Tag: focus

Show Up, Every Day

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In my last post I mentioned wanting to take time to write about what “rules” would work for me in life, referencing the chapter on Seth Godin in Tim Ferriss’ book Tools of Titans.

There are no real rules, so make rules that work for you. (241)

What do I mean by “rules”? I guess guidelines might be a better word. Or principles. Principles and guidelines to help me live more authentically, and decide each moment how I want to use the precious time allotted to me? In the words of Mary Oliver:

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

I want to create. And I want space for creativity. I love wide berths of space around obligations, to sit, walk, think, and let my mind wander.

I love how Thoreau puts it (quoted by Maria Popova in Tools of Titans):

The really efficient laborer will be found not to crowd his day with work, but will saunter to his task surrounded by a wide halo of ease and leisure. There will be a wide margin for relaxation to his day. He is only earnest to secure the kernels of time, and does not exaggerate the value of the husk.” (408)

With that in mind, here’s what I’ve learned:

If I do not think about how I want to fill my days, my days will be filled for me

In order to think about what I want, and how I want to spend my time, I need to make time for writing. Writing helps me organize and unblock thoughts that keep me from creativity. Think The Artist’s Way (Julia Cameron).

There is no excuse for not doing the things I want

There will always be limitations of time, money, attention, and resources. There are countless people, with fewer resources and privilege, and more limitations, who have done more than I ever will.

I want to view limitations more as creative constraints. Boundaries to work within, rather than walls to climb over.

Regarding time: I always have a choice in what I say “yes” and “no” to. To make space for creativity, I need to say “no” more.

Social media apps are designed to be addicting

Social media has been incredibly helpful for reaching people across the world with my music. However, it can be incredibly distracting.

It has also become less helpful over time for organic reach, because Meta, TikTok, and YouTube have changed their recommendation algorithms. Meta and TikTok particularly prioritize:

  1. Viral content (to get and keep your attention)
  2. Advertised and shop content (to get your money)

So what do I want my relationship with social media to be like?

I think, given the current landscape, unless I advertise or make more engaging content, I acknowledge that my online organic reach will only go so far. I’ve experimented with advertising, which has been incredibly helpful with new releases and selling vinyls. Sometimes I think, “Ideally I’ll figure out how to make more engaging content.” However, even as I write this I realize, it’s not primarily how I want to spend my time. Again, from Tools of Titans, Popova says:

When Kurt Vonnegut wrote ‘Write to please just one person,’ what he was really saying was write for yourself. Don’t try to please anyone but yourself…. The second you start doing it for an audience, you’ve lost the long game because creating something that is rewarding and sustainable over the long run requires, most of all, keeping yourself excited about it…. Trying to predict what [an audience will] be interested in and kind of pretzeling yourself to fit those expectations, you soon begin to begrudge it and become embittered—and it begins to show in the work. It always, always shows in the work when you resent it. And there’s really nothing less pleasurable to read than embittered writing. (410)

The same goes for music. Writing for others has always left me feeling empty. When I truly write for myself, for the joy of it, that is where the magic is.

Somehow I forget, again and again, that trying to fit myself into molds that corporate entities have defined for me, is the death knell for creativity.

So the answer is not “create more engaging content”. That is chasing an ever elusive goal, created by board room executives. Vanity metrics (views, likes, time watched, shares, etc.) are external pressures and constraints placed on us by corporations whose end-goal is solely the maximization of profits, not creative flourishing.

I am again reminded that the important thing is to do the work, day in, and day out. Show up, everyday, uncompromisingly. I already know what I am supposed to be doing. I just need to keep doing it, and stop trying to re-invent the wheel.

Measuring What Matters Most

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Some thoughts on attention

For the past few years we’ve been frequenting the Goodwill Outlet store near us. Or the “bins” as we affectionately call them. If you’ve never been, let me describe the scene.

You walk in and find yourself in a warehouse-like space. There are long, blue bins, the length of a compact car, holding mounds of unsold goods from regular Goodwill stores. Everything is sold by the pound, except books, which are by the piece. It basically works out to thrift store prices from the nineties, when books and clothing could still be bought for less than a dollar.

There are all variety of people there. Regular folks just looking for a good bargain on household necessities, but also obnoxious resellers who load up their carts, then take their dandy old time sorting through their haul in the corner, before putting most of it back.

I don’t mind the book resellers too much, since they are only scanning for high value books, and many times skip over the gems. This happened to me this past weekend. A squirrelly looking fellow with glasses, was scanning for books. He set aside what looked to be a brand-new copy of Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss. A book you can find used for under $10 online, but which contains priceless wisdom.

As soon as he set it aside, I swooped in.

I first became familiar with Tim Ferriss via his podcast (The Tim Ferriss Show), then subsequently read 4-Hour Workweek. I still work a full-time job (lol), but it was very informative, and influenced the way I think about work, productivity, and my music business.

So when I saw Tools of Titans, I knew it would be worth its weight in gold. Or maybe I should say: I knew the wisdom it contained would be worth far more than the fifty cents.

Ferriss says in the beginning of the book that it’s intended to be more like a “buffet” and to “skip liberally” through the chapters. So when I opened the table of contents and saw Seth Godin’s name, I figured I’d start there. Because I remembered listening to a few interviews with him, and every time I do, I’ve always come away inspired to live more closely aligned with my ideals.

“I quantify almost nothing in my life” – Seth Godin

Ferriss goes on to write:

I sometimes fear I’ll lose my edge if I stop measuring everything. This line was freeing for me to hear… He inspired me to start “cycling off” of quantification…

I like to study what Seth doesn’t do as much as what he does. Seth has no comments on his blog, he doesn’t pay attention to analytics, and he doesn’t use Twitter or Facebook (except to rebroadcast his daily blog posts, which is automated). In a world of tool obsession and FOMO (fear of missing out) on the next social platform, Seth doesn’t appear to care. He simply focuses on putting out good and short daily posts, he ignores the rest, and he continues to thrive. There are no real rules, so make rules that work for you. (p. 241, Tools of Titans, Tim Ferriss)

When I read this, I was freshly reminded of my obsessive relationship with the data and stats around my music. It’s a weird thing, because, on the one hand, data is useful for informing business decisions. However, I can so quickly conflate relevant data and analysis (e.g. – a cadenced analysis of royalties, album purchases, advertising efficacy) with irrelevant stats (views, likes, followers, streams, reshares).

In other words: I get caught up in irrelevant data—i.e., data that doesn’t actually inform or help my creative inspiration and direction—to the point where I’m distracted from my true goal of creating.

I think a lot of the reason it’s hard to distinguish between the two, is because I don’t take enough time for reflection. I’ve noticed that the more space and time I give myself for writing, and undistracted thought, the more aware I am of the things I’m focussing on that are wastes of time, and don’t matter in the long run.

I’ll be taking some time this week to reflect more on this, and what “rules” work for me.