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Deep Questions with Cal Newport

Ep. 275: Accomplishing Hard Goals

Deep Questions with Cal Newport

Cal Newport

Technology, Self-improvement, Education

4.81.3K Ratings

🗓️ 20 November 2023

⏱️ 93 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

How you accomplish important goals: The type that can transform your life in remarkable ways? In this episode, Cal breaks down the common mistakes we make in pursuing hard goals and then details the reverse goal setting strategy he has found to work much more consistently.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvo

Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia

Today’s Deep Question: How do I follow through on transformative goals? [2:18]

- How do I prepare for an upcoming change to my professional life? [42:26]

- How do I schedule abundant free time? [49:43]

- Should I feel guilty that I’m so efficient I barely work? [53:47]

- How do I avoid doing too much? [1:00:27]

- How do I time block work of unknown durations? [1:07:31]

- CALL: Pursuing a career with two different paths [1:13:52]

CAL REACTS: Joe Rogan and The Rock Talk Passion [1:21:35]

Thanks to our Sponsors:

shopify.com/deep

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mybodytutor.com

blinkist.com/deep

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

I'm Cal Newport and this is Deep Questions, the show about living and working deeply in a distracted world.

0:30.7

So if you're new to deep questions, I am a professor of computer science who also writes about the ways that technology impacts the different ways that we live and work

0:35.1

and relate to each other. And here on the show is where I give concrete advice derived from the big ideas that I write about.

0:45.0

So I'm recording today for my deep work HQ in Tacoma Park, Maryland.

0:50.0

Joined as always by my producer, Jesse, I figured, you know, not everyone has been around for a long time.

0:57.0

They haven't been deep questions people for a long time.

0:59.2

So it made sense to try to explain to people more exactly what we're doing here.

1:04.0

Yeah.

1:05.0

But we did get, and you and I were talking about this earlier, we did get an email recently

1:08.8

that I think represents the opposite of being new to this show.

1:12.3

In fact, it represents probably having listened to this show too long,

1:15.3

but I appreciated it.

1:17.0

Someone sent me a message and said,

1:18.5

here would be the apotheos of the Deep Question experience

1:21.9

would be Jesse Skeleton interviewing

1:26.5

Brandon Sanderson about name of the wind and if you know what that means

1:32.1

then you've been on this you've been listening to a show probably too long.

1:35.1

You're a true fan.

1:36.4

True fan.

1:37.4

True fan.

1:38.4

And if you don't know what that means, again, as I always say congratulations. So that's what we do here. If you

1:44.0

want to watch what you hear go to the deep life.com slash listen this is

...

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