Productivity

The antidote to distraction is art

Staying focused is a battle these days. When just about everything is “free” it becomes more valuable than ever to capture your attention. So, there’s always someone trying to distract you to make a buck.

Pieces of you

Everyone is trying to get a piece of you for free. The best way to get a piece of you is to make you think that you’re doing it for yourself.

Maybe you’re treating yourself to a sugary drink. Maybe you’re reading an article that fires you up about an issue. Maybe you’re…

Quiet procrastination

If you’ve tried to make art, you know the feeling of raw fear. Raw fear isn’t all that dangerous, because you know it’s there. What you need to be wary of is quiet procrastination.

Quiet procrastination happens when you think you’re being productive, but you’re…

Attack from the flanks, & you’ll break down creative blocks

When you’re up against a strong opponent, wear down its defenses by attacking from the flanks.

This is a tactic Facebook used to expand. The were having trouble gaining traction in larger universities…

The flyover

When doing a large creative project, it’s valuable to do a flyover. Imagine you need to see the lay of the land for something—maybe you’re preparing for a battle, or maybe you’re just trying to figure out where the sand trap is on a golf hole.

Or I could…

It’s easy to follow your impulses all of the time. But your impulses don’t always know what’s best for you.

How many times have you visited Facebook or checked your email, and not had any idea why you were bothering?

Shoot through the achievement window to make your masterpiece

We want to make our masterpiece, but we are our own worst enemy. We overestimate what we’re capable of, yet we are quick to make excuses when faced with a challenge.

Let your conscious and unconscious work together for creative breakthroughs

Creative breakthroughs are not like taking out the trash, nor buying almond milk on the way home from work. Creative breakthroughs build slowly and come suddenly.

Fight perfectionism without making work that sucks

To have any hope of your art succeeding, you need to “ship” it. You want your work to be good, but perfectionism can prevent your work from ever having a chance.