Cal Newport on Slow Productivity


This week’s quote comes from Cal Newport’s latest book, Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout.

The trap of unlimited time is rather easy to fall into, especially when you are working on a passion project. Add to that the rigors of everyday life, family, and day job stuff, and that unlimited time can quickly morph into infinity. I’m speaking from experience here, as I have projects I’ve lost track of because I haven’t been able to set the right kind of deadlines and actually make the right kind of effort to match them. 

I’ve written before about how practice makes progress, and this idea speaks to this quote. We needn’t forge a masterpiece here; we need to make something that causes those we want to reach most to take note of.

I’m taking the advice here to heart and seeing how I can make some slow progress on the work I’m doing. I hope you’ll do the same, and in doing so, be kind to yourself. Your circumstances are what they are, and they’re real. Even Newport mentions that what he suggests in this book won’t work for everyone, or at least not in its totality. Remember that, and do your best to accomplish the things you want to get done.