Should I Use Notebooks More Often? (Cal’s Strategy) | Monday Advice · The Cal Newport Show summary

Key takeaways

Owning a notebook isn’t valuable unless you use it purposefully; specific formats serve specific tasks.
Different types of notebooks—digital, pocket-sized, grid, and dedicated planners—support various cognitive and creative needs.
Deep focus and concentration require habitual, context-specific practice, not just general discipline.
Effective routines for managing technology and attention include explicit rules for device use, such as keeping phones in the kitchen.
Engaging in passionate side projects, like building Halloween displays, can be a vital part of a deep,-inspired life.

Summary

The Power and Use of Notebooks in a Deep Life

Cal Newport emphasizes that owning a notebook isn't enough; it’s how you use it that truly matters. He describes his own strategy with four different types of notebooks, each serving a specific purpose. These include a daily planner (the Time Block planner) for scheduling, a digital e-ink notebook (Remarkable) for strategic planning and diagrams, small pocket notebooks (Field Notes) for quick notes and single-purpose brainstorming, and grid notebooks for extending working memory during complex problem-solving. Newport discusses how each notebook’s form and features are chosen to maximize productivity and deepen thinking, highlighting that the specific use case determines the format and value of the notebook.

Impacts of Technology and Focus on Training Attention

The podcast covers a variety of questions and comments related to attention, technology, and discipline. Newport comments on a controversial study suggesting Generation Z may have lower IQs and attention spans, attributing this partly to technology use. He discusses the importance of practicing focus in specific contexts, warning against the false expectation that skills learned in one domain, like chess, automatically transfer to others, such as resisting phone temptations. Newport also reflects on a soccer coach’s request to shorten team talks, linking it to modern attention spans and the importance of context-specific concentration practices. He stresses that deep focus requires habitual practice and specific routines rather than relying solely on general mindfulness or discipline.

Q&A on Productivity, Parenting, and Personal Projects

Listeners' questions cover themes such as remote work, managing downtime, and parenting approaches to screen time. Newport advocates for detailed, pre-planned schedules (time blocking), emphasizing variability and sustainability in routines. He recommends explicit rules for managing children’s and adults’ device use—such as keeping phones in the kitchen—reducing endless negotiations and guilt. Newport also shares his ongoing projects, like building Halloween light displays with networked controllers, mixing his passions for technology, creativity, and experimentation. Additionally, he discusses the importance of engaging in science and math, despite current focus on ethics and policy, viewing dedicated projects as sources of inspiration and deep engagement.

Reflections on Reading, History, and Personal Insights

In the latter part of the episode, Newport shares recent reading insights and personal reflections. He reviews Walter Ong’s 'Orality and Literacy,' appreciating its exploration of how writing changed human cognition, and Rachel Hartigan’s 'Lost,' about Amelia Earhart’s mysterious disappearance. Newport reflects on how historical and academic insights inform understanding of current technology and culture. He also recounts personal travel experiences, emphasizing the mental clarity gained from disconnected hiking trips and his ongoing efforts to build elaborate Halloween displays as a form of creative exploration.

Show notes

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