{"id":40379,"date":"2025-02-17T06:09:30","date_gmt":"2025-02-17T06:09:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=40379"},"modified":"2025-02-17T06:09:31","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T06:09:31","slug":"cal-newports-productivity-hack-that-can-also-help-you-escape-financial-burnout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=40379","title":{"rendered":"Cal Newport\u2019s Productivity Hack That Can Also Help You Escape Financial Burnout"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Burnout isn\u2019t just an issue in the workplace. In fact, it may be even more common in our financial lives. Sure, we\u2019ve all heard about the notoriously low savings rates in the U.S. and the paltry average savings in most households, but regardless of income, more than half of the country reports that they are living paycheck-to-paycheck.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, in my experience working with predominantly wealthy families for the better part of the last 30 years, there\u2019s no net worth number that results in the elimination of financial stress. There may, however, be a method for doing so, and as we often do, we must look outside of the financial domain for the wisdom to be applied in avoiding financial burnout.<\/p>\n

Enter Cal Newport. Cal is by far my favorite productivity author. This is in part because there\u2019s no schtick or sales in his writing\u2014it\u2019s evidence-based insight. But it\u2019s also because Cal is living out what he recommends, and as I think you\u2019ll observe in my conversation with him about his book, Slow Productivity<\/em>, he exudes a patient presence that is as endearing as it is instructive.<\/p>\n

So, what can we learn from Newport that is directly applicable in both our management of time and<\/em> money?<\/p>\n

The #1 Problem<\/h2>\n

\u201cThe number one problem we\u2019re facing right now is too many things that we said yes to at the same time,\u201d Newport told me.<\/p>\n

<\/fbs-ad><\/p>\n

While he may have been referring to creating a time debt due to saying \u201cYes\u201d to too many asks at work, I believe this tendency for overcommitment is the number one problem in our personal finances as well. And I\u2019m happy to give you a personal example:<\/p>\n

My family moved from Charleston, SC to Atlanta, GA nine months ago. Having moved many times before\u2014and knowing the pile of expenses that typically results from relocation\u2014my wife and I weren\u2019t navigating this major life transition blindly.<\/p>\n

We had an open discussion, acknowledging the amount of savings that we\u2019d likely need to dedicate to some upgrades to the house and new furniture. And then came back-to-school and the holidays and the New Year and those last few projects and items for the house\u2014all of which, individually, seemed like reasonable and manageable expenses.<\/p>\n

But adding ALL those expenses up, and the resulting depletion of our savings, still surprised us. And yes, that surprise surely manifested as stress. We were forced to admit that if we had done a better job of pausing before purchasing over the past nine months, we\u2019d have made different decisions and invested in our new home more slooooowly.<\/p>\n

Even the wealthiest clients I\u2019ve ever worked with\u2014people for whom we\u2019d objectively say \u201cmoney is no object\u201d\u2014face financial stress, and most often the origin of that stress is overcommitment of resources, the simple piling up of a seemingly small expenditures that add up to more than we\u2019d expect.<\/p>\n

To paraphrase Warren Buffett, we can do anything, but we can\u2019t do everything all at once\u2014and that\u2019s why financial planning and time management are, first and foremost, exercises in prioritization before allocation.<\/p>\n

Stress Reduction Through Two Lists<\/h2>\n

Did you know that the word priority wasn\u2019t regularly pluralized until the Industrial Revolution? And yes, this is the key problem we face in allocating both our time and our money\u2014that we have too many priorities. And when we have too many priorities, nothing is a priority.<\/p>\n

Cal Newport recommends maintaining two companion lists that can be especially easily maintained with a simple kanban tool, like Trello, Asana, Notion, Todoist, or I use Microsoft Planner because it\u2019s how our teams at work handle collaborative task management.<\/p>\n

The first list is for Active projects, and whether we\u2019re talking about work or wealth, there should rarely be more than two to three active projects. Then, we have a Holding projects list. This is where all new incoming projects or purchases go, and you can easily prioritize them with your teammates at work or your partner at home. Then, when you complete an active project, you slide the next priority from the Holding list to the Active list.<\/p>\n

The paradoxical beauty of this technique is that when we are concentrating on fewer<\/em> priorities at a time, we actually get more<\/em> done\u2014and with less stress<\/em>!<\/p>\n

Or, as James Clear, the author of the must-read, Atomic Habits<\/em>, says, \u201cThe myth of multitasking is that it will make you more effective. In reality, remarkable focus is what makes the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Embrace Financial Recovery<\/h2>\n

Lastly, we must acknowledge that stuff happens. Life, work, and money all seem to have an inertia that pushes us toward overwhelm and burnout, so how can we ensure we only get hit with a glancing blow, rather than a knockout punch?<\/p>\n

We build in periods of rest and recovery.<\/p>\n

Newport acknowledges that he chooses to endure busier seasons\u2014dedicating himself to scholarly articles for a stretch, then book writing, and then he\u2019ll clear his calendar for a period of months only to do book promotion. We, too, must schedule periods of rest and renewal, both in our work and in our budgets.<\/p>\n

This is precisely what my wife and I chose to do, by the way\u2014to pause all new purchases and projects for the house, to acknowledge our gratitude for the house we\u2019ve been blessed to make a home, and to be purposeful homebodies for a stretch, while we replenish our savings. It\u2019s like intermittent fasting for your finances.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

We\u2019re all in this together. We\u2019re all prone to overwhelm. We all want to say yes.<\/p>\n

But as the ever-quotable Naval Ravikant reminds us: “The currency of life isn\u2019t money. It\u2019s not even time. It\u2019s attention.”<\/p>\n

So, as we think about how to prioritize and allocate two of our scarcest resources\u2014our time and our money\u2014let\u2019s not forget the most valuable of all: our attention.<\/p>\n

Because at the end of the day, financial well-being isn\u2019t just about numbers on a spreadsheet. It\u2019s about directing our attention toward what truly matters\u2014whether that\u2019s creating margin in our budget, setting thoughtful priorities, or giving ourselves permission to slow down.<\/p>\n

And if you\u2019re looking for more inspiration as you take these steps, in addition to Cal Newport\u2019s newest book, Slow Productivity<\/em>, I also highly recommend one of the few books I would call life-changing: Deep Work<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Burnout isn\u2019t just an issue in the workplace. In fact, it may be even more common in our financial lives. Sure, we\u2019ve all heard about the notoriously low savings rates in the U.S. and the paltry average savings in most households, but regardless of income, more than half of the country reports that they are<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40380,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-40379","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-retirement"},"yoast_head":"\nCal Newport\u2019s Productivity Hack That Can Also Help You Escape Financial Burnout | iSafeSpend<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Burnout isn\u2019t just an issue in the workplace. In fact, it may be even more common in our financial lives. 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