It’s hard to live deeply in a distracted world if you don’t have control over how you spend your time. This goal requires a planning system that both works and can last. Do you have a reasonable planning system in place? If not, don’t worry. Today, Cal is joined by planning expert Sarah Hart-Unger (author of “Best Laid Plans”) to discuss the nitty-gritty details of creating sustainable systems that can help you regain autonomy over your schedule without becoming an over-scheduled drone.
Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: <a href="https://bit.ly/3U3sTvo" rel="noopener noreferrer">bit.ly/3U3sTvo</a>
Video from today’s episode: <a href="https://youtube.com/calnewportmedia" rel="noopener noreferrer">youtube.com/calnewportmedia</a>
IDEAS SEGMENT:  Interview with Sarah Hart-Unger [2:12]
AUDIENCE FEEDBACK, NOTES, AND CHATTER: 
Dopamine addictions and TV shows [1:05:06]
Watching entire films [1:09:43]
Attention span and movies [1:16:38]
WHAT CAL IS UP TO:
Update on my AI Programmer Project [1:21:12]
Other Updates [1:28:02]
What Cal Consumed [1:29:17]
The Last Kings of Hollywood (Paul Fischer)
Movies:
The Smashing Machine
Song Sung Blue
Links:
Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at <a href="https://www.calnewport.com/slow" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.calnewport.com/slow</a>
Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at <a href="https://peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/</a>
Cal’s monthly book directory: <a href="https://bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?v=448bf8afad0740d18f6b109b4bd40d51" rel="noopener noreferrer">bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?</a>
<a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/07/why-are-movies-sooooo-long-an-investigation" rel="noopener noreferrer">vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/07/why-are-movies-sooooo-long-an-investigation</a>
<a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adz9311" rel="noopener noreferrer">science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adz9311</a>
Sarah Hart-Unger online:
Sarah Hart-Unger (MD, if you want to use that but I typically don't even bother in my creative work!)
practicing pediatric endocrinologist, author, and podcaster
<a href="https://theshubox.com/best-laid-plans-podcast" rel="noopener noreferrer">Best Laid Plans Podcast</a>
<a href="https://lauravanderkam.com/podcast/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Best of Both Worlds Podcast</a> (cohosted with Laura Vanderkam)
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Best-Laid-Plans-Simple-Planning/dp/1464246335/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3AEMR829UQAH9&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.DcXMB_VNOeGyKooemyR90kYxax1st_CM0tGCeveOogqE4Fcq1jlj9BIXIq2KhWizlJzRXzI2jwU9SAI0ReE_ooQkXEn524uoRZKwcWpKnTN7xrHiDDgQ-Unhwd0wki8S.xLZ7cOMzpVXuxqimIeAUv4VflTHRKZ1Qe5tfm2E89B8&dib_tag=se&keywords=best+laid+plans+sarah+hart+unger&qid=1771869969&sprefix=best+laid+palns%2Caps%2C227&sr=8-1" rel="noopener noreferrer">Best Laid Plans: A Simple Planning System for Living a Life That You Love</a>, Sourcebooks Dec 2025
Website (since 2004 . . .): <a href="https://theshubox.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">theshubox.com</a>
Social media: none :) Partially due to your influence, I quit FB in 2016, IG in 2021, and thankfully never got into anything else! I guess I do have minimal Youtube (occasional planner videos + feed of podcast eps) @<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@BestLaidPlansVideo" rel="noopener noreferrer">youtube.com/@BestLaidPlansVideo</a>
Thanks to our Sponsors: 
This show is sponsored by Better Help: 
<a href="https://www.betterhelp.com/deepquestions" rel="noopener noreferrer">betterhelp.com/deepquestions</a>
<a href="https://www.zapier.com/deep" rel="noopener noreferrer">zapier.com/deep</a>
<a href="https://www.calderalab.com/deep" rel="noopener noreferrer">calderalab.com/deep</a>
<a href="https://www.shopify.com/deep" rel="noopener noreferrer">shopify.com/deep</a>
Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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