Ep. 335: On Morning Routines

This chapter introduces the podcast, "Deep Questions," and its host, Cal Newport. Cal mentions a recent book signing at People's Book in Tacoma Park and encourages listeners to order signed copies of "Slow Productivity" as a New Year's gift. He provides the bookstore's website address for ordering signed copies.

This chapter begins a deep dive into the topic of morning routines. Cal acknowledges the mixed opinions surrounding overly complicated morning rituals and explains his recent exploration of online resources on this topic. He plans to categorize and analyze these routines, sharing his findings and personal adjustments.

Cal describes his current morning routine, which is heavily influenced by his three young children's school bus schedule. He identifies the challenge of efficiently transitioning from family time to focused work, often losing time in getting ready and getting sidetracked by administrative tasks. This leads to a feeling of insufficient time for planned work.

Cal introduces the first category of morning routines: "Embrace the Suck," characterized by starting the day with a challenging activity. He uses Jocko Willink and Joe Rogan as examples, highlighting their practices of early wake-up times, intense workouts, and cold plunges. He notes that while the psychological benefit of signaling self-discipline is positive, the scientific justification for some practices is often weak and sustainability varies greatly among individuals.

This chapter focuses on the second category of morning routines, which emphasizes self-discovery and recentering. Hal Elrod's "Miracle Morning" is presented as a canonical example, outlining its six practices (SAVERS: Silence, Affirmations, Visualization, Exercise, Reading, Scribing). Cal points out that while this approach grounds the mind and prevents phone use, it can be time-consuming and may not suit all personalities.

The third category of morning routines, the MIT approach, is discussed, using Andrew Huberman's routine as an example. The core elements are immediate outdoor exposure and focused work on the most important task before engaging in other activities. Cal notes that while getting outside and starting with deep work are beneficial, the MIT approach needs to be balanced with a structured plan for the rest of the day to avoid reactive work overload.

A listener asks for advice on selecting which podcast episodes to listen to, given the abundance of content. Cal suggests prioritizing listening based on energy levels: high-energy for engaging content and low-energy for entertaining content. He emphasizes that the stakes are low and there's no need to feel pressure to listen to every episode.

A listener asks about tracking daily steps without a smartwatch. Cal shares his experiences with various methods, including standalone pedometers and using his phone's fitness app. He expresses a preference for standalone pedometers for their simplicity and single-purpose functionality, acknowledging that accuracy isn't paramount.

A listener asks about managing flexible office hours throughout the week, especially when dealing with higher-ups scheduling meetings. Cal advises treating office hours like any other meeting on the calendar, protecting them from being overwritten unless a more urgent meeting requires rescheduling. He emphasizes the importance of consistency and clear communication.

A listener, a post-production producer aiming to become a feature film director, asks how to determine if their current role is providing valuable career capital. Cal advises using lifestyle-centric planning to define long-term goals and evidence-based planning to assess if the current job contributes to those goals. He emphasizes the importance of seeking advice from people with experience in the field.

A listener describes difficulties in protecting their meeting-free days despite setting office hours. Cal reiterates the importance of treating office hours with the same priority as other meetings, suggesting adjusting the length of office hours if necessary to make them more manageable and less likely to conflict with other requests.

This chapter discusses Cal's New Yorker article about two successful DIY YouTubers, contrasting their approaches to scaling their channels. One YouTuber aggressively scaled, while the other maintained a smaller, more manageable operation. Both achieved similar success, highlighting the existence of a "creative middle class" on platforms like YouTube, where individuals can earn a substantial living without the need for massive scaling or corporate structures. This is presented as a positive trend in the digital landscape.