Updated A Little Bit In October 2014

It’s good to spend loads of time on our craft. But for me, long periods of time dedicated to doing creative, generative work appears to be ineffective. The creative, generative portion of craft seems to require short bursts of intensity. (I should probably hack this by breaking big things into smaller chunks with clearer goals/targets. When I wrote this, I felt like I didn’t have the “discipline and focus” to do that, whatever that was supposed to mean.)

Timeboxing (Pomodoro): I should break down my laptop sessions into short intense sessions. I shouldn’t be sitting in front of the laptop for more than an hour or two, period. I have a focus booster app, and I use a pomodoro system now- which gets me working in 25 minute bursts. It’s not perfect, but it’s fairly decent- and a big improvement from non-directed droning.

Doing physical stuff in the breaks: After completing some creative work I should switch to a completely different task- cleaning my room, practicing my guitar, etc. That should keep me on my toes and reduce the high odds of getting too comfortable. One should be at the edge of one’s seat while writing. If not, it is prudent to stop, take a micro-break and psyche yourself up.

Monotasking to avoid distractions: Distractions are another problem- the internet is a wily beast with its tabbed browsing and enless content. We could spend every single second of our lives exploring it and not even make a scratch. So I feel its necessary to take some action to avoid being swept away by the currents. I sometimes write directly to my blog- which can be distracting too, with its comments and statistics. Tabbed browsing also tends to happen, and then the floodgates open. Sometimes I write on my Evernote, which is sort of like a synchronised notebook thing- but that can get a bit distracting too, with all its complex organizability.

Decoupling writing and editing to save time: The best place to write? Notepad. (Shut up Mac users, I do what I can with what I have.) Alot of editing and formatting concerns tend to pop up as I’m writing. These tend to be valid concerns, but they can end up being a huge source of time wastage. I might find myself contemplating the validity of some grammatical ambiguity in a statement, and get carried away on a blissful tangential exploration- which I suppose is a manifestation of both the strength and weakness of my personality.

Still, I find it reasonably evident that separating generation and editing into two reasonably distinct phases allows for much greater output, in terms of quantity, and it seems reasonably so in terms of quality- a series of 8’s are worth more than the 10 that never comes. Phase cycling wisdom strikes again!

As I write these lines, I must admit that the voices in my head compel me to dispute them. Every phrase should be uttered with certainty & wisdom, and steady consistent effort makes more sense than yo-yoing. A third, calmer voice rises above the seeming conflict: balance must be sought. Both views have their value and shortcomings. Both perspectives should be accommodated, experiment with one while leaving room for the validity of the other. Have faith that clarity will emerge as long as you remain persistent.

The shortcoming of phase-cycling lies in a ‘lack of learning’, of reflection- cycling between options, never improving at one or the other. The soloist perspective suffers from a lack of movement, dynamism- it appears to lead to stagnation. Neither is desirable- the first is too chaotic to be of any use, the latter is too rigid to be interesting. We seek the middle ground- depth, breadth, complexity.

Generation is akin to lateral thinking- worrying less about being consistent and more about where interesting flaws and failures might lead us. The opposite approach is perfectionist, logical- everything has to work every step of the way, to make sense. It’s valuable on hindsight, but a poor and slow way to move forward- there’s only so many ways you can rearrange what you already have, after which you ought to seek out more. So, while I’m not being as clear as I’d like to be, I recognize that it’s necessary. Tentative fumbling is inevitable and inescapable when exploring new territory. (Yeah, that’s what she said.)

So here’s a promise I’m making to myself- I will not edit my rambles. I shall post them as they are, and from reviewing them I shall distill the clarity that I desire- which I shall then express in later posts. Relief! I don’t have to choose between one or the other- stick around with me long enough and you’ll get to witness both. interestingly, I find this train of thought compels me to summarize my thoughts and ideas as succinctly as possible, too. That way you get a taste of the whole spectrum. That’s a good design principle, don’t you think? If you want something to work for everyone, you have to cater to the extremes, not just the middle ground. The middle ground tells us very little about the breadth of human experience.

I need you to do me a favour- i can’t do this alone. As I search and skim from one idea or concept to another, I need to know what’s valuable and relevant. Not all of it will be- that’s simply not possible. I am not a genius of infinite wisdom, even if I sometimes act like I am. I’m largely ignorant and my mind is incapable of accurately modelling reality to the extent where I can make accurate theoretical predictions about what works and what doesn’t. So the need for variation and selection emerges- trial and error. I do the variation- but I need you to help me with the selection. Don’t be shy! Think of it as an opportunity for you to get more out of your reading experience here- my aim here is to help both myself and others, and part of that means giving you what you want. What are the questions you have, what do you want to know, and what do you find wasteful, redundant and superfluous?

I write much better when I know that I’m writing for someone, or to someone. I am at my most animated and excited when I’m in a conversation with someone and I’m trying to help them see something that they might not have considered yet, to challenge them with an idea or perspective. (Sometimes I get carried away and don’t realize when the person loses interest and is simply nodding politely- I’ve been trying to work on my situation awareness.)

“Incepting” them gives me great satisfaction- it’s like planting a seed. Who knows what may come out of it? Perhaps they might never use it themselves, but mention it in passing to someone who needed to hear it, and having heard it, goes on to better the world. So really, while I still struggle to make the distinction clear- it’s not about me, it’s about the ideas I’ve been privileged to receive. You can see why I believe that conversations shape world. A brilliant idea is worth little if it is never communicated. Transmission, reception, even modulation, distortion- that’s how these things spread, evolve.

So I believe we need more conversations in this world. This gives me something to work with. I want my t-shirts in Statement to start conversations. My blog, too, and my Facebook group. And everything else.