Do I Need a Digital Intervention? | Monday Advice

Do I Need a Digital Intervention? | Monday Advice

From Deep Questions with Cal Newport by Cal Newport

May 11, 2026 · 43 min

About this episode

Cal Newport discusses a new research study on digital interventions and their benefits.

A new research study reveals that a surprisingly simple intervention into your digital life can yield massive benefits in only two weeks. In this episode, Cal takes a deep dive into this paper, detailing: the intervention, why it works, and tips for increasing your chances of success. Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: https://bit.ly/3U3sTvo Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia (0:00) Do I need a digital intervention? (27:06) AI and academic research (33:56) Reversing brain rot with cognitive fitness (37:08) Leaving your phone in the kitchen (40:07) What Cal is reading Books: How Society Should Deal with Inequality (Frank Newport) Links: Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at https://peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/ Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba? https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/4/2/pgaf017/8016017 https://orgsci.substack.com/p/more-versus-better-part-i Thanks to our Sponsors: This show is sponsored by Better Help…

People in this episode

Host: Cal Newport

Topics covered

  • digital intervention
  • AI in research
  • cognitive fitness
  • phone usage
  • self-improvement

Keywords

  • digital intervention
  • AI
  • cognitive fitness
  • phone habits
  • self-improvement
  • research study
  • Cal Newport

Sponsors

Better Help, Calderalab, Larridin

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