“The key to living well in a high tech world is to spend much less time using technology.”
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"I challenge you not to devour this wonderful book in one sitting."
-Greg McKeown, author of Essentialism
“What a timely and useful book! It's neither hysterical nor complacent - a workable guide to being thoughtful about digital media. It's already made me rethink some of my media use in a considered way.”
- Naomi Alderman, author of The Power
"This book is an urgent call to action for anyone serious about being in command of their own life."
- Ryan Holiday, author of The Obstacle Is the Way
"You’re not the user, you’re the product. Hang up, log off, and tune in to a different way to be in the world. Bravo, Cal. Smart advice for good people."
- Seth Godin, author of This Is Marketing
“Newport is making a bid to be the Marie Kondo of technology: someone with an actual plan for helping you realize the digital pursuits that do, and don’t, bring value to your life.”
- Ezra Klein, founder of Vox.com
I’m a computer science professor at Georgetown University who studies the theory of distributed systems. In addition to my academic work, I write about the intersection of technology and culture.
I'm the author of six books, including, most recently, the New York Times bestseller, Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World. My work has been published in over 25 languages and has been featured in many major publications, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New Yorker, Washington Post, and Economist.
I've been blogging here at calnewport.com for over a decade.
I was recently browsing the archives of the MIT Sloan Management Review (as one does), when I came across a fascinating article from the Fall 2018 issue titled “Breaking Logjams in Knowledge Work.” The piece starts with a blunt observation: “If you work in an organization, you know what it’s like to have too much […]
Earlier today, I published my latest article for the New Yorker. It’s titled: Can Remote Work Be Fixed? In this semi-epic long-form essay, I dive into the history of the remote work movement, documenting why, after decades of excitement, it ended up falling short of its potential. I then tackle the big question on a lot […]
Chris Anderson opens his 2012 book, Makers, with a story about his maternal grandfather, Fred Hauser. Anderson recalls a childhood experience spending a summer with his grandfather at his bungalow in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. “He announced that we would be making a four-stroke gasoline engine and that he had ordered a kit we […]
A reader recently pointed me toward an interesting essay. It was written by a blogger and podcaster named Mika. “I’ve thought about how to start this post FOR MONTHS,” she begins, before building to her reveal: “When I hear my instincts from my heart, I have learned that it serves me well to listen. So one day, […]
After ten years of waging war against the Trojans, Odysseus, king of Ithaca, set out on the wine-dark sea to begin his journey home. Storms thwarted an easy return voyage, and Odysseus found himself facing many additional years of tragedy and adventure, reaching a mythical nadir when he’s forced to descend into the underworld itself. […]
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Cal is interviewed by Dan Harris on Good Morning America.
