When I was doing my PhD, I'd take solitary walks along the river in the city after my workdays. An hour or two later I'd rush back to the lab to write down fresh ideas for research papers. Nowadays I run in the morning. It's like meditation. Some of my best ideas come while running or right after it. It must be either the meditation or the improved blood flow (or both).
Every Wednesday my husband's family has dinner together. Any given week it's a mix of 6 adults and 7 kids all under the age of 12. It's chaos incarnate. I spend 99% of my time just sitting and listening. Or daydreaming about literally anything else so I can forget where I'm at. I've come up with some of my best writing ideas during those dinners. Also, people watching should be an Olympic sport.
Great piece; I loved it. Believe it or not, after a 40-year career in the securities industry I thought finally taking “me” time to think was being lazy. Thanks for reframing the rest of my life and your mastermind is really great btw
Creative brainstorming is my favorite part of any new project. It really helps me envision the “big picture” and opens up new avenues of thought I hadn’t previously considered.
Last fall, I stepped back from the corporate hamster wheel and embarked on a period of self-reflection and it involved pretty much all aspects you mention in this article. I believe in working smart and not long hours for the sake of it and haven't been an employee for 25 years to avoid having silly people watch the clock for me. I really agree with your point about long walks. Often I won't sit down and do traditional type work for a long period of time and instead will walk and do other activities all the while doing a bit of creative visualization on how I might solve a problem. It's gotten to the point where I will write something in my head or build a presentation in my head (what ever the task is) and then when I sit down to actually create the particularly deliverable, it floods out of me because I've already written it. So many other valid points in your post but your point about reading completely aligns with me - I've read probably 100 books in the last year (fiction, non-fiction) and it's such a great investment of time. I will admit that it has taken a bit of work to get over the "guilt" of not being "traditionally" productive but it's becoming my new habit. I am 50 x happier! Thanks for the usual thought provoking copy.
That is exactly why we moved from city fringe living to the country (or "wilderness" as my mother calls it!) 12 months ago. I wanted to be able to hear myself think. Right now all I can hear are birds and a few cows instead of speeding cars, helicopters, police sirens and the neighbours' latest AirBnB tenants cranking up the Spotify. I do not miss city life one iota - not even Uber Eats. (well ok maybe Pazza Pizza Ascot Vale home delivery - best pizza in the universe. We do miss YOU guys). The Quiet Life us under appreciated, absolutely.
Great article. I love that you see AI forcing us into a more creative space. It makes me feel optimistic about the future. That was my first excited thought about AI too and I was surprised most people around me were doomsday about it.
A very interesting and insightful write-up! Particularly the section about modern music because I do feel like there's been a new direction with how song artists are creating their unique sounds but it doesn't come off as rhythmically authentic. I do agree with you about taking regular walks and day-dreaming to stimulate the mind. I must admit I thought I was going crazy when I spent time daydreaming 😅 but now thanks to you I feel like it's purposeful for my work 😁.
We have to rediscover the very sens of beauty. And of intuition.
The word "epic" for me is a key to new era since I found also epic cash that is for me the next currency paradigm for decades to come. And also is great lives of inspiring people around us. And thus I named the 4th epoch of mankind "epic" (see article I posted weeks ago). We will have epic chaotic times ahead :) ❤️
As some one who djed on and off for 25 years in the punk, goth and grunge scene, nature is my favourite soundtrack. I moved to the country and stories began to take shape if it was not for the one dog in our street that alerts me to every movement this can really blow the writers quiet mind time - 101 dalmations I love that! He is them all by himself.My next sort story of magic is going to be about my time in Australia's 80's underground music scene- I feel like heaphones are my new best friend for silencing the Dalmation. I resonated with all of this! More than a feeling .....
I’m so much happier and more creative when I spend hours staring at the ceiling or resting outside. That’s when the great ideas come. Another underrated thing you mentioned is to follow your curiosity to find new books. Everyone reads the same books and therefore has the same thoughts. Boring. I LOVE going down Amazon rabbit holes and finding the most arcane books, reading them and allowing mind-blowing perspectives to rearrange my entire worldview. THIS is where true creativity and purpose come from.
AI and tech will require an unsustainable amount of energy. The one problem AI can't solve is creating energy. It can't mine or drill the energy it needs. I think there will be a reawakening of the old Economy. Experts in mining and nuclear engineering (which popularity is at an all time low, have a massive opportunity. Yes, people can use AI and tech, but it will likely not replace humans in this area for decades or centuries.
When I was doing my PhD, I'd take solitary walks along the river in the city after my workdays. An hour or two later I'd rush back to the lab to write down fresh ideas for research papers. Nowadays I run in the morning. It's like meditation. Some of my best ideas come while running or right after it. It must be either the meditation or the improved blood flow (or both).
Every Wednesday my husband's family has dinner together. Any given week it's a mix of 6 adults and 7 kids all under the age of 12. It's chaos incarnate. I spend 99% of my time just sitting and listening. Or daydreaming about literally anything else so I can forget where I'm at. I've come up with some of my best writing ideas during those dinners. Also, people watching should be an Olympic sport.
Thanks for validating my need for walks, quiet time and silence.
Great piece; I loved it. Believe it or not, after a 40-year career in the securities industry I thought finally taking “me” time to think was being lazy. Thanks for reframing the rest of my life and your mastermind is really great btw
Creative brainstorming is my favorite part of any new project. It really helps me envision the “big picture” and opens up new avenues of thought I hadn’t previously considered.
I mastered that decades ago.
Ah, an ultrarunner too. :) why i'm not that surprised lol.
Last fall, I stepped back from the corporate hamster wheel and embarked on a period of self-reflection and it involved pretty much all aspects you mention in this article. I believe in working smart and not long hours for the sake of it and haven't been an employee for 25 years to avoid having silly people watch the clock for me. I really agree with your point about long walks. Often I won't sit down and do traditional type work for a long period of time and instead will walk and do other activities all the while doing a bit of creative visualization on how I might solve a problem. It's gotten to the point where I will write something in my head or build a presentation in my head (what ever the task is) and then when I sit down to actually create the particularly deliverable, it floods out of me because I've already written it. So many other valid points in your post but your point about reading completely aligns with me - I've read probably 100 books in the last year (fiction, non-fiction) and it's such a great investment of time. I will admit that it has taken a bit of work to get over the "guilt" of not being "traditionally" productive but it's becoming my new habit. I am 50 x happier! Thanks for the usual thought provoking copy.
That is exactly why we moved from city fringe living to the country (or "wilderness" as my mother calls it!) 12 months ago. I wanted to be able to hear myself think. Right now all I can hear are birds and a few cows instead of speeding cars, helicopters, police sirens and the neighbours' latest AirBnB tenants cranking up the Spotify. I do not miss city life one iota - not even Uber Eats. (well ok maybe Pazza Pizza Ascot Vale home delivery - best pizza in the universe. We do miss YOU guys). The Quiet Life us under appreciated, absolutely.
Great article. I love that you see AI forcing us into a more creative space. It makes me feel optimistic about the future. That was my first excited thought about AI too and I was surprised most people around me were doomsday about it.
Hey,
A very interesting and insightful write-up! Particularly the section about modern music because I do feel like there's been a new direction with how song artists are creating their unique sounds but it doesn't come off as rhythmically authentic. I do agree with you about taking regular walks and day-dreaming to stimulate the mind. I must admit I thought I was going crazy when I spent time daydreaming 😅 but now thanks to you I feel like it's purposeful for my work 😁.
You're talking about epic music in the article.
We have to rediscover the very sens of beauty. And of intuition.
The word "epic" for me is a key to new era since I found also epic cash that is for me the next currency paradigm for decades to come. And also is great lives of inspiring people around us. And thus I named the 4th epoch of mankind "epic" (see article I posted weeks ago). We will have epic chaotic times ahead :) ❤️
Once you become who you truly want to be, the passage of time and its marks lose their power over you.
——The Years (written by Annie Ernaux)
As some one who djed on and off for 25 years in the punk, goth and grunge scene, nature is my favourite soundtrack. I moved to the country and stories began to take shape if it was not for the one dog in our street that alerts me to every movement this can really blow the writers quiet mind time - 101 dalmations I love that! He is them all by himself.My next sort story of magic is going to be about my time in Australia's 80's underground music scene- I feel like heaphones are my new best friend for silencing the Dalmation. I resonated with all of this! More than a feeling .....
I’m so much happier and more creative when I spend hours staring at the ceiling or resting outside. That’s when the great ideas come. Another underrated thing you mentioned is to follow your curiosity to find new books. Everyone reads the same books and therefore has the same thoughts. Boring. I LOVE going down Amazon rabbit holes and finding the most arcane books, reading them and allowing mind-blowing perspectives to rearrange my entire worldview. THIS is where true creativity and purpose come from.
My take is that most people will go down the consumption route.
Which makes it even easier for the creators to stand out.
A lot of what Cal Newport said in "Deep Work", although expressed much better, won't lie.
AI and tech will require an unsustainable amount of energy. The one problem AI can't solve is creating energy. It can't mine or drill the energy it needs. I think there will be a reawakening of the old Economy. Experts in mining and nuclear engineering (which popularity is at an all time low, have a massive opportunity. Yes, people can use AI and tech, but it will likely not replace humans in this area for decades or centuries.