SLOW PRODUCTIVITY provides a roadmap for escaping overload and arriving instead at a more timeless approach to pursuing meaningful accomplishment.

Our current definition of “productivity” is broken. It pushes us to treat busyness as a proxy for useful effort, leading to impossible task lists and ceaseless meetings. We’re left to decide between giving into soul-sapping hustle culture or rejecting ambition altogether. Cal Newport argues there’s a way to create meaningful work as part of a balanced life, and he calls it, “slow productivity” a revolutionary philosophy based on three simple principles: Do Fewer Things. Work at a Natural Pace. Obsess over Quality. This philosophy rejects busyness, seeing overload as an obstacle to producing results that matter, not a badge of pride. History’s most creative and impactful philosophers, scientists, artists, and writers mastered the art of producing valuable work without burnout. With this lens, Newport examines the stories and habits of Isaac Newton, Jane Austen, Georgia O’Keefe, Jack Kerouac, Maya Angelou, and many more to harness the wisdom that will help us radically transform our modern jobs.

Cal Newport is a professor of computer science at Georgetown University where he is also a founding member of the Center for Digital Ethics. In addition to his academic work, Newport is a New York Times bestselling author who writes for a general audience about the intersection of technology, productivity, and culture. His books have sold millions of copies and been translated into over forty languages. He is also a contributor to The New Yorker and hosts the popular Deep Questions podcast. Newport lives with his wife and three sons in Takoma Park, Maryland.

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