Howdy badasses!

We’re just about the at the half way mark for July and of course, for this month’s read: Slow Productivity by Cal Newport.

What’s really resonating with us in this book are the actionable steps we can all take right now to improve our productivity by actually committing to, and doing less.

The practical lessons contained in this book remind us exactly of the reasons we started the Bad Ass Bookshelf. Reading incredible books (like this one) that provide easy to follow steps to improve the quality of our lives, whilst also making us better at achieving the things we set out to do.

The second half of the book starts out by diving into the concept of ‘work seasons’, which we’re really excited to start reading about next.

After all, who doesn’t want to take the whole summer off?

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Key highlights from Slow Productivity so far…

Productivity is broken

Newport kicks things off by laying out the problem: knowledge workers today are stuck in an endless churn of emails, meetings, and to-do lists, leaving little space for meaningful work. Traditional productivity hacks might help you squeeze a bit more in, but they don’t fix the underlying issue; we’ve normalised doing too much, too fast, for too long.

The ‘three principles’ of Slow Productivity

Newport introduces his alternative: Slow Productivity. At its heart are three simple principles:

  • Do fewer things

  • Work at a natural pace

  • Obsess over quality

It sounds obvious, but in practice, most of us are doing the exact opposite. Newport argues that rethinking our approach around these principles is not just better for our mental health, but essential if we want to produce work that actually matters.

Historical proof that slowness works

One of the best bits so far is how Newport draws on examples from history to show that many of the most celebrated thinkers, writers, and inventors worked slowly and deliberately — and still achieved remarkable things. It’s a great reminder that productivity isn’t about speed, but impact.

We’ll see how Newport builds on these ideas as we progress through the book — but if you’re already rethinking your work habits, you’re not alone!

Additional resources

📚 Books

  • In Praise of Slow by Carl Honoré (2004): A foundational manifesto of the Slow Movement, advocating for a more thoughtful pace of life and work.

  • Four Thousand Weeks : Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman (2021): A philosophical take on embracing limits and focusing on what truly matters in the face of finite time.

  • The One Thing by Gary Keller & Jay Papasan (2013): Focuses on prioritising a single most important task, mirroring Newport’s principle of doing fewer things.

🎙️ Podcasts

  • The Art of Slow Productivity (Chris Bailey): Features Cal Newport discussing the core ideas from his book, including quality over quantity and administrative simplicity.

  • Slow Productivity on The Rich Roll Podcast: A robust interview with Cal Newport on escaping burnout and prioritising deep work.

  • Ask the Expert: Slow Productivity (Amazing If): Helen and Cal examine how slow productivity leads to long-term career success YouTube.

  • ReThinking with Adam Grant (TED Audio): A thoughtful chat on redefining productivity and resisting the email trap.

🎥 Videos

Community insights from Slow Productivity

Freeing myself from the small to make space for the big

I’ve just finished both parts of Chapter 3 and they’ve really brought a lot into focus.

What struck me in Part 1 was the idea of riding the edge of burnout. Not fully collapsing, but never quite thriving either. That rang very true. Cal describes that chronic, low-level overload so well: always a bit tired, always trying to catch up, and constantly managing invisible task threads in the back of your mind. I’ve definitely lived in that state in the past.

Then in Part 2, the strategies for containment really landed, especially the reminder that it’s not just tasks themselves that cause challenges, it is combined with the cognitive load of remembering, tracking and juggling them.

I realised I’ve actually been leaning into a few of Cal’s ideas already:

  • I use a printed calendar that really only has room for one meaningful task a day, which now feels like a feature, not a limitation.

  • I’ve been building a weekly rhythm of recurring activities: morning yoga, lunchtime journaling, evening time with the kids and runs or swims at the same time each week. These routine anchors reduce friction and free up space to think more clearly.

The whole idea of freeing yourself from the small to make space for the big feels so relevant, especially in jobs where you’re left to define your own limits. It’s not just a productivity strategy; it’s about protecting your mental health and reclaiming attention.

Would love to hear how others are approaching containment. Especially when you’re juggling a mix of fixed responsibilities and shifting demands.” - Richard

This week’s burning question

If you could eliminate one task or responsibility from your week, what would it be and what would you do with that time instead?

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♦︎ Next book club call

We're so excited to host our next Bad Ass Bookshelf bookclub call to discuss Slow Productivity at the end of July! Call details below:

Date: 31st July
Time: 17:00 GMT (12:00 EST / 09:00 PST)

Participation in our monthly bookclub calls is exclusive to our Bad Ass Bookworm members. Join today!

Shout out: There’s an author in our midst!

If you’re a member of the LinkedIn data community, then you almost certainly know the incredible Malcolm Hawker.

We’ll guess what, he recently published his own book! Called the Data Hero Playbook, Hawker's new mindset for data professionals will unlock the true potential of your organisation's data. It puts to bed the limiting, counterproductive mindsets that often plague data leaders and offers original and effective alternatives you can apply immediately to generate tangible business results.

It’s available right now via Amazon

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