On this show I answer questions and share case studies for my audience about the various

ideas I write about with a particular focus

on the struggle to live and work deeply in an increasingly distracted world. If you

want to be a part of this show submit your own questions or case studies go to

calnewport.com slash podcast for instructions. I'm here in my deep work HQ as usual.

I am joined by my producer Jesse. Jesse the HQ look different today when I came

in. Exciting stuff. Very exciting. We got some trash and some desk removed. It's

yeah, empty. The studio has remained the same but the other rooms in the HQ have been

emptied out. We had junk haulers here this afternoon. When I first leased this office,

it was August of 2020. I needed a place to record. I needed a place to do talks and work

and do publicity while my kids school was closed and it was full of all these old desks

and bookcases. The last tenant had in here and I just told the property manager just

leave him whatever. I need desk like what else. I'm not going to worry about decorating

an office a few months into the pandemic. Well, anyways, that old friends are probably

lasted too long. Jesse and I pulled the trigger. We've emptied out the HQ. Now we're going

to refill it from scratch. Jesse, I want to go through the idea that a listener literally

suggested this. This was months ago. I asked at some point, like, what should I do if

I cleared the space out? I used to refer to this as my cave. Their suggestion was actually

put in realistic rocks, stalactites, stalagmites, and make it look like an actual cave. We now

have that cave. It's possible. The rooms are empty. We could do it. They are empty. It

would be confusing to every single person who came in here to do this show. They would

say, why do you have a realistically molded and eerily lit cave? We wouldn't explain.

...