Slow productivity by Cal Newport

As a long-time follower of Cal Newport’s blog (since 2006) and someone who has read all his books, I was surprised to return Slow Productivity to the library unfinished¹, even after it was auto-renewed three times.

It’s not that the book was bad. It’s just that:

1. If I leave a book in a “currently reading” state for too long, I tend to lose interest.
2. More importantly, I had already encountered much of the book’s content through Cal Newport’s podcast, so it felt familiar—almost like revisiting ideas I’d already digested.
3. I wasn’t in the right mindset to read deeply. Although that may just be an excuse, I’ve been preoccupied with a lot of work-related matters over the past quarter.

Circling back to point 1: auto-renewing or holding on to a library book for too long puts me in the mindset of “I’ve got time; I’ll get to it eventually.” One of the main appeals of borrowing from the library, for me, is that it creates accountability. A looming due date adds a sense of urgency—without it, it’s too easy to procrastinate in the name of “being productive” (read: time-wasting).

Through the lens