Written by 
Slow Productivity – Cal Newport
Genre: Nonfiction – Self Help
Publisher: Portfolio / Penguin Random House
Release Date: March 5, 2024
Format read: Physical (paperback)
Source of book: This book was acquired independently by the Reviewer.
My Thoughts
Cal Newport is a notable thought leader on high performance, especially in academia and knowledge work. It’s the field of knowledge work – work which is based on cognitive effort – that has defined his published output. This is his recent addition, which defines slow productivity as the antithesis to the frenzied madness of modern corporate. This Slow Productivity Book Review comes from someone already reasonably familiar with Cal’s work, including his media appearances.
I was highly anticipating this release and excited to get my hands on it. And I was not disappointed one bit. I actually devoured this one quite quickly, because it was so short and readable. But I’ve also found myself going back over certain sections I appreciated. This short book packs a serious punch, ironically.
As someone of my generation would say, this release is heavily pandemic-coded. The WFH revolution during COVID lockdowns is used to introduce the core themes. While the problems of ‘busywork’ and burnout have existed long beforehand, the lockdown highlighted its flaws for many people.
Content & Information
Newport has been a productivity guru for a while now, and with his previous works, he has focused heavily on reducing extraneous things. Looking at titles alone: Slow Productivity, Deep Work, A World Without Email, Digital Minimalism, you get a sense of what he preaches right away. Remove yourself from the noise. Unplug, dig yourself into your work.
These previous books have been very practical and focused on tips and strategies to implement these concepts. Slow Productivity is NOT a practical book in the same way. Yes, there are tips. But it’s clear to me that Newport took a different approach. This is not HOW you do your work, it is WHY you should change your approach.
From the length to the structure, this is clearly the Slow Productivity Manifesto and not its user manual.
Newport’s message is easily distilled into a sentence: do less, at a slower pace, with higher quality. But he backs up each point with a solid argument. Mostly on how the great knowledge workers of the Western world have used slowness to become legendary.
He shows there are many different ways to accomplish slowness, but my favourite point was about seasonality. Newport is realistic. He knows that stressful and crunch periods are inevitable. But he points out that humanity has usually, naturally, adopted a mix of busy and slow periods. By alternating, you get a more varied and dynamic work style that allows you to replenish your energy and creativity alongside hustle and grind.
Writing
Newport is a computer science man and is not typically a grand storyteller. This time around, he stated that we wanted to improve his writing and I believe he hit that mark.
With both my previous review on Adult Fantasy and this Slow Productivity book review, I’m going to set a controversial precedent: I like rambling philosophical books. No, I’m serious. I actually prefer that. I have found that I’m much more likely to get on board with an idea going the long way around. I love pondering the philosophical underpinnings and having a series of examples and considerations. But I know that there are plenty of readers who will not agree with me. I’m fine with that. But I think it’s important for you to understand where I’m coming from and why I am drawn to certain styles.
By using intriguing examples of legendary knowledge workers throughout history, Newport is able to take the general principle of productivity out of the short-term view of the modern era. While productivity is often thought of as very modern, Newport’s argument is that it is only the fake pseudo-productive tasks that are the modern disturbances. Throughout history, it is clear that humans have excelled at slow productivity most of the time!
This is an encouraging and refreshing way to reframe our life’s work.
I’ve noticed that many other readers and reviewers don’t see it this way though. Many other Slow Productivity book reviews I’ve seen have come from longtime Newport fans. These readers were expecting a straightforward and practical exercise like his previous novels, and have been disappointed by this release.
I understand that perspective, but I believe this book is not best suited to them anyway. If you have already read Deep Work or Digital Minimalism, you are likely already on board. You are possibly already doing Slow Productivity and don’t need to be convinced.
This book is for the new, uninitiated, and skeptical. I can clearly see Newport trying to calmly talk to a reluctant, fidgety, burned-out employee who is unable to comprehend another way of life. He wasn’t preaching to his choir of productivity nerds. He is preaching to the layman.
So if you are a stressed-out office worker, and you’ve never read Cal Newport before, read Slow Productivity. It will be life-changing.
TL;DR: It is the perfect short and sweet introduction to why you should embrace slow productivity. I love this book!
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
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