After recently reading...
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
I have revisited Cal Newport's books, especially DEEP WORK: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World.
Here's a brief summary.
Here's a brief summary.
You probably don't realize that right now, you're actually looking at something quite rare. Because I am a millennial computer scientist book author standing on a TEDx stage, and yet, I've never had a social media account. How this happened was actually somewhat random. Social media first came onto my radar when I was at college, my sophomore year of college, this is when Facebook arrived at our campus. And at the time, which was right after the first dotcom bust, I had had a dorm room business, I'd had to shut it down in the bust, and then, suddenly, this other kid from Harvard, named Mark, had this product called Facebook and people being excited about it. So in sort of a fit of somewhat immature professional jealousy, I said, "I'm not going to use this thing. I won't help this kid's business; whatever's going to amount to." As I go along my life, I look up not long later, and I see everyone I know is hooked on this thing. And from the clarity you can get when you have some objectivity, some perspective on it, I realized this seems a little bit dangerous. So I never signed up. I've never had a social media account since. So I'm here for two reasons; I want to deliver two messages. The first message I want to deliver is that even though I've never had a social media account, I'm OK, you don't have to worry. It turns out I still have friends, I still know what's going on in the world; as a computer scientist I still collaborate with people all around the world, I'm still regularly exposed serendipitously to interesting ideas, and I rarely describe myself as lacking entertainment options. So I've been OK, but I'd go even farther and say not only I am OK without social media but I think I'm actually better off. I think I'm happier, I think I find more sustainability in my life, and I think I've been more successful professionally because I don't use social media. So my second goal here on stage is try to convince more of you to believe the same thing. Let's see if I could actually convince more of you that you too would be better off if you quit social media.
Then, I bought his book DEEP WORK (that I gifted to a colleague as I moved before I read all of it).
However, I also bought his books:
How to Be a High School Superstar: A Revolutionary Plan to Get into College by Standing Out (Without Burning Out) Jul 20, 2010 by Cal Newport
And...
In my travels and interstitial time, I have listened to more than a couple podcasts with Cal Newport as a guest...
Here are just three:
1. ON RICH ROLL's PODCAST
EPISODE 447
CAL NEWPORT ON DIGITAL MINIMALISM: WHY FOCUS IS THE NEW SUPERPOWER
“Simply put, humans are not wired to be constantly wired.”
CAL NEWPORT
It’s become increasingly harder to just put the phone down. Because the latest apps and digital platforms are specifically designed to addict, we have become slaves to their irresistible allure.
Our precious attention is being hijacked. The ability to focus — to concentrate on that which is most meaningful — simply cannot compete with the magnetic pull of our Instagram feed. No longer need anyone ever be bored. Alone with one’s thoughts. Or simply present with one’s self.
The result is a global epidemic of distraction. A fomenting of loneliness and isolation. And a degradation of our humanity.
The solution isn’t Ludditism. Instead it’s agency. We need not be victims of technology. We have the power to liberate ourselves from the tether of digital dependency. And the freedom it creates isn’t just the salve to what ails us, it’s the gateway to that which we seek most. Meaning. True human connection. And a reconnection with our innate humanity.
Indeed, there is no substitute for real relationships. Boredom is useful. And focus is the new superpower.
Cal Newport is someone who has spent a lot of time thinking deeply about these issues.
2. The Ezra Klein Show
Cal Newport on doing Deep Work and escaping...
84 MINS
APR 18, 2017
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