Should I Use Notebooks More Often? (Cal’s Strategy) | Monday Advice

Deep Questions with Cal Newport

Cal Newport

Self-improvement, Technology, Education

4.8 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 13 July 2026

⏱️ 64 minutes

🔗️ Recording | Apple Podcasts | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Tell me if this sounds familiar: you buy a beautiful notebook, excited by all its possibilities to help refine your thoughts and generate new insights. Then it sits unused until you forget about it. The problem is not *what* notebooks you own but instead *how* you use them. In this episode, Cal walks through the four different notebooks he owns, and the four different ways he uses them. 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 Use Notebooks More Often? (Cal’s Strategy) (30:11) Comments on a controversial article (33:18 ) Statistics about smartphone bans in schools (38:15) A practical question about remote work (40:57) A question about focus and the World Cup (46:08) What Cal is up to (48:12) What Cal is reading Books: Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word (Walter Ong) Lost (Rachel Hartigan) 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://www.msn.com/en-us/money/general/a-neurologist-claims-gen-z-has-a-lower-iq-than-millennials/ar-AA1XAIFu https://x.com/JimenaJuani/status/2072095851816620191?s=20 Thanks to our Sponsors: https://www.superhuman.com https://www.factormeals.com/deep50off https://www.monarch.com/deep https://www.mybodytutor.com Cal Newport is not a Wealthfront client. 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

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Do you like the idea of an old-fashioned paper notebook? I mean, a lot of people do. There's something
0:07.0	aesthetically pleasing about a well-made notebook. There's also the excitement of anticipating the
0:12.6	original thoughts or insights that this tool is going to help you usher into the world.
0:18.2	But then, if you're like most people, you buy that fancy new notebook,
0:22.1	and it ends up sitting idle, and then eventually forget about it. So here's the problem.
0:28.1	It's not enough to simply own a nice notebook. You need a specific use for it that takes specific
0:35.1	advantage of its analog format.
0:38.7	When it comes to paper, in other words, it's how you use it that matters just as much as
0:43.7	what you own.
0:46.0	This, of course, inspires a natural question.
0:47.6	What are the most effective ways to make use of a notebook?
0:51.0	Well, it's Monday, which means it's time for an advice episode of this podcast,
0:54.9	which is the perfect opportunity to go looking for some answers. All right, so here's my plan.
0:59.6	I'm going to use myself as an example. I actually use four different types of notebooks on a
1:05.3	regular basis. I have them here. And I'm going to go through them. I'm going to go through each of the four different
1:12.8	types of notebooks that I use. I'm going to explain how I use each notebook. I even have close-up
1:19.7	shots of interior pages of each so you can see that use in action. So if you've ever felt an urge
1:25.0	to integrate more pen and paper into your daily life, but you weren't sure how to make that habit worthwhile, then this episode is for you. All right,
1:33.2	as always, I'm Cal Newport, and this is Deep Questions, the show for people seeking depth
1:39.0	in a distracted world. All right, so as mentioned, here's my approach today.
1:50.0	I have four notebooks of a four notebook types that I actually use.
1:54.0	I brought four of my own notebooks here today.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 14 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Cal Newport, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Cal Newport and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.