Author

Cal Newport Quotes

American computer scientist and writer. Coined the modern concept of "deep work"; author of Deep Work and Digital Minimalism.

7 sourced quotes from Cal Newport across Burnout & Flow State.

“Slow productivity: do fewer things, work at a natural pace, obsess over quality. The opposite of the pseudo-productivity that is burning a generation out.”

Slow Productivity · 2024 Burnout

“The to-do list is a productivity disaster. It scales to infinity; your attention does not. Move to a "pull system" — what do I actually have capacity for today?”

Slow Productivity · paraphrased Burnout

“Pseudo-productivity — measuring effort by visible activity — was a convenient fiction in offices. It became a catastrophe when the office moved into the home.”

Slow Productivity · 2024 Burnout

“Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It is the superpower of the 21st century.”

Deep Work · 2016 Flow State

“Clarity about what matters provides clarity about what does not.”

Deep Work · 2016 Flow State

“To produce at your peak level you need to work for extended periods with full concentration on a single task free from distraction.”

Deep Work · 2016 Flow State

“We have built the most distracting environment in history, then asked humans to do their best work inside it. The miracle is that any work gets done at all.”

Deep Work · 2016 Flow State