Slow Productivity

A review of the book Slow Productivity by Cal Newport

The premise of Slow Productivity by Cal Newport is that, as we transitioned from manufacturing to knowledge work, we started to confuse busyness with productivity. An extra hour working on an assembly line might increase the value produced in a factory, but often better results in knowledge work come from stepping away from distractions and focusing. This might sound obvious to anyone who works in tech or an office, but the myth of busyness persists.

The principles are simple: 

• Do fewer things. 

• Work at a natural pace. 

• Obsess over quality.

The book interweaves inspiring stories of highly productive people with an explanation of the principles of slow productivity and how you can implement Slow Productivity in a variety of work and life contexts. Newport also shatters some of the myths around how productive some famously productive people were by explaining the “slowness” that preceded the burst of output we know them for. 

The ideas in the book sound reasonable and resonate with the advice I’ve gotten from mentors. Nothing here is hard to understand. The hard parts are:

• Getting past the idea that “productive” and “busy” are the same thing. This is often deep in our corporate, if not larger, cultures.

• Managing the expectations of those around you.

While it makes sense on the surface that not checking Slack every 30 seconds can help you focus and get something done, there are some techniques (which the book gets into) that show you how to set expectations so that others focus on your quality output rather than your resistance to interruptions. 

They also seem to align with some of the core ideas behind Agile Software Development:

• Batching interactions sounds like the idea behind events like a Daily Standup.

• Minimizing tasks sounds like single-piece flow.

• The focus on quality is what agile technical practices are about: how much you do doesn’t matter if it’s not useful.

After reading the book, I’m more committed to being more consistent about:

• Manage my work intake so that work can get done

• Batching interaction times so. that I’m not constantly interrupted by non-essential things.

This isn’t always possible to do perfectly, especially in the context of family life (and some aspects of work), but getting past the idea that being busy is good (and the only kind of good) and acknowledging the value of rest and focus over the appearance of work is the first essential step. Once you’ve done that, stepping away for a walk to consider a problem doesn’t seem like a variation of ‘quiet quitting’ but rather just a way to work sustainably,

Newport wraps up by pointing out that while there are things that we, as individuals, can do to have a healthier relationship with productivity, there are also changes that can be made on a larger organizational scale. And the personal changes are a part of this. In some organizations this may be difficult — or even scary — to do. But in many cases, starting the conversation can be enough to raise awareness and start change.

Often, books about productivity, which feature stories about people who accomplish amazing things, inspire me but also leave me with a sense that perhaps I’ll never be able to accomplish anything comparable. Slow Productivity, with its mix of stories, actionable advice, and continued reassurance that approaching work and goals in a more measured way is a path to success, is more inspiring and motivating without the self-doubt baggage.