In his recent New York Times essay, Cal argued for a “cognitive fitness” revolution to resist the onslaught of digital tools degrading our ability to think. But how does one actually strengthen their brain? In this episode, Cal details a sustainable cognitive fitness routine built around five key components.
More from Cal
Download Cal’s FREE guide to cultivating a deeper life: calnewport.com/ideas
Learn more about Cal’s books: calnewport.com/books
Listen to Cal’s podcast: thedeeplife.com/listen
Chapters
0:00 How Do I Build “Cognitive Fitness”? | Monday Advice
30:51 Message from a social media influencer
33:02 Reaction to Amy Timberlake interview
38:01 Putting Cal’s advice into practice
41:20 What I read
43:45 What I’m doing
Resources Mentioned:
Book: The Noonday Devil (by Jean-Charles Nault: translated from original French)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdvqpqHSQas
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/27/opinion/technology-mental-fitness-cognitive.html
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-inquiry/what-kind-of-writer-is-chatgpt
https://i0.wp.com/www.americamagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/MertonCover.jpeg-427330.jpeg?w=992&ssl=1
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/25/opinion/sunday/steve-jobs-never-wanted-us-to-use-our-iphones-like-this.html
https://anjalibanerjee.com/paws-and-platen/from-typewritten-draft-to-published-page
Sponsors:
https://www.calderalab.com/deep
https://www.vanta.com/deepquestions
https://www.shipstation.com/deep
https://www.zapier.com/deep
Credits:
Podcast Production: Jesse Miller
Newsletter/Research: Nate Mechler
Theme Music: Jay Kerstens
