Quotes from Cal newport

From Descartes's skepticism came the radical belief that the individual seeking certainty trumped a God or king bestowing truth.

Giving people more control over what they do and how they do it increases their happiness, engagement and sense of fulfillment

Just because you cannot avoid this tool altogether doesn't mean you have to cede all authority over its role in your mental landscape

It's crucial, therefore, that you figure out in advance what you're going to do with your evenings and weekends before they begin.

When it comes to deep work, in other words, consider the use of collaboration when appropriate, as it can push your results to a new level. At the same time, don't lionize this quest for interaction and positive randomness to the point where it crowds out the unbroken concentration ultimately required to wring something useful out of the swirl of ideas all around us.

I had reached the level of expertise you would expect from someone who had played an instrument seriously for the last six years. But this is what I find fascinating: Compared to Jordan Tice's ability at this same age, I was mediocre.

Another common way to implement the rhythmic philosophy is to replace the visual aid of the chain method with a set starting time that you use every day for deep work. In much the same way that maintaining visual indicators of your work progress can reduce the barrier to entry for going deep, eliminating even the simplest scheduling decisions, such as when during the day to do the work, also reduces this barrier.

Don't follow your passion; rather, let it follow in your quest to become, in the words of my favorite Steve Martin quote, "so good that they can't ignore you.

Because, let's face it, checking "likes" is the new smoking.

After returning from a trip to India, where he observed the practice of adding meditation rooms to homes, he expanded the complex to include a private office. "In my retiring room I am by myself," Jung said of the space.

My suggestion is that you try to learn and apply one new skill every week, over a period of six weeks. Start with easy projects like those suggested above, but as soon as you feel the challenge wane, ramp up the complication of the skills and steps involved.

I'll live the focused life, because it's the best kind there is.

Identifying what matters most in your life,

le distrazioni digitali di bassa qualità rivestono un ruolo importante nella vita delle persone, più di quanto queste immaginino

To allow an optional technology back into your life at the end of the digital declutter, it must: Serve something you deeply value (offering some benefit is not enough). Be the best way to use technology to serve this value (if it's not, replace it with something better). Have a role in your life that is constrained with a standard operating procedure that specifies when and how you use it.

The declutter acts as a jarring reset: you come into the process a frazzled maximalist and leave an intentional minimalist.

Attention residue left by unresolved switches dampens your performance.

I propose an alternative to the Internet Sabbath. Instead of scheduling the occasional break from distraction so you can focus, you should instead schedule the occasional break from focus to give in to distraction

Fixed-schedule productivity, in other words, is a meta-habit that's simple to adopt but broad in its impact.

The dominant force is the psychology of committing so seriously to the task at hand.

or project has been reviewed and that for each you have confirmed that either (1) you have a plan you trust for its completion, or (2) it's captured in a place where it will be revisited when the time is right.

unconscious thought theory (UTT)—an attempt to understand the different roles conscious and unconscious deliberation play in decision making.

four hours a day, five days a week, of uninterrupted and carefully directed concentration,

Great missions are transformed into great successes as the result of using small and achievable projects- little bets- to explore the concrete possibilities surrounding a compelling idea.