In this episode of Deep Questions I answer reader questions on work resistance, the state of techno-criticism, tales from the MIT theory group, and the depth-destroying power of children. I also play some question roulette and tackle the audio question of the day. (Hint: it’s about my reading habits.)
To submit your own questions, sign up for my mailing list at calnewport.com (I send a survey to this list soliciting questions on a semi-regular basis).
Here’s the full list of topics tackled in today’s episode along with the timestamps:
The organizational power of plain text files [1:18]
Confronting an overwhelming number of obligations [4:00]
Getting back on track after lockdown disrupted work habits [7:15]
Dealing with resistance to work [9:39]
Audio question of the day: managing a variety of different inputs [18:28]
Avoiding social media on the phone browser [23:26]
The need for a distraction-reducing phone operating system [26:06]
Tracking birthdays without Facebook [28:32]
My podcast habits [31:07]
Humane tools and the state of techno-criticism [33:57]
Question roulette: my book reading habits [43:46]
Life inside the MIT Theory Group (bonus: cracking the superstar code) [48:47]
The seeming impossibility of deep work with kids [1:02:42]
Curing your spouse’s Facebook addiction [1:14:10]
On the deep value of work [1:16:12]
Thanks to listener Jay Kerstens for the intro music.
