I Learned a Philosophy to Avoid Productivity Burnout

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[@ParkerNotes]

To try everything Brilliant has to offer-free-for a full 30 days, visit brilliant.org/ParkNotes . You’ll also get 20% off an annual premium subscription.

[@lackingaround]

Oddly enough I like your interpretations of Cal's books more than the actual books and podcasts he puts out. Cal just seems to make 15min ideas take an hour. Your stuff is more engaging to me personally. Well done. I'd like to see more critical takes from you.

[@ParkerNotes]

Haha dude this is high praise! I was literally going for this lol don't tell Cal but I'm honored to read this

[@brechtdurnez4746]

@@ParkerNotes I agree with this comment. Feel the same way.

[@teddywilliams4112]

Commenting just 25 sec in while watching bc I’m too excited to wait until the end bc this is video I’ve been waiting for!! Lesssss go!!!

[@ParkerNotes]

🙌🙌🙌🙌 I really hope you like it

[@wajical]

📓#2 for me. I am always rushing to get to the next task. I live in knowledge work. Teaching, lesson planning, 1:1 meetings with people.

[@destruction0.0]

📓

[@ParkerNotes]

🫡

[@mattrenyard]

📔 Just read this - thank you for putting it my way!

[@ParkerNotes]

🙌🫡

[@MacKenzieAGreen]

💰🗒️

[@ParkerNotes]

🫡🫡🫡🙌🙌🙌

[@keywolf23]

1. Do fewer things. - Increased time means higher quality of fewer things. - Limit to under five. - Time blocks create space. 2. Work at a natural pace. - Work that is important to your life means you can live a fulfilling life of work you can be proud of. - Double project timelines. - Modest results over time. 3. Obsess over quality.

[@Wingedmagician]

thx bro

[@KT-ro2gh]

Ironically the notebook example is what steered me away from reading this book. It's a great analogy but demonstrated a fundamental difference in thinking between myself and the author. When I buy a nice notebook I am significantly less likely to use it than say an average Moleskine. What if I waste it by filling it with useless things? It's like buying nice paint and lamenting you can't produce anything beautiful with it so never using it at all. Great video man, thank you.

[@ParkerNotes]

I actually had this same idea. I buy expensive covers and cheaper notebooks as a middle ground. I shoulda said that, dang!

[@thedabblingwarlock]

If you can find a nice version that has fewer pages, I'd give it a try at least. I'm using a couple of Lochby field journal refills and a cheap Mead composition notebook for journaling and keeping track of tasks for work and home. One of the things I've found is that I much, much rather use the Blackwing pencils I have over the Ticonderogas I have a lot more of. I also learned to experiment and play around with different markers, highlighters, pens, and pencils to find what works. Sometimes you find that your a-okay with that cheap composition notebook and a Bic Crystal pen. Other times you find that you love the feel and weight of a $30 pen on a 64-page notebook that costs $6-$8 a pop. For me, I also find that it helps to change your mindset. I draw and want to draw more and experiment with different media. Sometimes that means I can use the cheap sketchbook from the dollar store, but other times I have to reach for the expensive multimedia or watercolor sketchbook that costs $20. The way I get past that is by giving myself permission to suck. I got this from a David Kadavy article ( kadavy.net/blog/posts/permission-to-suck/ ) I read years ago, shortly after it came out. It's stuck with me every since and it's something I have to constantly remind myself of because I'm a perfectionist at heart. I fear failure and that manifests itself as never starting in the first place. The thing is you're going to be bad at whatever it is you set out to learn how to do, and that's natural. That's okay. That means you can only improve from here. It's a hard thing to accept on a level where the idea that it is okay to suck at something is something that we don't have to remind ourselves that it is okay. Anyway, the point I was trying to make is that you should give it a try and instead of looking at putting useless things into the nice journal as wasteful, look at it as you learning whatever system or skill it is that you're using the journal to develop. That's not a waste, nor should it be seen as one. It's okay to suck. It's okay to mess up. It's okay to try something out to see if it is for you. And if you find at the end of that nice journal that it's still like taking a band-aid off as slowly as possible to use a nice journal that way, well, I'd say that's money well spent and go back to using the cheap ones. *EDIT:* Just realized that I think Cal's point in buying the nice notebook is that we should invest in things we want to use. If buying expensive makes you more likely to use it, then buy expensive. If buying cheap does the same, then buy cheap. I don't think that invalidates my opinion that you should try using a nice notebook just to see, but I do think that it adds another dimension to consider.

[@hyleore]

I use a nice fountain pen on the cheapest notebooks (with regular ink) 😂 The fountain pen makes me feel fancy and creative but I don't feel like I'm wasting the notebook with my ideas

[@rubrum_machina]

Usually, I wouldn't say this, but if you watch this video, you don't really need to read the book. I say this as someone who has read the book and was extremely disappointed with it. If you're familiar with Newport's work, you won't find anything new here. Moreover, this book does not meet Cal Newport's usual standards of quality. It's full of contradictions and vague advice that is not applicable to most knowledge workers.

[@Nazy101]

Oh Jeez tell me more

[@satysin630]

Agreed. Easily Cal's weakest book. 90% of the pages are fluff mini-biographies about a handle of famous people that just happened to do their biggest work over many years or decades with no proof it was "slow productivity" behind their success, they just happened to take a long time to do certain things. Often because they didn't have any other choice until they lucked out by having life obligations move out of the way. The one the made me laugh the most was his friend that spends $2500 a month on subscription software/services and just cut how much she works in half and hires other people to do that work. Ohh why didn't I think of doing that already!?! 😂

[@AayushJha06]

I've been introduced to your channel by my friend a while ago and now I just can't stop watching your content. Through your channel I have started reading and thinking more. My pocket notebook has almost replaced my phone and I feel more productive. Thank you so much for sharing such valuable content.🎉🎉

[@JACyBoyz]

I know it may not be as good for the algorithm but i love the specific philosophy book overviews. as someone new to philosophy as a hobby it gives me a good idea of a resource that i would find interesting or immediately beneficial for me. thanks for doing what you do. you are a big part of why i journal and why im inspired to think deeper and not shy away from my more introspective side

[@bluesteelgaming2883]

At the end of the summary, when you reiterated "obsess over quality," it cut to your closing words too soon. That left, "obsess over..." The irony was a good teaching tool, here, lol

[@ParkerNotes]

Hahahahaah I really wish that was intentional this video was a hugeeeee pain to edit, nothing was working right or saving appropriately so I feel like 3 different Parker's edited it. Not quality 😅

[@bluesteelgaming2883]

@@ParkerNotes no problem, it added to the effect. Have you ever read anything from Dutch Reformed philosopher Herman Dooyeweerd?

[@jamesgayfer14]

@ParkerNotes I definitely thought it was intentional (and clever). Keep up the great work, love your videos.

[@Padronfan]

Dang! I needed that reminder. The last 2 weeks, I rushed out way too much deep work...

[@ParkerNotes]

I needed this too! Working through this video was tough 😅

[@joshuabenes]

I was about to say that there is no way I'm going to spend $50 on a notebook... but then I realized that I just purchased a $300 notebook when I got the Supernote Nomad... Side note: It's been a delight to use!

[@tomwillemsen6292]

How do you film you’re POV notebook shots ? There mesmerizing!

[@ParkerNotes]

Thank you! I have a Slick camera mount

[@hyleore]

📓 but I actually have been going the opposite way and using cheap notebooks to allow myself to make mistakes instead of being scared to start 😆 favourite principle was definitely obsess over quality, because as a perfectionist, I already do - and though it sometimes makes me hate my work I do believe it's what allows me to occasionally reach excellence. hardest to follow will be to do fewer things 😭 my way of taking inspiration from historical times is wanting to have tons of jobs/specialties like when you look up some philosophers and they're also playwrights, astronomers, mathematicians...

[@HypatiaStudy]

The hardest thing is that the market does not want your slow productivity. And make no mistake, knowledge workers work for this mass market too - in a way or another. But I have a solution: when I work, I play by their rules. But I do not save for buying bigger house, car or travel farther. I save money for long sabbathicals when I can do the actual work, not the shit I am paid for.

[@obsolete9734]

will you ever do a video about how you take notes on lectures? Specifically youtube lectures

[@ParkerNotes]

That's a great idea!

[@andrewmahony4529]

I’m a big Cal Newport guy. Nice to see people smarter than me reinforce this belief.

[@ParkerNotes]

Haha idk if I'm smarter but I can affirm Cal is the man!

[@_thenyounoticeyourethinking]

📓 Have the confidence to leave things out, and trust that you will be okay without taking that venture, because your life will embody the colours regardless. It is a mindset of being okay with leaving some ambitions, because if you put in the available effort in you, the resulting life will be just as good.

[@micheledavisau]

Philosophy helped me claw my way out of burnout. I love that Cal has released this book - hopefully it starts a really important conversation among the productivity community! 💜

[@ParkerNotes]

@@micheledavisau 🙌🙌🙌

[@ornlu_the_wolf]

It's funny to see productivity KZbin channels move from all productivity and hustle.to slowing down. Everyone realized it wasn't sustainable.

[@serendipity-discover]

Brilliant video, these principles align well with a lot of the productivity practices I already do in my life. Thanks for sharing this amazing video.

[@ParkerNotes]

🙌🙌 I'm pumped you liked it!

[@demonfighter6]

📓Good refresher of the points. I haven't read the book but I already knew most of them. Applying them consistently is a bit trickier than "knowing" them.

[@aniketium]

Review so good, don't feel like reading the whole book now.

[@ParkerNotes]

Haha don't tell Cal!

[@johnathanconrad5672]

📓#1 As a manager of multiple departments, free time is few and far between.

[@jonfibonacci]

3.7 average on Goodreads. Think I'm gonna pass on this book. Great video though (:

[@satysin630]

I bought this week last week and you made the right choice. The book is more a collection of mini-biographies for a handle of famous people that were exceptional and just so happened to do their work over a long period of time (is that really active slow productivity or just coincidence due to their circumstance? there is no proof either way tbh). The point he makes in the book are not baseless but they're also not very practical for *most* knowledge workers that has a boss that sets their workload. I am a software developer so as knowledge worker as it can get. My job is extremely autonomous but I can't pick and choose what projects I work on like all the examples Cal makes in the book. Overall I think this is the weakest of Cal's book and feels more like he wrote up 200 pages to deliver a book due to a contractual obligation more than he actually had a fully formed idea he wanted to communicate with his audience. Very disappointed so ended up returning it for a refund. Wasn't even good enough for me to gift it to a friend as it is so thin on any useful information it is basically a waste of time to read. If he cut out all the pointless stories about how Jewel got a record contract or how Jane Austen wrote her books it could easily have been two or three blog posts on his site.

[@jonfibonacci]

@@satysin630 thanks for taking the time to comment this. It’s unfortunate that some authors sort of “fall off” like this. And maybe you’re right. Contract agreements rush and force the creative process and that almost never does authors or creators any justice. It’s quite sad really.

[@babycow7295]

I like the title. It reminds me of Matt D'Avella

[@ParkerNotes]

Might have took a little inspiration from his title 😅

[@JayShmunny]

Hey Parker, really have been enjoying the videos these past few months. I gotta say every video gets better! Nice to see the time and care you put into making these videos. Keep on rockin dude!

[@ParkerNotes]

Thank you! I'm so glad you noticed. I keep trying to make each one a little better

[@ash_days_]

As someone that's always burnt out this is helping me shift my perspective for the better thank you! 📓

[@mrj05hua001]

I love Cal Newport books, not so sure on buying the $50 notebook versus making yourself one. Guess it depends on the dopamine to routine route to go.

[@ParkerNotes]

Do you make your own notebooks?

[@kmratliff]

Thanks as always for a timely message! Always love the content you produce. 📓

[@natbrownizzle1387]

How do you keep the world out of your head to focus on the stuff you trully care for?

[@Thesupreme4]

I want a library like this too but too poor right now so gotta work hard 🙂

[@TheCassMtz]

I'll have to move this higher up on my reading list!

[@reganb979]

I'm obsessing over the quality of you cutting out the word "quality" near the end of the video. Haha. 📓

[@ParkerNotes]

Really the perfect thing to misa 😅😅😅

[@sahinahmed4250]

The video discusses Cal Newport's philosophy of "slow productivity" for knowledge workers to avoid burnout. The three principles are: 1. **Do fewer things**: Focus on a small number of important tasks to maintain quality and avoid spreading yourself too thin. 2. **Work at a natural pace**: Avoid unceasing intensity and allow your work to unfold naturally with variations in intensity and conducive settings. 3. **Obsess over quality**: Prioritize quality over quantity and focus on producing high-quality work that adds value. By adopting these principles, knowledge workers can avoid pseudo productivity, achieve long-term success, and maintain their freedom and autonomy.

[@alanp.7160]

I like the principle of working in seasons

[@ricardodickerson5990]

📓 i love you videos

[@ParkerNotes]

Thank you!

[@Hi_Im_Dominik]

📓 I will have the problem with quality. Don't have a skill that brings money but I learn guitar and I see that harder songs I kinda jump around them instead of spending 1 week on papa roach main riff and get it perfect no buzz I just get it ,,done" and jump to next one

[@NotebookMapofLemon]

📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓

[@ParkerNotes]

🙌🫡

[@xnij250]

A downside of working in a small organization: everyone must be involved in the decision making for a project. That makes me involve in tasks that are not mine. If I can only focus on my own project, I can focus on improving the quality of my output, but no. I have to set aside part of my brain for projects that aren't mine 😩

[@steve_jobs1984]

Please, we need you to make a video about book recommendations to learn logical fallacies

[@ParkerNotes]

Like this one? kzbin.info/www/bejne/eHzcdneco6l0ja8

[@堤伸二-u9p]

ありがとうございます！

[@ParkerNotes]

Thank you!!

[@johnpumphrey7655]

Thank you for this informative and thoughtful review, Parker. Because of your review, I stopped halfway through your video and traveled to my local bookstore and purchased Newport’s, Slow Productivity. Thank you for introducing me to the ideas in this book. My day is enriched because of your efforts and I’m grateful. - John

[@SamuelMcCunemusic]

📕 work at a natural pace is something i really need to work on... as well as doing fewer things. Today's thought exercise is going to be prioritizing what my top projects are and how to schedule them. Thank you so much for sharing I find a ton of value in your videos. Blessings from the Mountains of Colorado Parker. 🙏✍

[@madelinecoven6428]

@ParkerNotes, I read philosophy and keep analog notebooks. I look at the world through a transdisciplinary lens, and I also do computer programming.

[@amokbel]

📓 the hardest concept for me is the one about working at a natural pace. I tend to work fast, just wanting to finish stuff and move on to the next one. The quality is ok but when I do slow down, I noticed that the work quality improves tenfold.

[@JorgeMorales-bs4rb]

Do Fewer things will definitely be a hassle. Thank you for your videos... I love them. I am currently a medical student here, and to relax, I come to your channel to absorb such fascinating knowledge. Love this... Thank you!

[@doretox]

Another great book for my list, thanks park 📓

[@ParkerNotes]

🫡🫡🫡

[@AndrewFatherOfEdward]

Hakuna Matata

[@ParkerNotes]

Lol nice

[@b.melakail]

📓 Nice. Newport has been in the spotlight lately and this was a good summation. It is definitely tough to balance the seasonality of pace - at least for me

[@anton364094]

📓 thanks - your videos are so stimulating man. Top quality. I also find doing fewer things to be difficult. I’m working on it though

[@BrandonLeBlanc713]

hi welcome to parknotes where i park my notes at the parking lot for notes also known as a book of soliloquies and if you feel so inclined maybe a catch all journal, or if it urks you enough, try a compendium

[@mai4584]

📓 I'm actually working on limiting my projects these days, glad to hear Cal's talked about it. I decided to make a massive list of all my responsibilities, obligations, and things I want to do (while playing around with GPT-4o to give me prompts and ask more in-depth questions regarding how I plan things and whether some projects need more planning before getting into them - it's been fun!), so I can choose 3 or so to focus on at any one time. The hope is that I'd also be able to stop leaving projects half-finished, as I aim to only start new ones once one of the 3 current ones are done - they'll be on a list to remind me of the shiny new things I want to do, as motivation to not just flip between all of them but focus.

[@hadhemilaouini9882]

Fantastic video ! I really like your breakdown of this book, and most of all the way you immediately applied these principles or gave examples of how you incorporate them. Would love to see more content like this!

[@Ghdhdh233]

Suggest me books on logic wnd metaphysics

[@ParkerNotes]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/o3rNqZ9jbsuYZ8k

[@Ghdhdh233]

@@ParkerNotes I have read all of them

[@izzimi2728]

Another great video. I advise to put text in your videos to make them more engaging. This is when you name or list things. It also makes it easier to pay attention.

[@TheLadyOdin-GuidingWarriors]

📓The Seasonality of a project was a super-helpful idea. Too often, I just jump right in to write about an idea and then stall while I research it and it ends up only half-baked, and thus it ends up unpublished and unused. This would also be good for students who think (like I did) that you can do a good assignment the week before it's due.

[@Elslein]

📓good point on spending money on your tools! But I’m afraid to spend too much money on notebooks… I love them tho

[@seekingcelestialgrace]

Thanks for sharing this video -- definitely going to have to grab a copy of this book. It really aligns with an article I'm writing on listening to the Seasons of the Self. And it also really supports the pace at which this project is coming to fruition, so I feel far less overwhelmed. Great overview!

[@DribbleFunk]

Great vid. All these things seem like common sense. I really appreciate how you boiled it down, too. Newport is awesome, but, man, you gotta set aside some serious time for his stuff to get through it (very detailed and researched).

[@starmothpress]

One of the things I do to keep myself feeling open to inspiration is if a notebook has become too precious where it’s making me freeze up, I will get a super inexpensive one to keep working in. But I do like this idea of investing in our tools. I’m an artist and writer and I feel like I was always told to not worry about getting nice things to work with 😂😅

[@jellybelly00012]

What is this notebook?

[@CONFIDENTMINDS]

Greatest philosopher now 🥰

[@IvanRomero-ho8wv]

📓 I want to do less things at once but the administration keeps pushing its mantra of do more with less and have it done yesterday.

[@ericstevens773]

One of my new favorite channels.

[@ParkerNotes]

🙌🙌🫡

[@DaydreamsOfArne]

Just when I got my first Traveler's notebook. I have been more eager and write notes on my readings and taking down ideas!

[@WizPizPresident1]

Just found ur channel and love it keep it up bro

[@ParkerNotes]

🙌🫡🫡

[@matthewhendricks396]

📓always appreciate the ideas, summaries and thoughts

[@IsaiahJohnson-v2m]

Your mustache is prime

[@ParkerNotes]

😅🤝🤝🤝💪💪💪

[@nikxrow]

Good Video, I ordered the Book after your Video 😂📓

[@ParkerNotes]

Lol please tell me you used my link

[@KellyLoom1s]

📓 ❤

[@ParkerNotes]

🙌🫡🤝

[@godkingcthulhu138]

🦑 i want to read this book so much. have you read any tiago forte?

[@retepemmal]

The hardest thing must be avoiding the pseudo productivity

[@LuisAngelAbache]

Thank you :)

[@kvr24611]

📓

[@ParkerNotes]

🫡🫡

[@TroySaltzmann-Barrera]

📓

[@ParkerNotes]

🫡

[@muddassirbari]

📓

[@ParkerNotes]

🙌🫡

[@4ohf]

💵📓💰

[@ParkerNotes]

🫡🤝🙌

[@tonycamacho6561]

📓📓

[@ParkerNotes]

🫡🫡

[@Iliad4567]

📓

[@ParkerNotes]

🫡

[@Iliad4567]

📓

[@ParkerNotes]

🫡

[@moiramarques]

📓

[@ParkerNotes]

🫡

[@lucio_a]

📔

[@ParkerNotes]

🫡

[@TheFerroman]

📓

[@ParkerNotes]

🫡🫡

[@davidfulton3350]

📓

[@ParkerNotes]

🫡

[@charlies_world5733]

📓

[@ParkerNotes]

🫡

[@iliase2017]

📓

[@ParkerNotes]

🫡

[@MrMjdixon95]

I’d love to see a video on you using a journaling Bible!

[@aqeelmir5639]

Could you please do more Book reviews please...

[@ParkerNotes]

Like this style?

[@aqeelmir5639]

Love from the UK, Birmingham

[@joan8656]

Really enjoyed this video!

[@ParkerNotes]

🙌🫡

[@MemphisJones]

📓 going to have to watch more than once to get the full effect though. 😅

[@tyhuey1784]

📓Oh man I’m spread way to thin right now

[@tyhuey1784]

📓Oh man I’m spread way to thin right now

[@Whofan31]

📓 "Do fewer things." as a person who has limited energy this is something I really need to do, but I also have unlimited curiosity about the world so they really don't mix well! I totally resonated with the person who said if they buy nice notebooks, they would be worried that their thoughts wouldn't be worthy of using them. We need a video on how to break that mindset!! Another great video, with lots to think about - and another book to add to the TBR list! 😆 Thanks!!

[@jms9057]

I broke myself of that 'my thoughts aren't lofty enough for this lovely notebook' mindset. First, I realized that life is too short to deny myself the use of beautiful things (note I said beautiful, not necessarily expensive). Second, I bought a small, cheap (probably fake) leather notebook from Amazon and used it like I would scrap paper. Instead of reaching for a post-it note or an envelope or scratch pad, I kept the little leather notebook on my desk and used it for all the crap I needed to jot down temporarily - phone numbers, invoice numbers, dollar amounts, etc. And finally, when it was filled, I threw it out. It was hard to throw that pretty little book out, but the stuff in it wasn't useful. What WAS useful was reminding myself that the world is full of beautiful notebooks - more than I could possibly use in my lifetime - and I will only get to really experience them if I USE them. Otherwise, I will buy a few and then stare at them with guilt because they sit unused, and that's a waste. Instead of thinking MY thoughts aren't good enough for IT, I learned that IT isn't as precious as it seems.

[@fegoviedo]

📒

[@ParkerNotes]

🙌🤝💪🫡

[@thetruthseekerswithrandymc5850]

Yea I gotta get that book.

[@ParkerNotes]

🙌

[@aussiegruber86]

If I even tried to apply some of these methods to my day job I feel I would fall so far behind. Literally understaffed and over worked 📖

[@ParkerNotes]

Managers and bosses need to read Cal's books for real!!