Tell me if this sounds familiar: you buy a beautiful notebook, excited by all its possibilities to help refine your thoughts and generate new insights. Then it sits unused until you forget about it. The problem is not *what* notebooks you own but instead *how* you use them. In this episode, Cal walks through the four different notebooks he owns, and the four different ways he uses them.
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Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia
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Below are the questions covered in today’s episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast.
DEEP DIVE:
(2:06) Should I Use Notebooks More Often?
QUESTIONS:
(30:11) Comments on a controversial article
(33:18 ) Statistics about smartphone bans in schools
(38:15) A practical question about remote work
(40:57) A question about focus and the World Cup
WHAT CAL IS UP TO:
(46:08) What Cal is up to
(48:12) What Cal is reading
Books:
Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word (Walter Ong)
Lost (Rachel Hartigan)
YOUTUBE TITLE:
– How to Use Notebooks in 2026 (The Best System)
LINKS:
Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow
Order a signed copy of “Slow Productivity” here: https://peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/
Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?
Thanks to our Sponsors:
https://www.factormeals.com/deep50off
Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Kieron Rees for episode music.
