What is Study Hacks?

Study Hacks was launched in the summer 2007 by me (aka., Cal Newport). At the time I was a computer science PhD candidate at MIT. Now I’m an assistant professor at Georgetown University.

I’m interested in why some people end up leading successful, enjoyable, meaningful lives, while so many others do not. Being a geek, I’m not satisfied with simplistic slogans (e.g., “follow your passion!”) or conventional wisdom (e.g., student success requires stress). Instead, I dive deeper, looking to decode underlying patterns of success.

When I started this project, I was a student. Therefore, much of my early writing concerns the patterns of success followed by remarkable students. I reject the idea that doing well in school requires stressful overwork, and instead promote a philosophy of simplicity: do less, but do what you do much better.

During this period I also wrote three books on my student philosophy: How to Be a High School Superstar (Random House, 2010), How to Become a Straight-A Student (Random House, 2006) and How to Win at College (Random House, 2005).

Over 125,000 copies of these books are currently in print, so people must be finding them useful.

Recently, as I’ve moved beyond my student years, I’ve turned more of my attention toward decoding patterns of success in the working world. I’ve come to believe, for example, that “follow your passion” is bad advice if your goal is to end up loving what you do.

If You’re New to Study Hacks, Start Here

Patterns of Success for Students…

Patterns of Success for the Working World…

Contact

I try to avoid sources of constant, light distraction, such as Facebook, Twitter, and smartphones. It’s not that I think these things are bad in a general sense, but I do think they hurt my ability to focus, which, as a theoretical computer scientist, is how I make my living.

With this in mind, there are only two ways to contact me:

  1. If you have a question about applying my advice to your life, e-mail me at author [at] calnewport.com. Be warned, my response latency can be as short as one day or as long as a three months, but I do try to answer every honest question.
  2. One of the advantages of running a blog is that it exposes you to interesting people and opportunities. With this in mind, if you have an offer, opportunity, or introduction that might make my life more interesting, e-mail me at interesting [at] calnewport.com. If I agree, I’ll respond.

Advertising

Study Hacks is not my full time job and doesn’t cost much to maintain, so I don’t need your money. There are, however, several exceptional student-focused charities that do need your help. If you’re interested in advertising on Study Hacks, and reaching my large audience (over 20,000 subscribers and 250,000 monthly blog visitors) of highly-educated and self-motivated students and professionals, here’s my offer:

If you donate $500 to one my preferred student charities, I’ll dedicate a Study Hacks post to thanking you for your donation and explaining, in my own words, what I like most about your product or service.

For more information, contact me at interesting [at] calnewport.com.