Ep. 394: Do I Need a Better Planning System?
Deep Questions with Cal Newport
Outro
Cal wraps up the episode, teases the next show, and signs off with encouragement to pursue intentional planning.
It’s hard to live deeply in a distracted world if you don’t have control over how you spend your time. This goal requires a planning system that both works and can last. Do you have a reasonable planning system in place? If not, don’t worry. Today, Cal is joined by planning expert Sarah Hart-Unger (author of “Best Laid Plans”) to discuss the nitty-gritty details of creating sustainable systems that can help you regain autonomy over your schedule without becoming an over-scheduled drone.
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
IDEAS SEGMENT: Interview with Sarah Hart-Unger [2:12]
AUDIENCE FEEDBACK, NOTES, AND CHATTER:
Dopamine addictions and TV shows [1:05:06]
Watching entire films [1:09:43]
Attention span and movies [1:16:38]
WHAT CAL IS UP TO:
Update on my AI Programmer Project [1:21:12]
Other Updates [1:28:02]
What Cal Consumed [1:29:17]
The Last Kings of Hollywood (Paul Fischer)
Movies:
The Smashing Machine
Song Sung Blue
Links:
Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow
Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at https://peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/
Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?
vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/07/why-are-movies-sooooo-long-an-investigation
science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adz9311
Sarah Hart-Unger online:
Sarah Hart-Unger (MD, if you want to use that but I typically don't even bother in my creative work!)
practicing pediatric endocrinologist, author, and podcaster
Best of Both Worlds Podcast (cohosted with Laura Vanderkam)
Best Laid Plans: A Simple Planning System for Living a Life That You Love, Sourcebooks Dec 2025
Website (since 2004 . . .): theshubox.com
Social media: none :) Partially due to your influence, I quit FB in 2016, IG in 2021, and thankfully never got into anything else! I guess I do have minimal Youtube (occasional planner videos + feed of podcast eps) @youtube.com/@BestLaidPlansVideo
Thanks to our Sponsors:
This show is sponsored by Better Help:
Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.
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