3534: The Procrastinating Caveman: What Human Evolution Teaches Us About Why We Put Off Work and How to Stop by Cal Newport

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Education, Mental Health, Self-improvement, Health & Fitness

4.6 • 3.2K Ratings

🗓️ 20 March 2025

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 3534: Homo sapiens outlasted other human species not just because of bigger brains, but due to our unique ability for complex planning, a skill that also explains why we procrastinate. Cal Newport argues that procrastination isn’t a character flaw but an evolutionary response to weak or vague plans. Instead of forcing ourselves to push through, we should see procrastination as a cue to refine our approach, ensuring our strategies, whether for studying, work, or personal goals, are truly effective. Read along with the original article(s) here: https://calnewport.com/the-procrastinating-caveman-what-human-evolution-teaches-us-about-why-we-put-off-work-and-how-to-stop/ Quotes to ponder: “The most obvious answer [to the question of Homo sapiens’ survival] is that we had bigger brains. But it turns out that what matters is not overall brain size but the areas where the brain is larger - one of the crucial elements of Homo sapiens’ adaptations is - complex planning.” “What I’m arguing is that the complex planning component of your brain evaluates this plan as it has evolved to do and then rejects it as not sound.” “Procrastination is not your enemy. It is instead a constructive source of criticism, a voice from our paleolithic past telling us that although it likes our goals, we need to put a little bit more thought into how we’re going to get there.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:30.7	This is Optimal Living Daily, the procrastinating caveman, what human evolution teaches us about
0:36.8	why we put off work and how to stop it.
0:39.5	By Cal Newport of Caldewport.com, and I'm Justin Mollick. Welcome to the podcast where I read to you
0:45.5	covering mental health and self-help topics like mindfulness, happiness, productivity,
0:51.0	and minimalism. And we get right to our post for today as we optimize your life.
0:59.9	The procrastinating caveman, what human evolution teaches us about why we put off work
1:05.5	and how to stop it by Cal Newport of Calnewport.com.
1:10.9	Survivor, Paleolithic Edition
1:13.1	Rewind Time 100,000 years ago,
1:16.8	several different species of humans coexist on Earth.
1:20.1	There was, of course, our own species, Homo sapien,
1:23.4	but we were joined by our more athletic siblings
1:26.0	from the Tree of Life, Homo erectus,
1:28.9	who had left Africa and colonized Asia, long before we ventured beyond the mother continent,
1:34.3	all the while another sibling, the stocky Neanderthal, was hunkered down in a European ice age.
1:40.9	It advanced another 90,000 years, however, and our species is the only game left in town.
1:46.9	Scientists have worked hard to figure out why we survived while other early humans did not.
	...

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