⌚️ #218 - The Time is Right (Now)
When waiting until you're ready means waiting forever.
James Greig wants you to know that there will never be an optimal time to start working on something: “Distractions and excuses will always be lurking in the periphery of your life.” Joshua Becker agrees, writing that starting an important change or project means never giving yourself an excuse to get started.
But enthusiasm doesn’t mean charging in without a plan. It’s a question of how much planning will help, and when preparation takes the place of work.
David Moldawer shares an extreme example of preparation as a roadblock in a post on the kinds of preparation that can help writers get words on the page:
No one wants to be the person who spends years researching a book and never actually writes it. Martin Sherwin compiled 50,000 pages of research for his Oppenheimer book before a co-writer helped him get something on paper. American Prometheus was a great book, but it shouldn't have taken 25 years to write.
Tracy Durnell shares a take on sustainable creativity, and finding that balance between urgency and exhaustion:
My friend had a good metaphor as we were discussing this last night: it’s like if I was a runner and I broke my leg, but even though the leg is healed, I’ll still only let myself walk — even though running isn’t what broke my leg in the first place. Rationally, I can see that I’ve removed the factors from my life that contributed to burnout before — now I work for myself, I’m choosing my own work, and I set my own schedule — but emotionally I’m scared of burning out again.
Henrik Karlsson seems like he’s caught sight of that balance with his blog, recognizing that taking time for revision doesn’t just produce better writing, but attracts more readers than trying to keep up with the content farms.
Momentum counts, even if it’s not your ideal pace. Starting something is better than leaving an unformed idea bouncing around in your head. Or, put another way:
What better place than here? What better time than now?
–Rage Against The Machine
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Previously on Inneresting…
In case you missed it, in last issue’s most clicked link Celeste Davis discusses the difference between men who like (and respect) women, and men who don’t. Features celebrity examples for instructional purposes.
What else is inneresting?
Leif Weatherby and Ben Recht explain how Nate Silver created a flawed analogy for risk-takers in his book, and how there are substantial blind spots in the way he sees everything as a gamble.
Rachel Kwon on the fury generated by needlessly fancy/smart products that can’t even work as intended.
Kathleen Fisher on grief and learning to believe that a partner’s death doesn’t end your ability to find joy.
And that’s what’s inneresting this week!
Inneresting is edited by Chris Csont, with contributions from readers like you and the entire Quote-Unquote team.
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