, the control you have in a job, is one of the biggest determinants of whether you enjoy it, and career capital can be cashed in for it. — 00:12:14
  • 2022-11-30 · How to Make Difficult Decisions (without overthinking) — Ali's mental board of advisors is Derek Sivers, Tim Ferriss, Ryan Holiday and Cal Newport, who do not know it; when struggling with a decision he asks what Cal or Derek would say. — 00:02:40
  • 2022-12-27 · My Regrets about Quitting Medicine — Cal Newport (quoted): In So Good They Can't Ignore You, Cal Newport cites evidence that autonomy, a sense of control over your time, what you do and how, is the most important determinant of job satisfaction. — 00:18:20
  • …and 11 statements more in 2022 — all statements of 2022

2021

  • 2021-02-24 · i wasted the last 6 months of my life… — David Moldawer says that Digital Minimalism did okay, but Cal Newport is the Deep Work guy forever, and Tim Ferriss will tell you he is the four-hour guy. — 00:06:50
  • 2021-07-11 · How I ONLY Work 4 Hours a Day - How to Stay Focused — recommendation: Ali calls Cal Newport's book Deep Work the Bible on being productive in few working hours, with a lot of solid lessons. — 00:00:58
    • Cal Newport (quoted): Cal Newport says deep work is the work that moves us towards our goals, while shallow work is the little things such as answering emails, replying to messages and Zoom calls. — 00:05:53
    • Cal Newport (quoted): Cal Newport writes that the scientific consensus apparently puts our capacity for deep work at about four hours a day; beyond that the work is not very deep, as the brain cannot focus that long. (hedged) — 00:07:37
  • 2021-07-18 · Answering Uncomfortable Questions With My Personal Assistant — recommendation: Ali also recommends Cal Newport's So Good They Can't Ignore You: get really good at your job to build career capital, then cash it in for remote work or a different job. — 00:15:21
  • …and 1 statement more in 2021 — all statements of 2021

Also named in: My Favourite iPad Productivity Apps

2020

2018

  • 2018-06-12 · Live Stream - Tuesday Evening Hangout — Ali read only the first half of Cal Newport's Deep Work before losing interest and means to read it again, but fully agrees with its general concepts: flow states and deep work. — 00:54:06