Ep. 349: Sam Altman On Productivity

Cal talks a lot about his ideas for producing meaningful work in a distracted world. But how do other people tackle this goal? To help better under this question, Cal reacts to a 2018 article from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in which he details his productivity philosophy. Cal then answers listener questions and concludes with a dystopian tech corner.

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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: Sam Altman On Productivity [2:20]

- How do I prevent administrative sprawl? [22:01]
- When is the best time to schedule Deep Work? [31:12]
- How can a gardener gain career capital? [32:43]
- How can one go from good performance to exceptional performance? [36:21]
- Is it better to write with a single monitor? [38:33]

CALL: Slow Productivity in a changing world [43:09]

CALL: Rory Mcllroy and his phone [48:35]

TECH CORNER: Will AI Destroy Humanity by 2027? [56:46]

Links:
Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at calnewport.com/slow
Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport
Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?
blog.samaltman.com/productivity
ai-2027.com
daveshap.substack.com/p/common-bad-takes-in-ai-safety-a-response

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Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, Kieron Rees for the slow productivity music, and Mark Miles for mastering.