Ep. 43: Unproductive Days, Content Fatigue, and Cultivating Character | DEEP QUESTIONS

Deep Questions with Cal Newport

In this episode of Deep Questions I answer reader questions about dealing with unproductive days, avoiding curated content fatigue, and the importance of developing character, among many other topics.
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Here’s the full list of topics tackled in today’s episode along with the timestamps:
OPENING: The terribleness of my recent experiment with constant online news consumption.
WORK QUESTIONS
* Dealing with unproductive days [11:50]
* My system versus David Allen’s systems [15:16]
* The timeline for developing deep habits [22:35]
* Assessing your own career capital [31:17]
* The road to academic superstardom [36:05]
* Ideal number of working hours [45:28]
* Building a reasonable schedule for an unreasonable workload [51:32]
TECHNOLOGY QUESTIONS
* Avoiding curated content fatigue [53:41]
* Capture technology [58:22]
* The plan for this podcast [1:00:19]
* Music and concentration [1:07:01]
* Instant messaging and distraction [1:08:02]
DEEP LIFE QUESTIONS
* Essentialism versus the deep life [1:13:48]
* Deep home life [1:16:57]
* My ideal work environment [1:23:37]
* Character and the deep life [1:27:58]
Thanks to listener Jay Kerstens for the intro music.