Ep. 281: Learning Hard Things

Deep Questions with Cal Newport

One of the more important abilities to cultivate for the year ahead is comfort learning complicated (and therefore valuable) new things. In this episode, Cal tackles the myths surrounding mastery and presents a new mental model for internalizing non-trivial information. As he elaborates, there is both good news and bad news when it comes to this topic: you can learn almost anything, but you can’t learn everything.
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
Deep Dive: Learning Hard Things [2:50]
- When it comes to taking notes, what really matters? [29:49]
- Can I fit all of my hobbies into my week? [36:02]
- Can YouTube teach me to be a better student? [39:40]
- How do I figure out what to learn next? [46:09]
- How do I learn something fast when I already have a busy schedule? [48:23]
- CALL: How does “So Good They Can’t Ignore You” relate to “Slow Productivity”? [55:11]
CASE STUDY: Slow Productivity affinity group [1:03:46]
The 5 books Cal read in December 2023 [1:13:28]
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Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, Kieron Rees for slow productivity music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

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1. Ep. 281: Learning Hard Things (00:00:00)

2. Deep Dive: Learning Hard Things (00:02:50)

3. When it comes to taking notes, what really matters? (00:29:49)

4. Can I fit all of my hobbies into my week? (00:36:02)

5. Can YouTube teach me to be a better student? (00:39:40)

6. How do I figure out what to learn next? (00:46:09)

7. How do I learn something fast when I already have a busy schedule? (00:48:23)

8. CALL: How does “So Good They Can’t Ignore You” relate to “Slow Productivity”? (00:55:11)

9. CASE STUDY: Slow Productivity affinity group (01:03:46)

10. The 5 books Cal read in December 2023 (01:13:28)