Setting a scene

I have just finished reading “The Knowledge” by Steven Pressfield. It’s a great book, from one of Seth Godin’s recommendations.

In the UK, “The Knowledge” is a test all taxi drivers need to pass. Drivers are tested on London’s maze of tiny streets in minute detail. It’s the basis for getting customers there in the quickest time possible. A map in your head, laid out and ready to go as soon as you pull out into the streets. No SatNav, no google – good to go immediately.

True to the title, Pressfield’s novel is chock full of street level detail and scenery – mainly of New York City – mapped out as background for the events to unfold. The streets, restaurants, subways, parks and buildings are support for the work he is doing. I never thought of writing in this way – leaning on the scenery so much – but it works incredibly well. In fact when I think about it, Frank Herbert does the same in Dune.

As a writer, I am learning from these books that building up a sense of place and a scene in detail creates trust with the reader. The reader is convinced that the writer knows what they are talking about and then is willing to believe the rest of the story.

Interesting tactic and worth a try.

Conscious watching of TV

When I was younger (I’m still incredibly young of course, despite my grey hair, stiff back, and penchant for listening to jazz)….but when I was younGER I used to watch TV by default. I had no decision to make, I had nothing else pressing my time. I just had myself to think about. Quite recently it has become different. Others are relying on me and TV is now something to manage – just like Music, Facebook (which I eventually quit), cell phone notifications (quit) and computer games (quitting).

I need to watch TV with a little more purpose and a little more constraint. This is probably stating the obvious, but I do find it difficult not to just consume movies and series every night – especially with today’s binge watching options. I love literature and film, and I love technology so the streaming thing would take up a lot of my time if i let it. It’s not as if I don’t let myself watch anything – Film and series are fantastic and worthy art in my life. My point is simply that it is a conscious thought now to watch these things, all with the aim of productivity and creativity. Before it was just a default setting.

If you are struggling for time to be productive, start with thinking about the things you do as a default setting. In my case it started with registering Facebook, cell phone notifications and computer games. Now it is TV. Some need to be stopped, others managed, others nothing at all needs to be done – but it’s a useful exercise.

Creativity through simplification

Some recent steps I have taken to improve my focus and save time for what matters:

No more Facebook. Account deleted completely
No more gaming – selling console
Re-finding my Kindle – purpose built for reading, this is the gadget that keeps giving. You can’t be a good writer without being a good reader
Whittling down my internet accounts. As well as Facebook, I had Twitter, Instagram, three different email addresses, other blogs, and the list goes on. I realized that the reason I wasn’t creating as much as I wanted was not a lack of accounts, connections with friends or lack of tools…rather it is a lack of focus. Fewer accounts and gadgets – focus on those you actually need.
Fixing up my house and my office – I’m not good at this but when I try to fix stuff, it helps my sense of satisfaction and consequent focus no end.

The next step is to partake more in communities of like minded people in the flesh. I’m thinking writers groups, and arty types who I don’t seem to have in my life at the moment.

Life is a journey not a destination, right?

Be more Scandinavian

I recently went on a three week holiday to Scandinavia – Norway and Sweden to be precise. It was pretty incredible. Coming from South Africa – a place struggling with its economy, identity and environment – Norway and Sweden felt like a glimpse into the future.

The nature was pristine. I saw mountains, fjords, forests and moose. I went salmon and trout fishing in rivers that were so clean I could bend down and drink, straight from the flow of water at my feet if I got thirsty in between a cast of the line. The cities were incredibly well organised with museums, public transport and cycling lanes. There was also construction all around and there were Teslas everywhere with charging stations lining the streets. Recycling of rubbish is a given.

Patriotism and a sense of community was evident all around. People fly flags and live with no fences or security worries. The state is clearly rich and so are its people. Everybody (and I mean EVERYbody) spoke perfect English.

It was an inspiring trip. Now that I have recovered from the flight back with my pregnant wife and my 2 year old, I am on a mission to be more Scandinavian – to me this means more focus and simplicity, more organisation, more environmentally aware, more disciplined and secure in everything I am doing. That’s the idea anyways. So far it has translated into one blog post at 630am with a cup of tea for company.

But it’s a start, and anyways neither Stockholm, nor Oslo were built in a day.

Be more Scandinavian.

Creative peace

The desire to make something new and impressive is agonizing at times. I think it is this urge which leads to some of the best creations and art, however I think it might also distract us from something which is going well, right under our noses.

I have a project up and running, earning money and with room for growth – but it isn’t a rockstar existence. I am constantly tempted to find something completely new, more in tune with my passions (which includes a broad range of interests) and more interesting.

So far this urge has lead me to a waste of time. Dreaming rather than doing. Watching the horizon rather than fixing what I have in front of me.

Time to deliver on what I started and plug away at what I believe in. No time for far fetched dreams.

Accounting and Expectations

It must be satisfying to have a completed project proudly on display. I am picturing a private art collection worth millions. The various pieces hanging perfectly on walls throughout the house for visitors to “ooh” and “aah” at. Each piece has a fabled story, and a price tag to match.

Seems to me that when we think up a project, it is in our human nature to be attracted to the end result rather than the steps along the way. When I think of how long it takes to actually create an art gallery of any substance, I am put off by the idea immediately and that is why I pay to look at someone else’s.

Accounting is a loaded word. It brings to mind tough exams, nerdy calculators, stiff people in white collared shirts and boring number crunching. However the concept of accounting for what I have now and what may come through the life cycle of a project is essential to any art. It forces us to be realistic. It manages our expectations.

With some accounting for what is in store, you could conceivably take a very long term view on creating your gallery of priceless art from scratch, and you would be more likely to succeed. With no accounting and managing of expectations, you’re likely to get frustrated and not even try.

Painting versus writing

Yesterday I painted a wall from green to white. Not the most exciting thing I’ve ever done, but I learned something nonetheless.

For good results, there is a definite, clear, systematic way to best paint a wall in one single colour. (FYI, first comes covering up the parts you don’t want to paint, then comes painting the delicate edges, then comes moving systematically from one side of the wall to the other, filling in the gaps. Once dry, repeat). Not much room for improvisation, dawdling, doodling or spitballing. Not much creativity once the system is in place.

I love writing because it is completely different. The blank page doesn’t have to be filled with one particular type of word, it can involve as many or as few words as I like. The end result is variable. I can do what I want within the parameters of the page. I can take you to the moon or throw you into a hole. I can create a new world out of thin air, and I can drown it in a flood if I so choose. (I generally wouldn’t so choose – but you get the point) – this writing process is creative versus the industrial, repeatable painting job.

I’m glad I am not a wall painter. But at least I got another blog post out of the time spent yesterday :).

Initiative

He took some initiative. She showed some real initiative there.

The gist of this concept is that you need to start (initiate) something yourself. Of course, your brain can trick you into believing that this relies on various conditions. The young apprentice may tell himself he is not qualified to start a new project. The exec may convince herself that she needs sign-off from the partner before anything can happen. This is in fact what the big corporate companies have set up to manage risk in the work place. Standardization of the workplace ala McDonalds’ production lines means that little goes wrong, but little is created in the mean time.

Hence we want to be our own bosses. Once you leave the comfort of a salaried low ranking job, never has the pressure to initiate something been so great. Publish an article, make a sales call, think of a new offering that will turn a profit and then find an audience that is willing to hear you.

Write a novel. Paint a picture. Initiate something from nothing. Show some initiative. Create

Important to understand is that the urgency of initiative (make a start and create something) is very different to the urgency of conformity (hurry up and wait for sign-off). We do what we do for the long run and for the freedom of being able to make something now, here, today if we can.

Publish something – it’s good for you

Publishing is good for you. It’s like an apple a day.

I have decided to take the publishing process from blogging, and apply it to my ‘day job’. It’s getting me really excited about work and play.

Marketing my supply chain risk assessment services online is essentially like writing a more technical blog, and searching for people who may be interested to read it is like an easter egg hunt. Don’t worry I would never subject you to that writing on this blog! My point is that the process is valuable and can be applied to many situations.

Everyone should publish something. It doesn’t matter what it is, because the longer you do it, the better you will get at writing. Publish ideas regularly enough and it will become a database of thoughts to throw at any given situation. That is a remarkably valuable and powerful thing.

Just a little more

It’s strange how some things stick and others fall by the wayside. Creativity is hampered by the half-baked efforts which lead nowhere.

If the end goal of a perfect novel or song is not reached from the start we can lose confidence.

If space is not made for creative efforts, we will never have the time.

However, if we can be patient, and have faith and keep trying for just a little more each day, doing something creative over and over, we will get better. I have seen it happen with my own eyes with an artist friend of mine. We will get confident and we will get creative and we will get good.