Cal Newport – BookBunnies

Marshmallow reviews Slow Productivity by Cal Newport

Last year Marshmallow reviewed two advice books by cal Newport directed towards students: How to Become a Straight-A Student and How to Be a High School Superstar. This week she got into Newport’s most recent book Slow Productivity, published in March 2024. Sprinkles enjoyed reading this book immensely, so she wanted to join Marshmallow in this review.

Sprinkles: So Marshmallow, this is your third book by Cal Newport, isn’t it?

Marshmallow: Yes. I find him to present very thought-provoking ideas.

S: I find his books interesting as well. So we both read this one. It is titled Slow Productivity. I think he was inspired by the slow food movement, where you emphasize slowness and quality and community and local ingredients instead of mass-produced generic fast food. I also read a book a while back about slow teaching; it was also cool. So can you tell us briefly what Newport means by slow productivity?

M: Slow productivity is the idea of decreasing your workload so you can increase the quality of your work to reach certain, specific goals all the while making sure you are living a sustainable life.

S: That sounds like a very appealing goal. Tell us more.

M: So his method, Newport promises, will decrease the familiar overwhelming anxiety and stress the modern knowledge worker experiences.

S: Wait, what is a knowledge worker?

M: According to IBM, a knowledge worker is “a professional who generates value for the organization with their expertise, critical thinking and interpersonal skills.” So someone who uses computers for accounting, writes code to solve specific business problems, works as a professor, or is a freelance writer, or stuff like that. So unlike the previous Cal Newport books I’ve reviewed (which were intended to help students), Slow Productivity is aimed at adults who have already begun their careers.

S: Yes, I think so too. So I was surprised when you picked it up. But you seem to have enjoyed it, seeing how you have finished it already.

M: Yes! I started reading it so that I could be prepared for when I grow up and have my own career. I think adults are always too stressed. I wanted to go into my career with ideas on how to be productive in a healthy manner that yields professional success. I also thought this book might still have principles and methods that could be helpful to me as a student.

S: That second part makes total sense, but the first part is really interesting and would probably be surprising for most folks. Especially if they do not know you well… I am sure you are one of only a few little bunnies your age who are thinking of reading about how to be a productive well-balanced adult! Okay so tell us a bit more about the book. How do we do this slow productivity thing?

M: Well, there are three principal ideas of slow productivity. And these are: do fewer things, work at a natural pace, and obsess over quality. The book utilizes a plethora of “case studies” (as Newport calls them) to prove the author’s suggestions and theories. From each of these examples, he synthesizes (or reiterates) the related slow productivity lesson.

S: I think these are good principles for almost anyone. I mean, they are definitely meaningful for me as a working adult and parent, but also for you. You are now a busy kid going to school and doing a lot of extracurricular activities. And these principles seem to agree with the advice he gives students. Do not cram too many activities just to impress. Do fewer things but do those at such a high level that you will be impressive that way.

M: Yes, I’ve recently seen this idea of his show up in the Atlantic under the name of a spike applicant (one who is exceptionally good at one thing.

Marshmallow is reading Slow Productivity by Cal Newport while the friendly but slightly annoying little duckling is joined by several others. — Marshmallow is reading *Slow Productivity* by Cal Newport while the friendly but slightly annoying little duckling is joined by several others.

S: I remember a colleague who said, “Everyone talks about well-rounded students; what is wrong with a sharp knife?” I loved his analogy. I think this spike idea is similar. I mean not everyone is or needs to be a sharp knife, but we do need sharp knives, and they often find their niche. But I also think it makes sense for young bunnies to explore different types of activities to see what they enjoy and what they are good at. Those explorations provide a lot of insight and you can be surprised by what you end up liking and being good at.

M: Yes. In this book though, Cal Newport focuses on maintaining a low, easy workload so you can finish larger goals over long periods of time and build your expertise in your field.

S: That is a different life stage than the exploration stage I was talking about. Of course, his student advice is also about being selective with extracurricular activities, but one needs to figure out what they like and what they want to productively focus on. There is serendipity, some portion will always be about chance, but one also needs time to try out new things. At least that is what I think. But what do I know? I have not written any productivity books!

M: Well that’s okay! Cal Newport gives you the tips so you can focus on other things you like to do and how you can become a fuller person as a whole by managing your workload. In his book for high school students, he focuses on becoming a more interesting person for the sake of college applications (personal growth too I suppose, but primarily applications). In this book, he focuses more on the idea of growing yourself to be a more complete, content individual. I found his idea of pseudo-productivity being unnatural to be quite stimulating. Cal Newport’s books all have this underlying idea that the general consensus (whether in college apps or in careers) is bad because it has been unnaturally perverted towards pseudo-productivity, or doing things just to seem like you’re productive. His main mission is to convince you that this is not the correct way of things and that the situation can be improved by acting in a more natural, original way.

S: Yes, I think that is a good way to put his message in these three books together. I too find his books always give me good ideas. And I am glad you appreciated this book too.

M: Yes! I found his ideas to be very useful, even as a child bunny.

S: This is already quite a long post. Shall we wrap it up?

M: Sure! In summary, I would really recommend this book for all adults who work in the knowledge sector. Even as a bunny in school, I can see that the current work system is set up in a way that is not sustainable for individuals and society as a whole. I hope the situation improves before I join the workforce for my sake. But for the sake of others, I hope this book is more widely read so more people can enjoy full lives with more success.

S: That is a nice sentiment! So how would you rate this book?

M: I would rate this book at 100%. I really liked it and I found it to be very helpful. Cal Newport’s methods are quite logical.

S: That sounds just about right! Okay, what do you want to tell our readers as we wrap this up?

M: Stay tuned for more amazing reviews from the book bunnies!

Marshmallow rates Slow Productivity by Cal Newport 100% and hopes it will provide some cover, while the ducklings continue to amass. — Marshmallow rates *Slow Productivity* by Cal Newport 100% and hopes it will provide some cover, while the ducklings continue to amass.

Marshmallow reviews How to Be a High School Superstar by Cal Newport

Last week Marshmallow reviewed How to Become a Straight-A Student by Cal Newport. This week, as we dive into the new school year, she is continuing with a similar book, How to Be a High School Superstar, first published in 2010. Sprinkles is asking questions and taking notes.

Sprinkles: So Marshmallow, it is back to school time, and you are reading all these books about how to be a good student. You just reviewed How to Become a Straight-A Student by Cal Newport last week. And now we are looking at How to Be a High School Superstar, which was written later but is meant for a younger audience.

Marshmallow: Yes, this one is for bunnies who are beginning high school and want to know about how to make the best of it. The other book was mainly intended for college bunnies.

S: I see. So what kinds of advice do you find in this book?

M: The main ides is to be an interesting student so that you can get into college.

S: What does that mean?

M: So Cal Newport thinks that it is not how many As you get in your classes and how many activities you are involved in that matters. He thinks that college admissions folks look at the whole package and want to admit students who look interesting.

S: So what does interesting mean?

M: He suggests that you should leave yourself a lot of free time to explore new directions and find a thing or two that you are really into and you can really advance in, so you can be more than just a good student.

S: So I am assuming he takes it for granted that you will be a good student, or at least a good enough student, and then he tells the reader what else to do to round out one’s college application package. Right?

M: Yes, I think so.

S: So the book is very much directed towards high school students who are looking to get into college.

M: Yep.

Marshmallow is reading How to Be a High School Superstar by Cal Newport. — Marshmallow is reading *How to Be a High School Superstar* by Cal Newport.

S: Okay, so tell me how one can become a more interesting person.

M: According to Cal Newport, doing less is more, so focus on one thing and do that really well. Like, he thinks that doing a sport and doing some volunteering and doing theatre and doing band and so on all at once without really paying any special attention to any one of them makes you dilute your efforts, and while trying to be well rounded you end up being mediocre in all things.

S: That reminds me of something I had heard from a college faculty member I know. He said something like, “while people are looking for well roundedness, I want to find all the sharp knives.”

M: I think I can see what he means by that! I think Cal Newport would agree.

S: Besides this big idea, what other recommendations does he make in this book?

M: Well, I think that is really the main point of the book. He uses the phrase “relaxed superstar”. He thinks that is what one should aspire to be.

S: I see. That sounds nice.

M: I think so, too.

S: So how would you rate this book then?

M: I’d rate it 100%. I think it makes a good point about being intentional about how one goes about doing high school. Wow! I managed to make one sentence with three “about”s!

S: Yes, I give you 100% for that! So this is a good place to wrap up this review, I think. What would you like to tell our readers?

M: Stay tuned for more amazing reviews from the book bunnies!

Marshmallow rates How to Be a High School Superstar by Cal Newport 100%. — Marshmallow rates *How to Be a High School Superstar* by Cal Newport 100%.

Marshmallow reviews How to Become a Straight-A Student by Cal Newport

Marshmallow is a young bunny who is always curious about how she can improve herself. Today she is talking to Sprinkles about a 2006 book by Cal Newport about being a good student: How to Become a Straight-A Student.

Sprinkles: So Marshmallow, I know you occasionally read non-fiction books that are full of advice. I remember, for example, that you reviewed Getting Things Done for Teens by David Allen, Mike Williams, and Mark Wallace and The Confidence Code for Girls by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman. So I guess this book makes sense to talk about now because school is starting again, and it might be a good idea to think about how one can be a good student.

Marshmallow: Yes, exactly.

S: So tell me a bit about what this book is about, something more than the title of the book.

M: Well, I should first start with the full title. The full title is How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less.

S: Hmm, so this is about how to be a straight-A student in college actually.

M: Yes, but the strategies can probably apply to other school contexts. Which is why I am reading this. I am not off to college just yet!

S: Thankfully! I am not ready for that!

M: Me neither.

S: Alright, so tell me about the book then.

M: So Cal Newport is a computer science professor today, but when he wrote this book, he had just finished college. And he had sone really well, and he wanted to write a book about how he did so well. But he does not only talk about his own experiences. He interviewed and surveyed a lot of college students asking them about their study habits and time management choices that they made, and put the book together with all that data.

S: That sounds like a good premise for a solid advice book. So tell me about some of the main ideas.

M: One of the main ideas Newport is talking about is efficiency. So for example, he calls it pseudo-work when students are spending all night in a library but not working efficiently.

S: So I can see that there are inefficient study habits. But what are his alternatives? What does he suggest? How should one study efficiently?

M: He suggests making a schedule, taking smart notes, researching better, with big ideas in mind. And there are a lot more. There are a total of three parts in the book. The first part is titled Study Basics. Then there are a series of chapters under the heading of Quizzes and Exams. Finally there are several chapters under the name of Essays and Papers.

S: So basically he talks about a variety of ways to work more effectively and efficiently for different types of assessment tasks. That makes sense to me.

Marshmallow is reading How to Become a Straight-A Student by Cal Newport. — Marshmallow is reading *How to Become a Straight-A Student* by Cal Newport.

S: So the book is intended for college students. As a bunny who is still far too young for college, did you find the book off-putting or somehow inaccessible in parts?

M: No, not at all. Though it did make me a bit worried about how much work one needs to do in college.

S: Do you like Newport’s author voice?

M: Yes, he is confident but very relatable. I also liked that he emphasizes that you need to ensure that you have a social life, that it is possible to have a social life that complements good grades and academic achievement. So I like that. It is hopeful.

S: That’s good. So do you see yourself applying any of this advice in this coming school year?

M: I will definitely try. I have a nice planner now and I want to start with planning. And I want to figure out how I can study more efficiently.

S: These all sound great to me Marshmallow. So all in all, you seem to have enjoyed this book. How would you rate it?

M: I’d rate it 100%.

S: Nice! Okay, I think it is time for us to wrap up this review, which is the last one before schools start in our part of the world. So what would you like to tell our readers?

M: Stay tuned for more amazing reviews from the book bunnies! And I hope you all will have a lot of fun if school is starting in your part of the world too!