Ep. 356: How Much Should We Work?

In this episode of Deep Questions, Cal Newport and his producer Jesse preview the show's segments, including a deep dive into digital work exhaustion drawing from Thoreau, listener questions focused on career strategies, and a tech corner segment discussing Newport's New Yorker article on AI. Cal also promotes Claire Morrell's book, "The Tech Exit," and Alex Pang's books on the four-day work week. The deep dive explores the increasing burnout among knowledge workers, suggesting a "Thoreau schedule" with limited focused work, significant breaks, and administrative tasks. Cal answers listener questions about career backup plans, balancing leadership and research roles, ambitious retirement plans, using accountability tools for discipline, and assessing career capital. The episode also features a case study on career capital and lifestyle-centric career planning, a listener call about creating a life dashboard using AI, and a discussion of Newport's New Yorker article on AI and the ethical anomalies of chatbots, drawing parallels with Isaac Asimov's iRobot stories.