Should I Press Pause? | Monday Advice

Deep Questions with Cal Newport

Cal Newport

Self-improvement, Technology, Education

4.8 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 8 June 2026

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | Apple Podcasts | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Sometimes the best way to get unstuck is to press pause on your busy life and take a moment to look toward new possibilities. But how is this possible if you can’t afford to literally stop everything and get away? In this episode, Cal explores different strategies for taking what he calls “mini-pauses” that can be integrated into even the most unforgiving of schedules. Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: https://bit.ly/3U3sTvo Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia (0:00) Should I press pause? (10:46) Make a morning coffee shop loop (11:33) Schedule a “doctors appointment” (12:48) Book a 24-hour escape (13:41) Fly to Asheville (18:13) What will be your approach to your upcoming sabbatical? (21:03) Can you elaborate on the “think” component of read-think-write? (28:55) What types of books do you read before bed? Links: Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at https://peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/ Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Omni_Grove_Park_Inn#/media/File:Grove_Park_Inn_-_Sunset_Terrace.jpg Thanks to our Sponsors: This episode is sponsored by Better Help: https://www.betterhelp.com/deepquestions https://www.factormeals.com/deep50off https://www.mybodytutor.com https://www.calderlab.com/deep Thanks to Jesse Miller for production and mastering, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Nate Mechler for research and newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm not recording this from my normal studio in Washington, D.C.
0:03.7	I'm actually in Asheville, North Carolina.
0:06.2	I'm staying here in a mountain lodge where F. Scott Fitzgerald supposedly wrote part of the Great Gatsby.
0:13.5	Now, for those who are interested, here's what it looks like.
0:16.8	I'm here to finish edits on my next book and to visit with some writer friends to help figure out our future in the publishing industry.
0:24.9	Now, there's a name for this strategy.
0:27.4	I pressed pause on the busyness of my normal life to find space to think deeply about what comes next.
0:34.8	I actually do this on a regular basis.
0:36.9	It's something that has been
0:37.9	immensely important in my life. So here's the key questions you might be asking. Is this something
0:44.5	that you should be thinking about doing? And if so, how is it possible to press pause if you don't
0:51.1	actually have the ability at the moment to just drop everything and escape to the
0:56.1	mountains. Well, it's Monday, which means it's time for an advice episode of this show, which makes this
1:02.4	the perfect opportunity to go seek some answers. So here's the plan. I'll argue why pressing
1:09.3	pause has become so necessary in our current moment
1:11.8	of digital distraction. Then I'll explore some ideas for how to achieve the benefits of this
1:16.8	general strategy, even if you're not able to go on an epic trip. So if you feel like you're
1:23.5	stuck, always busy, always distracted, but not really making progress towards a deeper life
1:29.3	than this episode is for you. As always, I'm Cal Newport, and this is Deep Questions,
1:37.8	the show for people seeking depth in a distracted world.
1:49.9	All right, so I'm recording this in the evening.
1:52.3	Let me tell you what I did today up in Asheville.
	...

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