How To Reinvent Your Life In 4 Months (My Full Step-By-Step Process) | Cal Newport

Cal Newport talks about overhauling your life in Episode 263 of the Deep Questions podcast.

Too many people believe that the New Year is the right time to undertake major improvements to your life. In this episode, Cal argues that it is instead right now, at the beginning of fall, that is the best time to turn over a new page. He lays out a detailed 4-month journey through the deep stack that will have you done with a major overhaul by the time everyone else is just getting started early next year.

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0:00 How can I reinvent my life in 4 months?
32:40 Cal talks about Cozy Earth and Shopify
37:28 How can I ease into Cal's more advanced time management strategies?
40:59 Can unstructured work be a part of the deep life?
45:12 How can I stop changing my mind about what I want to do with my life?
53:02 Can I pursue the deep life if I need a job?
57:23 How do you pursue the deep life with depression?
1:03:25 Cal talks about My Body Tutor and Policy Genius
1:06:49 Cover Reveal for Slow Productivity

Connect with Cal Newport:

About Cal Newport:
Cal Newport is a computer science professor at Georgetown University. In addition to his academic research, he writes about the intersection of digital technology and culture. Cal's particularly interested in our struggle to deploy these tools in ways that support instead of subvert the things we care about in both our personal and professional lives.

Cal is a New York Times bestselling author of seven books, including, most recently, A World Without Email, Digital Minimalism, and Deep Work. He's also the creator of The Time-Block Planner.

The videos are considered to be used under the "Fair Use Doctrine" of United States Copyright Law, Title 17 U.S. Code Sections 107-118. Videos are used for editorial and educational purposes only and I do not claim ownership of any original video content. I don't use said video clips in advertisements, marketing or for direct financial gain. All video content in each clip is considered owned by the individual broadcast companies.

#CalNewport #DeepWork #DeepLife #DeepQuestions #TimeblockPlanner
#WorldWithoutEmail #DeepQuestionsPodcast

[dylanbretzjr.]

1. Discipline—builds identity of being capable
- setup a core location to track everything related to your reinvention
- build 3 keystone habits you do every day
- a keystone habit is (1) tractable but (2) not trivial

2. Values—provides foundation and orientation
- reconnect with your moral intuition (what defines a life well-lived, regardless of circumstances)
- reconnect w/ (read, watch) something that grounded you
- develop a personal code (how you approach life through good and bad times)
- put rituals in place that connect you with your moral intuition

3. Control—over your time
- implement multi-scale planning
- capture household tasks to external system
- automate and curtail strategically

4. Vision—aiming your life intentionally
- choose 1 small area of your life (like a hobby) to overhaul
- choose 1 large area of your life (like your career) to begin overhauling

Edit: Changed "trackable" to "tractable" regarding keystone habits. Thanks @MattDiffey for pointing this out.

[MCNiiCKsoSiiCK]

Today is day 1 for me to reinvent my life. Went to workout at 7am, going to work on my punctuality, read a minimum of 20 pages of a book everyday, reduce my tv/YouTube/social media, & being more focus on work. 🙏🏿

[ummpearls]

As a muslim, the 5 daily prayers are a reminder of how to divide the days. The prayers are a mini yoga like workout and really connect you to a higher purpose. Thank you for a brilliant video!

[alisonseymour]

It worked! Followed your method in Sept 2023, and now my reinvention is fully locked in. It happened naturally as I was already in the right rhythm in Jan. Thank you for all of the care and thought you put into this video.

[domikatz]

I realized when my dad got ill, I have spent the last 5 years spending all my free time playing games, all my money on games, and a few nice trips but nothing of value. I coped that i got something out of it but i got nothing done. I actually dont regret it, because it has made it so much more clear what I have to do NOW. I have been waking up at 6 am taking a morning walk and not using my phone in the morning for an hour. I miss some days but every day the next day I try again. I have a list of things I can add into my morning as well. I have a new start now and this was helpful insight thank you.

[pw]

I’m 61 years old and find the older I get the more I waste time on line. I have never been very disciplined but was better before the smart phone. I have known over the last couple of years that I needed something but couldn’t put my finger on what it was. This has helped me listening and I haven’t even started yet thank you.

[aditi.]

Today is 4 April and I'll be starting my journey on 5 April. My aim is to cure PCOS, lose weight, reach a healthy BMI, get admission in my dream school and pick-up badminton as a hobby.

[mkcj]

for the last few years, I've done "new years" changes in Mid to Late fall.
Nov 2021 - Stopped drinking alcohol (2020 - like a lot of people, I began drinking too much)
June-Sept 2022 - Added new skill and completed Career change (included a 57% pay increase)
Dec 2023 - Reinventing myself (still working on what this looks like, but this video was helpful)

[shannonswift]

Four months to New Year's Day. It can absolutely happen! I can change my life.

[brittney]

What's difficult for people with chronic illness, working out is like an uphill battle. Just want to bring awareness to some people who have a hard time with this.

[vasujan]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:

00:00 🗓️ To reinvent your life in four months, start in September to align with the New Year's timeframe.
02:04 📝 When reinventing your life, set up a core document or folder to track commitments and systems.
03:30 🕰️ Identify three Keystone habits: one for your professional life, one for health and fitness, and one for personal well-being.
05:19 🤔 Reconnect with your moral intuition by revisiting meaningful books or movies that resonate with your values.
06:32 📜 Create a personal code as a roadmap for how you approach life, both in good and bad times.
07:53 🧘 Establish rituals that regularly reconnect you with your moral values and intuition.
09:02 📊 Implement multi-scale planning for your professional life, from quarterly plans to daily time blocking.
10:27 🏡 Extend planning to household tasks, including capturing, reviewing, and scheduling non-work-related responsibilities.
13:29 🔄 Automate and curtail tasks to minimize planning and scheduling efforts in both professional and personal life.
18:18 🎯 During the final step of reinvention, focus on overhauling specific areas of your life to make them more remarkable.
19:58 🎬 Example: A small overhaul could involve becoming a serious cinephile, including setting up a home theater and establishing a regular movie-watching routine.
21:33 📅 Implementing multi-scale planning can be done step by step. Start with Daily Time block planning, then add weekly and seasonal planning.
41:14 🎮 Incorporating occasional unstructured work sessions, like experimenting with code or color schemes, can boost creativity and focus during deep work sessions. This can complement your deep life framework in the control layer.
57:57 💼 If you're dealing with depression, seek professional help first to address disordered thinking patterns and symptoms.
01:00:56 📜 The Deep Life framework, with its structured and process-based approach, can be particularly useful for individuals dealing with depression.
01:00:56 📅 Building regular discipline, having a personal code, and establishing control over your life are key steps within the Deep Life framework that can help individuals with depression feel more grounded and empowered.
01:02:08 🌟 Creating remarkable aspects in your life, regardless of your mental state, can provide a sense of efficacy, autonomy, and persistent sources of value, which can be beneficial for those dealing with depression.
01:03:05 📈 Cal Newport discusses the importance of persevering and seeking professional help to achieve personal growth.
01:03:18 💪 My Body Tutor offers online coaching for health and fitness, focusing on building a customized plan and providing daily accountability.
01:05:21 💼 Policygenius simplifies the process of getting life insurance, making it easy to compare quotes and protect your loved ones.
01:06:58 📘 Cal Newport introduces his upcoming book, "Slow Productivity, " which promotes a humanistic approach to productivity, emphasizing a richer and fuller life.
01:11:10 📚 Cal Newport mentions several books in the genre of "humanistic productivity, " including "The 4-Hour Workweek, " "Essentialism, " "How to Do Nothing, " "Do Nothing, " and "4, 000 Weeks."
01:13:26 📖 "Slow Productivity" is presented as a book that aims to refine humanity in a world dominated by inhuman definitions of productivity, emphasizing a balance between accomplishment and avoiding burnout.

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[harleysmith]

Yes ! With ADHD! I did something like this! I got a binder, blank papers, and pens with separated labels likes referring too! Now it is more simple and easy. Even 2 binders is ok. It worked for me!

[Ashleycorrie]

The greater the automated income you can build, the freer you will become. Taking the first step is the hardest, but 5 houses later living off automated income since July 6,
2016. You've got to start taking steps to achieve your goal.

[noahmes]

Today is my first day to reinvent my life. Wish me luck!

[gerrardlinjh]

00:00:01 - How to Reinvent Your Life in Four Months
00:01:28 - The Discipline Layer
00:05:07 - The Values Layer
00:08:39 - The Control Layer
00:18:03 - The Vision Layer
00:22:40 - Reinventing Your Life - Introduction
00:23:11 - Timing and Planning for Reinvention
00:24:49 - Implementing Multi-Scale Planning
00:26:57 - Benefits of Reinventing Your Life
00:28:47 - Personal Experience with Reinvention
0:44:58 - Strategy for Intense Deep Work
0:45:18 - Dealing with Changing Interests
0:45:59 - Dangers of the Passion Mindset
0:47:12 - Lifestyle-Centric Career Planning
0:48:47 - Craftsman Mindset vs. Passion Mindset
0:57:36 - Deep Life Approach for People with Depression
1:06:17 - Simplifying the Process of Getting Life Insurance
1:06:50 - Introduction to the Book "Slow Productivity"
1:08:11 - Humanistic Productivity and Refining Your Humanity
1:13:00 - Slow Productivity as Refining Your Humanity
1:15:07 - Choosing the Book Cover

[contentmeow]

I lost my partner last month. I need to reinvent my life since I’d made plans with him. I’m going to start this today.

[akashreji]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:

00:00 🗓️ Plan a four-month life reinvention starting in September to be completed by New Year's.
01:37 📋 Begin with discipline, setting up a core system to track your commitments and establish three keystone habits.
05:35 💡 Reconnect with your moral intuition, create a personal code, and establish rituals to reinforce your values.
08:50 ⏰ Move to the control layer, which involves multi-scale planning for work, household planning for non-work tasks, and automating and curtailing to manage your time effectively.
19:03 🌟 In the vision layer, undertake a small overhaul in an area of your life (e.g., hobbies) to make it remarkable and begin planning for a larger, exciting overhaul (e.g., career or living situation).
21:33 🔄 Implementing a small overhaul in your life involves creating concrete goals and establishing new habits or systems.
22:16 🎬 A concrete step in a small overhaul could be enrolling in an online course or reading books to enhance your knowledge in a specific area.
23:40 🏆 Consider a larger overhaul in your life by planning your ideal lifestyle and making major changes to get closer to it.
25:10 📅 The timeline for implementing a small overhaul and the deep life stack spans four months, with specific focus on different aspects of life in each month.
29:09 🔄 Gradually implement multi-scale planning by starting with Daily Time Block Planning, then adding Weekly and Seasonal Planning.
41:44 🤹 Incorporating unstructured work sessions, like playful coding experiments, can complement deep work sessions and enhance overall focus and creativity.
42:23 🧠 Separate intense deep work sessions from preparatory and fiddling sessions to minimize cognitive context shifts and maintain focus.
45:49 🚶‍♂️ Avoid the passion mindset that constantly seeks the "perfect" job and career; instead, adopt a lifestyle-centric career planning approach.
48:09 📅 Create a clear vision of your ideal lifestyle in five to ten years, encompassing all aspects of your life.
53:57 🌱 Focus on professional help first if dealing with depression symptoms, and then adopt a structured and process-based approach like the Deep Life to gradually rebuild your life.
01:00:42 🧘‍♀️ Develop a code to live by during both good and challenging times to provide a sense of purpose and stability.
01:02:21 🌟 Build remarkable aspects into your life regardless of your mental state to enhance autonomy and efficacy amidst depressive symptoms.
01:03:05 📚 Cal Newport discusses the benefits of sticking with self-improvement efforts, even with professional help.
01:03:18 💪 My Body Tutor offers an online coaching program to help with health and fitness consistency, providing customized plans and daily check-ins.
01:04:54 🏋️‍♂️ Adam offers Deep Questions podcast listeners 50% off the first month of My Body Tutor services.
01:05:06 💼 Policy Genius simplifies the process of getting life insurance, making it easy to compare quotes from top insurers.
01:06:42 💡 Cal Newport unveils the cover of his upcoming book, "Slow Productivity, " which focuses on a more humanistic approach to productivity.
01:08:35 🌟 "Slow Productivity" is part of a broader movement in the book world, emphasizing humanistic productivity that supports a richer, fuller human life.
01:13:54 📖 The cover of "Slow Productivity" reflects a departure from the traditional business book cover and represents the book's focus on refining humanity in a tech-dominated world.

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[nitin_puranik]

For those of you complaining the video is slow, watch it at 1.5x speed. Go to the gear icon and set a speed of your choosing. For those with a keyboard, learn the shortcut for controlling speed. It's shift + > for speed-up and shift + < for slow-down.

[NothingHereForYou]

I’m reading Ultralearning right now and it’s pretty inspiring. I’m wasting my life working retail right now but luckily got a job in Japan teaching. Before I go I want to get rid of a little belly and learn some skills for when I get back. Discipline is the hardest aspect to me that I struggle with constantly

[UtahGmaw]

As for depression I keep a tracking graph. I have suffered depression for many years. It helps to look at a chart you make to see that you feel better than last tuesday or I have done better than last month or the last week. Today was the pits how can I help myself make tomorrow better. Keep it positive. This along with therapy helped me to get on top of things more often than not. There are bad days but more good ones now than bad.