Newport joined
Georgetown University as an assistant professor of computer science in 2011, was granted tenure in 2017, and was promoted to full professorship in 2024. His work focuses on
distributed algorithms in challenging networking scenarios and incorporates the study of
communications systems in nature. Newport is currently Provost's Distinguished Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at
Georgetown University and the author of eight books.
Attention management Newport started the
Study Hacks blog in 2007 where he writes about "how to perform productive, valuable and meaningful work in an increasingly distracted digital age". Newport used the term
deep work, previously used in a psychological or religious sense, in his book
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World (2016). Newport uses it to refer to studying or working for focused chunks of time on intellectually skilful tasks without
distractions such as email and social media. He challenges the belief that participation in
social media is important for career capital. In 2017, he began advocating for "digital
minimalism." In 2021, he began referring to the role
email and
chat play in what he calls "the hyperactive hive mind". In addition to his blog and newsletter, he is the creator of a regular podcast about productivity and knowledge working. In 2019, Newport released his book
Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World. During a 2019 interview with
GQ magazine, Newport suggested that our smartphones are like cigarettes and stated, "You're gonna look at allowing a 13-year-old to have a smartphone the same way that you would look at allowing your 13-year-old to smoke a cigarette." == Books ==