Mental Pivot #44: Cover the Canvas
Author Steven Pressfield’s cure for creative paralysis, lessons from doing the work, and not taking things personally.
Starting a new creative project is tough. There’s a phenomenon known as the “blank canvas syndrome” where the act of confronting a blank screen, empty sheet of paper, or white canvas is paralyzing.
If you’re prone to getting stuck before you even start, writer Steven Pressfield offers one tactic for overcoming this initial resistance. He calls it “covering the canvas. His advice is simple:
Get SOMETHING on paper (or canvas), however deficient or incomplete. THEN go back and fix it. Then go back and make it great.
It’s a nod to the fact that the mere act of getting through the beginning is the primary focus at the start. Generate momentum, then refine and perfect.
Our priority in the first draft is to beat Resistance. Quality is secondary. Brilliance can come later. Get something down, however crappy, that looks roughly like a book, a doctoral dissertation, a new business proposal. Once we’ve got that, we’re over the hump.”
When I get stuck, Pressfield’s metaphor comes in handy. It’s always easier to proceed once I have something, no matter how awful, on the page as a starting point. It’s one way to offset the perfectionism, overthinking, and fear that mires my personal progress.
You can read more about this idea in an excellent blog post by Pressfield from 2010 titled “Cover the Canvas.”
Steven Pressfield is an American author known for his military historical fiction and his non-fiction books on creativity and writing. His fictional account of the Battle of Thermopylae, “Gates of Fire”, and his non-fiction book on creativity, “The War of Art”, are two personal favorites. Also, his blog is a wonderful thing.
Now onto the rest of this week's recommendations…
Productivity:
How to Study Effectively: Paul Penn reminds us about the simple tactics of productive learning: space out your sessions (don’t cram), avoid passive reading and instead consider “reconstructive” techniques (i.e., ask questions and learn to create your own explanations of the material), and regularly practice information retrieval.
No Excuses, Do the Work: If you want more Steven Pressfield insights, Tonatiuh Núñez shares the five important lessons he learned from reading “Do the Work.”
There’s No Speed Limit: A classic post from entrepreneur Derek Sivers, whose music teacher taught him that “the standard pace is for chumps…if you’re more driven than most people, you can do way more than anyone expects.” By the way, you can read the collected wisdom of Sivers’ book “Hell Yeah or No” on his website for free (scroll down to view the contents).
Articles:
The Art of Not Taking Things Personally: Dave Bailey writes about “emotional generosity” which he defines as the ability to “see past behaviours that we don’t understand and proactively look for compassionate ways to explain them.” He catalogs ten common patterns (e.g., blame, avoidance, criticism) and offers suggestions on how to productively process them when on the receiving end.
A Founder’s Exponential Toolset: Wright’s Law (aka “the experience curve”) is the idea that experience producing a good yields efficiencies (often manifest as cost savings) which can develop into a meaningful competitive advantage over time. Venture capitalists love these effects because they generate outsize financial rewards. Side note: The NFX podcast has vaulted into the top tier of VC-produced podcasts (alongside A16Z) for the entrepreneurially minded and watchers of tech-trends.
Ben Dugan Works for CVS. His Job Is Battling a $45 Billion Crime Spree: Offline retail theft and organized crime meets online retailing through platforms like Amazon and eBay (where products are efficiently fenced) creating a host of headaches and illicit profits.
Elder Care Is Expensive and Exhausting for Millions: Anne Helen Peterson’s in-depth exposé is sobering: in the United States, an estimated 42 million people provide care for adults over the age of 50. Since this care is largely invisible, there has been little public policy to address the mental and financial toll of this growing problem. Side note: Peterson’s Substack newsletter, Culture Study, is worth bookmarking.
The New Puritans: Anne Applebaum’s long-form piece for The Atlantic about changing social norms and online mob-justice is a must-read for anyone concerned about the future of liberal democracy and free speech.
Three Hours a Week: Play Time’s over for China’s Young Video Gamers: “China has forbidden under-18s from playing video games for more than three hours a week, a stringent social intervention that it said was needed to pull the plug on a growing addiction to what it once described as ‘spiritual opium.’”
Odds & Ends:
The virtual gallery for the 2020 Wildlife Photographer of the Year is online. Be amazed by the winning images and 103 other highly commended photos showcasing the animal kingdom. The contest is run by the Natural History Museum in London.
Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom by Robert Hutchinson is a well-organized, freely accessible online book for students and those interested in the inner-workings of Western music. The text includes standard harmonic theory, classical forms, counterpoint, as well as intros to jazz harmony, serialism, and minimalism. You can also download the entirety as a PDF.
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