“Write Every Day” Is Bad Advice: Hacking the Psychology of Big Projects
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Re: “Write Every Day” Is Bad Advice: Hacking the Psychology of Big Projects
#2I think either the me or the author misunderstand the advice. Writing everyday (or for me, painting/drawing) isn't really about finishing the novel, blog, painting, etc. that you have as an actual goal.
The daily writing or painting or [insert thingy here] is more about practice and getting momentum and letting ideas grow. If you want to write, being creative while writing about your day or your dreams gets the mind going and gives lots of practice on how to describe things and paying attention to details so that when you are working on your novel or blog, your brain slips into the mode much easier. It all helps. I do this with painting and drawing, and my "effortful" works are better for them.
Re: “Write Every Day” Is Bad Advice: Hacking the Psychology of Big Projects
#3I think either the me or the author misunderstand the advice. Writing everyday (or for me, painting/drawing) isn't really about finishing the novel, blog, painting, etc. that you have as an actual goal. The daily writing or painting or [insert thingy here] is more about practice and getting momentum and letting ideas grow. If you want to write, being creative while writing about your day or your dreams gets the mind…
I agree. I keep a journal, which used to be a daily practice for the past 2 years up until April. The reason for the change was that my morning routine was swapped around.
When I was writing daily, it was to capture moments and ideas that were sure to be forgotten. When Writing I don't pretend that it will be a great work at some point. I write because it is satisfying to me and at times my mind will wander when writing; it is at these times that I find really interesting ideas to capture my imagination... and I write them down.
Now, with a different schedule, I write every 2 or 3 days and it is still meaningful and expressive.
My perspective on the article is that the author was really excited about what worked for them... but failed to consider that everyone has a different approach. I think they are right that you need to be fluid; and use that to try different approaches to writing consistently and finding your muse. Most importantly... find a way to enjoy the work.
Re: “Write Every Day” Is Bad Advice: Hacking the Psychology of Big Projects
#4I think either the me or the author misunderstand the advice. Writing everyday (or for me, painting/drawing) isn't really about finishing the novel, blog, painting, etc. that you have as an actual goal. The daily writing or painting or [insert thingy here] is more about practice and getting momentum and letting ideas grow. If you want to write, being creative while writing about your day or your dreams gets the mind…
I agree. I keep a journal, which used to be a daily practice for the past 2 years up until April. The reason for the change was that my morning routine was swapped around. When I was writing daily, it was to capture moments and ideas that were sure to be forgotten. When Writing I don't pretend that it will be a great work at some point. I write because it is satisfying to me and at times my mind will wander when writ…
Just out of curiosity, do you write with paper and pen or do you have a journal.txt file somewhere?
I suspect there's something about the mechanics of writing that is more beneficial, but I can type at about twice the speed that I can write...
Re: “Write Every Day” Is Bad Advice: Hacking the Psychology of Big Projects
#5"To leverage the psychology of your brain, you need to instead choose clear goals that you clearly know how to accomplish, and then approach scheduling with flexibility."
What if the goals are unclear or you don't know how to accomplish them? If the clear plan is to make goals clear, then you might as well put that on the schedule and work on it for the allotted amount of time. Hence "write every day".
Chekhov tied himself to the chair as an act of self-discipline and wrote at least one page a day. This seems to have worked well for him.
Re: “Write Every Day” Is Bad Advice: Hacking the Psychology of Big Projects
#6This is another one of those articles where some person explains why their interpretation of some aphorism failed to work for them. The problem, of course, is that they are interpreting the advice differently than intended and they are generalizing their personal experience and understanding of their own motivations. People are not all the same. Some of this advice I agree with, but some of the strategies that the author claims have given him success have failed for me.
For example:
the problem is not your productivity, it’s instead that your mind is not yet sold that you know how to succeed with your general goal of becoming a writer.
Convincing my mind that I know how to succeed is not a problem I have. I'm very arrogant and I believe there is nothing I cannot do if I set my mind to it and have adequate time. My problem is that my mind prefers short term satisfaction via diversion rather than the long term reward of hard work. So for me his advice if absolutely backwards. If allow myself to be flexible with when I write/work then I'll never get anything done, because, hey, I can always cram later and get it done. For me, setting up a habit, "Write/do X every day," is good advice. I just need to force myself through the first 10 minutes and then from there I'll get lots done.
Btw, the kernel of truth he is missing from the "write everyday" advice is like others have mentioned: regular practice makes you better. The goal isn't to make forward progress on your one big project everyday, it is to get some form of practice in every day. Write something every day.
Re: “Write Every Day” Is Bad Advice: Hacking the Psychology of Big Projects
#7The author doesn't seem to understand the difference between motivation and discipline. He has been successful into tricking himself into a frequent state of writing motivation. He's very lucky to have done so.
For the rest of us, who aren't so lucky, discipline will have to do. Writing every day (or every two days, or every week, etc) isn't a about finishing a project or being the best you can be. It's about making writing a permanent fixture in your life. The same goes for any other skill.
People imagine the quality gap between things created in bursts of highly motivated inspiration and things created through slow, at times plodding, hard work is high. It isn't. If it were, there would be markedly fewer books, games, movies, etc. out there. By and large, if you're good at something, you'll still be good at it even if you don't want to be doing it. You might not be as amazing at it, but you will still have the skill. That's what practice is for.
Re: “Write Every Day” Is Bad Advice: Hacking the Psychology of Big Projects
#8The author doesn't seem to understand the difference between motivation and discipline. He has been successful into tricking himself into a frequent state of writing motivation. He's very lucky to have done so. For the rest of us, who aren't so lucky, discipline will have to do. Writing every day (or every two days, or every week, etc) isn't a about finishing a project or being the best you can be. It's about making…
"I write only when inspiration strikes. Fortunately it strikes every morning at nine o'clock sharp."
-Somerset Maugham
Re: “Write Every Day” Is Bad Advice: Hacking the Psychology of Big Projects
#9The author doesn't seem to understand the difference between motivation and discipline. He has been successful into tricking himself into a frequent state of writing motivation. He's very lucky to have done so. For the rest of us, who aren't so lucky, discipline will have to do. Writing every day (or every two days, or every week, etc) isn't a about finishing a project or being the best you can be. It's about making…
"I write only when inspiration strikes. Fortunately it strikes every morning at nine o'clock sharp." -Somerset Maugham
I don't think I understand that quote. Is that Maugham saying you don't actually need inspiration so you can just sit down and work without it? Or is he sarcastically saying jobs are badly configured because you can't just sit down at nine o'clock and produce something good? It could mean either.
Re: “Write Every Day” Is Bad Advice: Hacking the Psychology of Big Projects
#10"To leverage the psychology of your brain, you need to instead choose clear goals that you clearly know how to accomplish, and then approach scheduling with flexibility." What if the goals are unclear or you don't know how to accomplish them? If the clear plan is to make goals clear, then you might as well put that on the schedule and work on it for the allotted amount of time. Hence "write every day". Chekhov tied h…
If you have a job, your main goal should be to do things that make your boss satisfied, and prevent yourself from getting the axe.
If you don't have a job, your goals will be more ambiguous.