Slow Productivity

The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout

By: Cal Newport

Narrated by: 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

Critic reviews

"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

Professional Engineer Turned Ph.D.

Once again Cal Newport has produced a book that has given me more skills, strategies and habits to be successful. I started listening to Deep Work, How to Be a Straight A Student and So Good They Can't Ignore You. Like his other work this book has helped a professional engineer excel as an older Ph.D. student. I highly recommend for any knowledge worker.

Probably only for top leaders or writers

Does not seem applicable to entry-mid career folks who don’t have resources to rely on or some other staff to delegate work to.

Have A Seat And Digest This Much Needed Food For Thought

I was impressed with the ease of which the book remained incredibly relatable: not only for persons the information skills, but persons who are tired of being cogs in some corporate plantation.

There is another way!

Excellent piece of work from one of the most influential writers of my generation. I’ve used these principles in my own life and recommend other readers to do the same.

Slower Production Makes For Better Quality

I found this book to be full of ideas to help you produce or write with better quality. The reader was a little drab. I would like his reader to include more voice inflection to make it easier to listen. Otherwise there is great content.

Useful, actionable tips

I didn’t need to be convinced of his argument, but Newport does a good job of laying out his case for slow productivity. He then proceeds to provide useful anecdotes and tips for how to implement slow productivity in everyday life. I thought Chapters 3 and 4 were particularly strong and helpful.

How knowledge work can optimized to get great results

I liked his examples that show how successful people have done slow productivity, without compromising the quality, and creativity. Us knowledge workers need to heed this advice and work effectively. Leave the “make work” behind and just do good work. Great listen!

Good but overly focused on the arts and recycles alot

The book was interesting and I will take some good recommendations away from it; however, like Cal, I work in the technology sector, and I’d estimate that over 80% of his examples were based on writers and songwriters and other artists. I enjoyed the stories, but couldn’t fuly connect to my work. The book also recycles ideas from other books, such as using an expensive notebook and socializing a schedule.

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.