Ep. 25: Student Shutdown Rituals, Optimal Deep-to-Shallow Ratios, and the $20 Million Question | DEEP QUESTIONS

Deep Questions with Cal Newport

Cal Newport

Technology, Education, Self-improvement

4.8 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 6 September 2020

⏱️ 69 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode of Deep Questions I answer reader questions about shutdown rituals for college students, deep-to-shallow work ratios, and what I would do with $20 million (and why that's the wrong question). I also play some question roulette and give you a peak into my own efforts to live a deep life with my backstage pass segment.I will be sending out a new request for text questions to my mailing list soon. You can sign up for my mailing list at calnewport.com. You can submit audio questions at https://www.speakpipe.com/CalNewportPlease consider subscribing (which helps iTunes rankings) and leaving a review or rating (which helps new listeners decide to try the show).Here’s the full list of topics tackled in today’s episode along with the timestamps:WORK QUESTIONS* Should I learn one hard thing or multiple easy things? [5:21]* Shutdown rituals for college students [6:39]* An optimal deep-to-shallow work ratio [12:56]* Getting better at writing scientific papers [15:05]* Richard Hamming's advice to keep your door pen [16:42]Question Roulette [25:19]TECHNOLOGY QUESTIONS* Succeeding with blogging [28:51]* Bullet journals [35:51]* Getting my students to not use their phones in class [39:42]* Working with groups that only communicate on social media [40:44]Backstage Pass [46:08]DEEP LIFE QUESTIONS* Developing personal life philosophies/politics/ethics [50:35]* Small versus big changes for transforming your life [56:43]* What I would do with $20 million [1:03:00]Thanks to listener Jay Kerstens for the intro music. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Cal Newport and this is deep questions. The show I answer queries for my readers about
0:18.3	work, technology, and the deep life. Now it's a beautiful day outside so naturally I decided where I
0:28.1	needed to be was in my windowless studio here in the Deep Work HQ in downtown to come apart recording this
0:36.2	podcast for you my loyal listeners.
0:39.9	Now before you feel too bad for me you should know I was at the pool all morning with my family
0:44.5	and we're grilling tonight,
0:46.1	so it's not like I am going to miss out
0:48.3	on my vitamin D quota for the day,
0:51.1	but I did think it was poignant that on such a beautiful day, I am sacrificing to bring you what you need, which is answers to deep questions.
0:59.0	Actually, the real reason I bring this up is because some of you listeners have been asking me,
1:05.0	how does recording podcast fit into my well-known 530 rule?
1:11.2	So long-time readers of mine know that I have this work habit where I say I am done with work at
1:16.1	530 on weekdays and no work on weekends. And I work backwards from that. It's a concept I call
1:22.1	meta productivity. You put the And I work backwards from that. It's a concept I call meta-productivity.
1:24.0	You put the boundaries in place first and say,
1:28.0	okay, I'm not going to work backwards to figure out what do I have to do to hit these boundaries.
1:31.0	And then that pressure can actually lead you to a lot of tactical
1:35.3	concrete productivity innovation. So you're working backwards to hit a concrete goal can unlock
1:40.2	a lot more innovation than just trying to pile up productivity habits and see where it gets you.
1:46.2	So my 530 rule, as my readers know, is no work past 530 and not on weekends, with three exceptions.
1:53.0	So book deadlines, those enable weekend working,
1:58.0	academic paper deadline.
	...

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