I was watching the Tour de France on TV and at one point there was some discussion of when it was most efficient to work the hardest. The speaker--whose qualifications I forget--said that the riders got the most benefit by working the hardest when the situation was most difficult--riding uphill or into a headwind.
I was thinking about whether this has a parallel for writers. Are we going to get the most benefit by working the hardest when things are not going well? Or are we going to get the most benefit by resting a bit when things are going poorly, and then working hard when things start to flow?
We can't do wind tunnel tests to determine this.
I could argue both ways. A dissertation isn't a bike race, so the metaphor is obviously not going to translate without some difficulties.
A couple of days ago, I wrote about the curtain of misery; and I think that working hardest when the difficulty is greatest is liable to create the greatest pain when working--you'll be putting in the most effort at exactly that time the work is the least promising.
On the other hand, if you're stuck--if you're discouraged, frustrated, then that might be a moment when you can gain the greatest value from the work because, for one, you need to keep working consistently, even through difficulty, to finish a dissertation; and for two, it is often the case that the moment of frustration and difficulty is the moment at which the greatest change and growth comes. My yoga teacher was recently talking about how at the moment of difficulty something beautiful is waiting to burst out into growth.
I listed this post under the headings of consistency, persistence, and momentum. I don't think that there is a clear answer to what tactic is going to work best on writing a dissertation. The dissertation writing journey and progress through it are not so easily measured as speed and energy output are. But I do think that generally we want to be consistent in working, and persistent in the face of difficulties because there is momentum to projects and to writing: by keeping the project alive and moving in your mind, and on paper, you increase the ease with which you can work on it, and you keep your mind and body in the rhythm and habit of working on the project and thinking about the ideas.
When is the best time to work the hardest? I don't have an answer to that. It partly depends on you and what works best for you. But, in the long run, it is the tortoise that you should emulate: stick at it in a regular pace. What is key is to keep the progress and the writing piling up.
Showing posts with label consistency. Show all posts
Showing posts with label consistency. Show all posts
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
Writing is a Choice (2)
You have to be willing to make mistakes. You have to be willing to put something out there that won't be loved by others. And you have to be willing to put something out there that you may not even like yourself. So much of writing is just the willingness to get it wrong--the willingness to get it wrong and to try again.
I didn't really plan my day today and suddenly I find that if I do want to post today, I need to squeeze in a quickie before I go out. To be able to do that, I have to choose to make the time--even if it is only a ten or fifteen minute stretch in which I can write just a few lines while I wait for my friend. It's really easy to say "I don't have enough time to write something good." The truth, though, is that you can write something good in a short time--and even more importantly, if you practice writing regularly, and you choose to risk mistake or rejection, and you choose to make the time, then you will make the best possible progress in your writing practice.
I didn't really plan my day today and suddenly I find that if I do want to post today, I need to squeeze in a quickie before I go out. To be able to do that, I have to choose to make the time--even if it is only a ten or fifteen minute stretch in which I can write just a few lines while I wait for my friend. It's really easy to say "I don't have enough time to write something good." The truth, though, is that you can write something good in a short time--and even more importantly, if you practice writing regularly, and you choose to risk mistake or rejection, and you choose to make the time, then you will make the best possible progress in your writing practice.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
201st post
I just noticed that last night's post was my 200th. That seems like a pretty big number to me. It reminds me of how things start to add up over the course of regular practice. I have never, I think, spent more than an hour working up a post. But at the end of the day I have a lot of writing to show for it. Yeah, some of it is lame. And yeah, it is generally not structured well. And yeah, it's a whole different thing writing blog posts than writing a dissertation. But still, as you work on it, the product and the project adds up.
I actually have been working on a book about writing projects--Dave's Directions for Inditing a Delightful Dissertation is the working title--...well, not really, or at least it had not been prior to this moment when I made that up. It actually has a slight absurdity that I enjoy. "A Delightful Dissertation." Perhaps a little over the top. It sounds like the name of some turn-of-the-20th century patent medicine or traveling show. And this regular blogging has mostly been helpful. Some days the blog seems to interfere, and others the book project interferes with the blog. But more the former than the latter because it's so much easier to work on the project for which you have low expectations. This is why it's a lot easier to send e-mail to a friend than it is to write your dissertation.
Anyway, however limited the product may be--however limited in volume or in quantity--there is a growing body of work. And with it a growing ease in writing. And these are both things that I can look at and celebrate, just to appreciate my own effort. I have a habit of discounting those things that I do accomplish and focusing on my weaknesses. This is a psychological pattern that makes it easy to despair and stop working. But it's a pattern of focus--it's not destiny. By focusing on the positive of what I have accomplished, I can step into my next effort with greater enthusiasm and less fear. And my assessment of what I can accomplish is based on the actual output that I have--so I have some evidence on which to reflect.
I suppose that if I write enough posts it will be less interesting to mark the landmarks, but that's still a way in the future. Post number 300 will still feel like a landmark.
I actually have been working on a book about writing projects--Dave's Directions for Inditing a Delightful Dissertation is the working title--...well, not really, or at least it had not been prior to this moment when I made that up. It actually has a slight absurdity that I enjoy. "A Delightful Dissertation." Perhaps a little over the top. It sounds like the name of some turn-of-the-20th century patent medicine or traveling show. And this regular blogging has mostly been helpful. Some days the blog seems to interfere, and others the book project interferes with the blog. But more the former than the latter because it's so much easier to work on the project for which you have low expectations. This is why it's a lot easier to send e-mail to a friend than it is to write your dissertation.
Anyway, however limited the product may be--however limited in volume or in quantity--there is a growing body of work. And with it a growing ease in writing. And these are both things that I can look at and celebrate, just to appreciate my own effort. I have a habit of discounting those things that I do accomplish and focusing on my weaknesses. This is a psychological pattern that makes it easy to despair and stop working. But it's a pattern of focus--it's not destiny. By focusing on the positive of what I have accomplished, I can step into my next effort with greater enthusiasm and less fear. And my assessment of what I can accomplish is based on the actual output that I have--so I have some evidence on which to reflect.
I suppose that if I write enough posts it will be less interesting to mark the landmarks, but that's still a way in the future. Post number 300 will still feel like a landmark.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Compounding
It's easy to let it slip. I missed a day of the blog. And then another and then another, and suddenly three days had passed without posting anything.
Little things add up quickly. That's why it's important to keep up a consistent practice that will support your writing. Just as the empty days add up quickly, so, too do the days when we consistently work on a project.
Of course there are days and weeks where it may seem like the effort is not adding up--there are days where the efforts of previous days or weeks or months are scrapped for one reason or another. On such days it seems like the only progress is backwards. Progress can't always be measured in terms of pages added or pages deleted; it needs to be measured in terms of intellectual development. Eliminating pages because your argument has been clarified, and you can better see where you want to go is not necessarily time lost. Even on such days, continued work will help: continued work, will continue to build your most valuable possession and most valuable resource: your mind and your understanding of your project.
The idea of compounding, is, I think, important here because progress, like the growth of compounding, is not linear. As we move forward in our work, our ability to move forward also increases, so the more consistently we work, the more we have an opportunity to increase the progress we make. This is true, I think, on both the level of our intellectual understanding of a project, and in terms of our relationship with our work.
Little things add up quickly. That's why it's important to keep up a consistent practice that will support your writing. Just as the empty days add up quickly, so, too do the days when we consistently work on a project.
Of course there are days and weeks where it may seem like the effort is not adding up--there are days where the efforts of previous days or weeks or months are scrapped for one reason or another. On such days it seems like the only progress is backwards. Progress can't always be measured in terms of pages added or pages deleted; it needs to be measured in terms of intellectual development. Eliminating pages because your argument has been clarified, and you can better see where you want to go is not necessarily time lost. Even on such days, continued work will help: continued work, will continue to build your most valuable possession and most valuable resource: your mind and your understanding of your project.
The idea of compounding, is, I think, important here because progress, like the growth of compounding, is not linear. As we move forward in our work, our ability to move forward also increases, so the more consistently we work, the more we have an opportunity to increase the progress we make. This is true, I think, on both the level of our intellectual understanding of a project, and in terms of our relationship with our work.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Quickie
Ooops!
there it is, seven minutes before midnight and I've not posted, and I have a project I'm trying to work on.
It's nice to be able to touch base with a project that we're trying to maintain over a long time, even if there are other important responsibilities calling.
We choose where our attention goes. If we really want to finish a dissertation or other large writing project, then we have to choose to give it sufficient priority that it continues to move forward.
Not every day will we be equally attentive, or equally brilliant. Nor will we be equally dull every day, so we need to get into it regularly, so that our practice can provide the opportunity for the days of brilliance that balance the days of dullness.
there it is, seven minutes before midnight and I've not posted, and I have a project I'm trying to work on.
It's nice to be able to touch base with a project that we're trying to maintain over a long time, even if there are other important responsibilities calling.
We choose where our attention goes. If we really want to finish a dissertation or other large writing project, then we have to choose to give it sufficient priority that it continues to move forward.
Not every day will we be equally attentive, or equally brilliant. Nor will we be equally dull every day, so we need to get into it regularly, so that our practice can provide the opportunity for the days of brilliance that balance the days of dullness.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Attitude Management
As I often do, I want to talk about habits of focus.
Today I'm thinking about the effects of focusing on the past and on other things that you can't control, and how that affects your attitude.
We have come to where we are in our lives--wherever that may be--as a result of many factors. Some of the factors may have been our choices, other things may have been due to the choices of others; some may not have been choices at all but accidents of fate.
It is worth understanding the past inasmuch as it gives us information about how to proceed into the future. As Santayana said "Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it." For this reason it is important to understand the factors that affect us--especially the responses and feedback we get from our professors. But beyond using information from the past to guide us into the future, we want to get our attention off the past as much as possible. And especially we want to get our attention off the things that upset us.
We want to know about the past, so that we can make good decisions for the future. We don't want our focus on the past to disrupt our present.
In particular, I'm thinking about focusing on negative things. I don't know about you, and I won't invite you to test this--because I don't want to prompt anyone to enter a negative emotional state--but when I think about times when I have been treated poorly and unjustly, I get upset--even about things that happened many years ago. By focusing on past hurts, I can feel the pain even today.
Again, I don't know about you, but in the long run I work better when I'm happy and optimistic and operating from a place of interest. I can generate spurts of effort fueled by anger, but they tend to leave me exhausted and unhappy.
I think a key role in attitude management--especially in avoiding the emotional downs that come with focusing on bad experiences from your past--is to keep looking at the future and asking what are you going to do next? What kinds of action can you take in the face of past wrongs? How can you use the options that are open to you to move forward and succeed in your project? The focus on the future, and on the goal of completing your project has an implicitly optimistic underpinning: it looks towards a future that you hope for.
A similar focus issue, which plays an equally important role in attitude management, is to keep you focus on the things that you can do, and to try to build from them.
Recently I have been working with a writer who has been working on the dissertation for over a decade--well over a decade, really. Our correspondence is filled with rehearsal of past problems, of personal weaknesses, of excuses for what can't be done, and for what was once wanted. But none of that material helps the dissertation move forward. I am tempted to write "You write beautiful, long, eloquent excuses for why you can't do the work; if you were to spend as much effort, and write a third as much on the things you're telling me you can't do, you would make far more progress."
Today I'm thinking about the effects of focusing on the past and on other things that you can't control, and how that affects your attitude.
We have come to where we are in our lives--wherever that may be--as a result of many factors. Some of the factors may have been our choices, other things may have been due to the choices of others; some may not have been choices at all but accidents of fate.
It is worth understanding the past inasmuch as it gives us information about how to proceed into the future. As Santayana said "Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it." For this reason it is important to understand the factors that affect us--especially the responses and feedback we get from our professors. But beyond using information from the past to guide us into the future, we want to get our attention off the past as much as possible. And especially we want to get our attention off the things that upset us.
We want to know about the past, so that we can make good decisions for the future. We don't want our focus on the past to disrupt our present.
In particular, I'm thinking about focusing on negative things. I don't know about you, and I won't invite you to test this--because I don't want to prompt anyone to enter a negative emotional state--but when I think about times when I have been treated poorly and unjustly, I get upset--even about things that happened many years ago. By focusing on past hurts, I can feel the pain even today.
Again, I don't know about you, but in the long run I work better when I'm happy and optimistic and operating from a place of interest. I can generate spurts of effort fueled by anger, but they tend to leave me exhausted and unhappy.
I think a key role in attitude management--especially in avoiding the emotional downs that come with focusing on bad experiences from your past--is to keep looking at the future and asking what are you going to do next? What kinds of action can you take in the face of past wrongs? How can you use the options that are open to you to move forward and succeed in your project? The focus on the future, and on the goal of completing your project has an implicitly optimistic underpinning: it looks towards a future that you hope for.
A similar focus issue, which plays an equally important role in attitude management, is to keep you focus on the things that you can do, and to try to build from them.
Recently I have been working with a writer who has been working on the dissertation for over a decade--well over a decade, really. Our correspondence is filled with rehearsal of past problems, of personal weaknesses, of excuses for what can't be done, and for what was once wanted. But none of that material helps the dissertation move forward. I am tempted to write "You write beautiful, long, eloquent excuses for why you can't do the work; if you were to spend as much effort, and write a third as much on the things you're telling me you can't do, you would make far more progress."
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Ups and Downs
We all have cycles. Some days we're up; some we're down. It's just the nature of things.
However, I also believe that we can influence the ups and downs. We want to be sure to create patterns that are going to generate ups and not patterns that will generate downs.
What I had to say about pacing was about looking for that point at which the pattern is generating an up. By treating myself easily, while still pushing, I created an up. Push too hard, get injured, and I'm generating a down.
We can focus on the downs or on the ups. This focus tends to create more of the same. If we focus on what's wrong, it's easy to feel worse. If we focus on what is good, then it's easy to feel better. And that's not got to be a matter of turning a blind eye--but rather a question of how long the seeing eye remains focused, and on what. I really enjoyed the movie "What the bleep do we know;" I think it expresses these ideas well.
There will be ups and downs. But can we shift the baseline? I believe so.
However, I also believe that we can influence the ups and downs. We want to be sure to create patterns that are going to generate ups and not patterns that will generate downs.
What I had to say about pacing was about looking for that point at which the pattern is generating an up. By treating myself easily, while still pushing, I created an up. Push too hard, get injured, and I'm generating a down.
We can focus on the downs or on the ups. This focus tends to create more of the same. If we focus on what's wrong, it's easy to feel worse. If we focus on what is good, then it's easy to feel better. And that's not got to be a matter of turning a blind eye--but rather a question of how long the seeing eye remains focused, and on what. I really enjoyed the movie "What the bleep do we know;" I think it expresses these ideas well.
There will be ups and downs. But can we shift the baseline? I believe so.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Pacing
I went for a run today. Ten miles. I run usually three times a week, usually about 6 miles. Today I let a friend talk me into running in a ten-mile race. I wasn't really sure what running 10 miles was like. He warned me that the route was hard and harder on the return than on the way out.
I took it easy, keeping my pace steady. I finished the race feeling fine. Most of the racers finished before me but I was happy to finish feeling fine and with energy left for the day.
The race is a decent metaphor for a dissertation: you don't necessarily finish by being very fast at any point. You finish by sticking with it. Step after step after step. This idea of persistence leading to successful dissertation writing is nothing new. I've said it many times, and I don't think I've ever seen a book on writing that didn't suggest the primacy of developing a repetitive routine.
But I was thinking about feeling good. I felt good running today because I paced myself well. In the last few miles I passed several people who didn't look so happy. They were working hard and not looking like they felt very good. I didn't set any records for finishing quickly, but I finished. I don't know about "leaving it all on the field". That would have led to a different kind of accomplishment--running as hard as I could, and running faster, but feeling bad after, because I had pushed myself to the limits of what I could do.
We get to make choices about this kind of stuff. There's no doubt that there's a lot to be said for striving for your limits. On the other hand, it's not like you can't work hard and push yourself without hitting burnout. The dissertation can take a long time; if you burn yourself out, or work to the point of exhaustion before the race is over, you have to drag yourself to the finish line in a state of exhaustion. And that is no fun.
Good pacing is important. It helps you maintain your health, your energy, your positive attitude, and, if you're steady, it helps you finish, perhaps more quickly than you anticipate. If the dissertation race stretches out over years, then maintaining your health--especially your emotional health--is crucial. A steady pace is conducive to supporting your mood because you continue to make progress (which helps, for obvious reasons), and yet it doesn't create the negative reinforcement that working to the point of exhaustion does. A steady pace with room for a whole life doesn't create the sense that the dissertation is some sort of cruel punishment because you're not creating the painful part of it.
I worked hard enough today that I was pushing my limits. I ran farther than I normally do. I don't normally time myself running, so I don't know if I ran faster, but I know that I ran faster than I expected. It was a challenge and a growth experience, and it left me feeling like the process is something worth doing. A good pace made it possible.
Would that every dissertation writer could say that. You may only want to write one dissertation, but if your career choice is to be an academic, that dissertation is only one race to be run. It may be a relatively long race--a marathon of academic projects--but you'll have other equally long projects if you hope to publish any books. If you learn to set a good pace and to work steadily, each project can be completed without making writing into a sort of purgatory.
I took it easy, keeping my pace steady. I finished the race feeling fine. Most of the racers finished before me but I was happy to finish feeling fine and with energy left for the day.
The race is a decent metaphor for a dissertation: you don't necessarily finish by being very fast at any point. You finish by sticking with it. Step after step after step. This idea of persistence leading to successful dissertation writing is nothing new. I've said it many times, and I don't think I've ever seen a book on writing that didn't suggest the primacy of developing a repetitive routine.
But I was thinking about feeling good. I felt good running today because I paced myself well. In the last few miles I passed several people who didn't look so happy. They were working hard and not looking like they felt very good. I didn't set any records for finishing quickly, but I finished. I don't know about "leaving it all on the field". That would have led to a different kind of accomplishment--running as hard as I could, and running faster, but feeling bad after, because I had pushed myself to the limits of what I could do.
We get to make choices about this kind of stuff. There's no doubt that there's a lot to be said for striving for your limits. On the other hand, it's not like you can't work hard and push yourself without hitting burnout. The dissertation can take a long time; if you burn yourself out, or work to the point of exhaustion before the race is over, you have to drag yourself to the finish line in a state of exhaustion. And that is no fun.
Good pacing is important. It helps you maintain your health, your energy, your positive attitude, and, if you're steady, it helps you finish, perhaps more quickly than you anticipate. If the dissertation race stretches out over years, then maintaining your health--especially your emotional health--is crucial. A steady pace is conducive to supporting your mood because you continue to make progress (which helps, for obvious reasons), and yet it doesn't create the negative reinforcement that working to the point of exhaustion does. A steady pace with room for a whole life doesn't create the sense that the dissertation is some sort of cruel punishment because you're not creating the painful part of it.
I worked hard enough today that I was pushing my limits. I ran farther than I normally do. I don't normally time myself running, so I don't know if I ran faster, but I know that I ran faster than I expected. It was a challenge and a growth experience, and it left me feeling like the process is something worth doing. A good pace made it possible.
Would that every dissertation writer could say that. You may only want to write one dissertation, but if your career choice is to be an academic, that dissertation is only one race to be run. It may be a relatively long race--a marathon of academic projects--but you'll have other equally long projects if you hope to publish any books. If you learn to set a good pace and to work steadily, each project can be completed without making writing into a sort of purgatory.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Constant Practice and Rest
It is a fabulous moment when our relationship with a work project changes from dreading the work and finding it exhausting, to enjoying the work and finding it refreshing.
If you are setting up a program of work that generates more positive reinforcement than negative reinforcement, then the work itself can often be refreshing. The work always takes energy, but if the relationship with the work is good, the energy you put is is typically matched by energy coming out of the work: work can feel good.
But this assumes that you are not overworking. Overworking creates negative reinforcement, making it harder to get back to work. I'm not saying there's no occasion that calls for 12-hour days or all nighters, but, especially at the front end of a project that you can anticipate lasting months into the future, there's also a very important place for developing a positive relationship with your work. Therefore, proper rest plays a crucial role in the development of a long-term constant practice.
(Yes, I was thinking of taking a night off from blogging. The preceding is a version of the reasoning I was using to justify the night off, but once I realized I could write about it, there was no longer a reason to take the day off.)
If you are setting up a program of work that generates more positive reinforcement than negative reinforcement, then the work itself can often be refreshing. The work always takes energy, but if the relationship with the work is good, the energy you put is is typically matched by energy coming out of the work: work can feel good.
But this assumes that you are not overworking. Overworking creates negative reinforcement, making it harder to get back to work. I'm not saying there's no occasion that calls for 12-hour days or all nighters, but, especially at the front end of a project that you can anticipate lasting months into the future, there's also a very important place for developing a positive relationship with your work. Therefore, proper rest plays a crucial role in the development of a long-term constant practice.
(Yes, I was thinking of taking a night off from blogging. The preceding is a version of the reasoning I was using to justify the night off, but once I realized I could write about it, there was no longer a reason to take the day off.)
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