When Should I Read? | Deep Questions Podcast with Cal Newport
Chapters
0:0 Cal's intro0:6 Cal reads the question about structuing Deep Work and writing
0:22 Cal writes first
0:45 Cal talks about the demands of writing
00:00:00.000 | All right, we have a question here from Graham.
00:00:05.000 | Graham says, "How would you recommend
00:00:09.140 | "structuring deep work sessions
00:00:10.480 | "that require both reading and writing?
00:00:12.120 | "For instance, would you find more value
00:00:13.640 | "in reading an article or two and then writing,
00:00:16.140 | "or writing first to find out
00:00:17.400 | "which articles you need to read?"
00:00:20.200 | Well, Graham, the way I normally do this
00:00:23.020 | is write first, read second,
00:00:26.180 | the reading is for the next day.
00:00:29.860 | So I think the hard thing in writing
00:00:32.280 | is the actual writing itself.
00:00:34.160 | That's where you should start.
00:00:36.240 | You know, the first deep creative endeavor you do
00:00:38.440 | is the writing, and then the reading can be later
00:00:41.800 | in the day, because that's more flexible.
00:00:44.340 | It could be over lunch break, you can read in the evening,
00:00:47.120 | you know, you can sit by the fire, you can sit outside,
00:00:51.160 | like there's all sorts of different places you can read,
00:00:52.920 | it's less cognitively demanding,
00:00:55.160 | give yourself more breathing room to have insights
00:00:57.160 | and to write things down.
00:00:58.020 | So that's what I would suggest.
00:00:58.920 | Other people do it different, write first, read second.
00:01:01.660 | And when you're reading, you're reading for writing
00:01:03.140 | that's gonna come in the future,
00:01:04.960 | not for the writing you're doing right then.
00:01:08.220 | (upbeat music)
00:01:12.180 | (upbeat music)