Slow Productivity

The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout

De: Cal Newport

Narrado por: Cal Newport

A New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, and IndieBound bestseller

"Brilliant and timely"—Oliver Burkeman

~ Do Fewer Things. Work at a Natural Pace. Obsess over Quality. ~

From the New York Times bestselling author of Digital Minimalism and Deep Work, a groundbreaking philosophy for pursuing meaningful accomplishment while avoiding overload

Our current definition of “productivity” is broken. It pushes us to treat busyness as a proxy for useful effort, leading to impossibly lengthy task lists and ceaseless meetings. We’re overwhelmed by all we have to do and on the edge of burnout, left to decide between giving into soul-sapping hustle culture or rejecting ambition altogether. But are these really our only choices?

Long before the arrival of pinging inboxes and clogged schedules, history’s most creative and impactful philosophers, scientists, artists, and writers mastered the art of producing valuable work with staying power. In this timely and provocative book, Cal Newport harnesses the wisdom of these traditional knowledge workers to radically transform our modern jobs. Drawing from deep research on the habits and mindsets of a varied cast of storied thinkers–from Galileo and Isaac Newton, to Jane Austen and Georgia O’Keefe–Newport lays out the key principles of “slow productivity,” a more sustainable alternative to the aimless overwhelm that defines our current moment. Combining cultural criticism with systematic pragmatism, Newport deconstructs the absurdities inherent in standard notions of productivity, and then provides step-by-step advice for cultivating a slower, more humane alternative.

From the aggressive rethinking of workload management, to introducing seasonal variation, to shifting your performance toward long-term quality, Slow Productivity provides a roadmap for escaping overload and arriving instead at a more timeless approach to pursuing meaningful accomplishment. The world of work is due for a new revolution. Slow productivity is exactly what we need.

©2024 Cal Newport (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"This brilliant and timely book is for all of us who've grown disillusioned with conventional productivity advice, yet still yearn to get meaningful things done. With his trademark blend of philosophical depth and realistic techniques, Newport outlines an approach that's more human and vastly more effective in the long run." —Oliver Burkeman, author of Four Thousand Weeks

"With profound insights backed by research, analysis, and examples from the lives of scientists and artists, Cal Newport explores a better way to work—one that promises more calm, clarity, and creativity." —Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project

"Cal's mix of storytelling and practical advice makes this a super engaging read that you'll want to revisit repeatedly." —Ali Abdaal, author of Feel-Good Productivity

Cal Needs Narration Training

I really wanted to love this after hearing Cal on the Sam Harris podcast. The topic is intriguing. But- Cal sounds like a middle schooler struggling to slowly and precisely read a text book. It’s so robotic my ears are bleeding. Every “a” and syllable are painfully articulated phonetically- not as spoken, normal, conversational dialogue. It’s tough and distracting.

Less about knowledge workers and more about creative workers

There are a couple good take away for the average knowledge worker to take away throughout the first half of the book. The second half of the book only used examples from creative pursuits to make the key points about how to achieve better productivity. This would be ok if they connect back with concrete methods for improving productivity in knowledge work settings but it never circles back. It goes on and on about musicians and writers and their tactics. IA few examples from business settings would have made the lessons more impactful.

Good for Creatives - lacks diversity in examples

I really wanted to love this book and walk away with new inspiration and tactical ideas to improve my work day. However I found the examples relevant only to those who write for a living or produce content. I’m a manager of a services and technical sales organization and my deep work is more about strategy, systems development, and the execution of businesses processes. I didn’t find this book very diverse in examples outside of writing or academia.

Cal Newport always has powerful Novel ideas

There is a short list of books that challenge my deeply held beliefs, this is one of them. I don't like the idea of the principles, but then I realize how right Cal Newport is. I am very grateful for this book.

Great overall concepts!

Overall, I loved the three concepts outlined in the book. At times, the storyline drug on too long. And it times it seem like the author was writing his own diary. Yes, I would recommend!

Another home run!

As usual, Cal Newport finds the sweet spot where philosophical observations and practical applications intersect.

Jewel

Had some good tips, but even as a knowledge worker that the book is geared toward, it’s hard to identify with artists that make millions on their outputs, compared to the rest of us. Monologue on Jewel is too long!

Life as Art

Refreshing. Reminder that we humans work best when we have the opportunity to do things well. Creating good works often includes times or cycles of study, deep reflection, play, and rest.

Not broadly applicable

Have the same issues as some other reviewers - probably should have read more of them before starting! You are pretty far into it before he tells you who this book is for (knowledge workers who have some autonomy over their work schedule - not me), and his definition of knowledge workers seems to shift (artists? CEOs?), and there is a lot of padding in the form of examples of famous people who he feels embody his ideas. Even though I am not the intended audience, I stuck with it. I don’t regret the time - he is engaging as a reader and has some interesting ideas about why we work the way we do. I did find some useful nuggets I can take into my rigidly structured desk job to create some space to work better and less. And I enjoyed all the stories of how various successful people have accomplished this balancing act. Unfortunately, he generally seems to say that we poor saps in strictly regimented desk jobs are just going to have to lump it until there are broader changes in society. Haha.

Time to Slow Down

I’ve worked in several roles that required intense periods of dedicated work. Most recently as an Elections executive for a county government. This led to burnout, mainly because there were no slow periods for two straight years. I quit this job and happily took a pay cut to increase the quality of my life.

Leading up to this decision, which happened immediately after a recall election in 2021, I started embraced the advice from Cal Newport which transformed my career. With my role following, I started slowing down and focusing on quality. I scheduled deep work sessions as much as I could. This led to more opportunities and promotions than I ever imagined.

I’m excited to embrace some of the strategies in Slow Productivity to further enhance my quality of life and the work I produce. For anyone stressed out over work, read Slow Productivity and give these steps a try.