Slow Productivity

Insights from Slow Productivity by Cal Newport
"The way we are working no longer works…The relentless overload that’s wearing us down is generated by a belief that ‘good’ work
requires increasing busyness—faster responses to email and chats, more meetings, more tasks, more hours.” – Cal Newport
Take a second to consider what is worth slowing down for: What project could you take twice as long on and still deem worth completing?
What work matters so much that it must not be rushed?
Slowing down gives you space to think and time for your work to evolve into something extraordinary. If your output relies on cognitive
effort, you are a knowledge worker, and your success will stem less from how busy you are and more from how you discover new ways to
get things done. The slow productivity philosophy put forth by Cal Newport promotes good judgment and creative thinking by focusing on
three pillars: Do fewer things, Obsess over quality, and Work at a natural pace. Here are three tactics to achieve all three:
Create a busyness buffer

Start by creating office hours: block off an hour in the morning and afternoon to prevent tiny communication tasks
from multiplying and consuming your time. During your office hours, you're on Zoom, Slack, or a Microsoft Teams
chat and have your phone off silent so you're ready to answer questions or requests from coworkers, clients, and
collaborators and rapidly get to the bottom of an issue. If you receive a vague email, respond, “I'm eager to
assist. Catch me during my next office hours, and we can sort through the specifics.” What used to take six emails
going back and forth and 30 minutes clarifying what is needed can now be accomplished in a quick three‐minute
discussion. The added benefit of having office hours is that they require extra effort on the requester's part to
remember to show up. They either make time to show up or resolve an issue themselves.
Another busyness buffer that you can install to limit tasks from others is a reverse task list. A reverse task list is your to‐do list made public
(Cal suggests using an online Kanban board like Trello) so that your coworkers, clients, and collaborators must add their task requests
directly to your to‐do list rather than email you. This works in your favor because when a requester sees how full your plate is, they hesitate
to give you more work and will often shrink the request.
“Reverse task lists require people to spend more time specifying exactly what they need from you, which simplifies the later execution
of their requests. You can also use these public lists to keep people updated on the status of the tasks you’re currently handling, saving
them from having to bother you with ‘How’s it going?’ messages.” – Cal Newport
Release the pressure

In 1966, the Beatles had a horrible tour. They offended a political leader in the Philippines and had locals refuse
to move their stage equipment. In the United States, they received death threats from the KKK after one Beatle
declared they were going to be more popular than Jesus. When their tour was over, they decided never to tour
again. Without the pressure to release their next album for a tour date or the need to create music for live
audiences, they were freed up to experiment with new sounds. In the studio, they distorted and manipulated
sounds, overlaid different musical styles on the same track, and integrated Indian instruments into their songs.
After 700 hours in the studio, which was 60 times longer than their last album, they produced the “Sgt. Pepper's
Lonely Hearts Club Band” album, which held the number one spot on the billboard charts longer than any other
Beatles album and ushered in a new era of progressive music.
Sometimes, you must release the pressure to produce so you have time to experiment with new methods, refine your style, and discover a
new path.
 If you're dying to start a business, don't put unnecessary time and financial pressure on yourself by quitting your job until you've
created something on evenings and weekends that generates a steady stream of sales.
 Only announce that you're releasing a new product, such as an album, a book, or an online course, when you're well on your
way to producing something special.
Take the time to focus on quality but be wary of perfectionism. The Beatles navigated the fine line between perfectionism and the quest
for high‐quality work by staying in the studio until they had at least two singles they loved. They released those two singles to the public
and then felt the pressure to release the remaining songs on their new album.
Risk looking lazy

If you went back to a random weekday in 1966, you'd likely see writer John McPhee lying
on a picnic table in his backyard, staring at a giant ash tree. McPhee often looked
unproductive and lazy while working through complex writing problems and trying to
piece together a new article or book he was working on in his mind. McPhee realized early
in his career that great work doesn't require more activity ‐ it requires profound insights,
which come while going on long walks during the workday or lying on his back outside.
By slowing down and embracing more leisure time to think through problems, you
increase the chances of producing something you will be proud of 10 years from now. John
McPhee’s seemingly lazy approach to work eventually led to 29 published books and a
Pulitzer Prize.
www.ProductivityGame.com

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Insights from Slow Productivity by Cal Newport

Create a busyness buﬀer

Release the pressure

Risk looking lazy

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