by Naomi | Oct 27, 2016 | Creative Life
“distringit librorum multitudo” (the abundance of books is distraction)
– Seneca
Even though he didn’t live in our age of information overload, Seneca had the foresight to see that too much is simply too much.
Recently, I realized I couldn’t remember the last five books I’d read, let alone any lessons I’d gleaned from them. With focused effort, I puzzled out which books I’d read. With further thought, I remembered the general plots or a couple key points. Not much to show for my investment of time.
Consumption without reflection is like peppering a steel wall with jelly beans.
Nothing sticks.
Everything clatters.
It’s a lot of noise and leaves behind a mess.
It’s worse than a zero-sum game.
Why? First, we spend our most valuable resource: time. We read books, listen to podcasts, and meet with advisors in order to learn and grow. In theory, spending time on learning and growth is completely worthwhile. But when we rush off to the next thing without capturing our thoughts or thinking about how to apply what we’ve learned, the growth opportunity slips away. Worse, by reading the book, listening to the podcast or meeting with the advisor, we create an internal tension between what we’re doing now and what we want to do or be in the future. Without definition or action steps, that tension builds up, making us more and more uncomfortable.
I’m not who I’m supposed to be.
I’m doing it all wrong.
Why should I even try when I’m so far behind?
Discouragement is a powerful foe.
The best way to push back against discouragement is to slow down. When you slow down, you allow yourself time to reflect. You diminish that inner tension because when you’ve decided how to apply your learning, you can take action. The action shrinks the distance between where you are and where you hope to be. When you slow down, you save time.
However, slowing down is counter-cultural.
Very. Just listen to the small-talk at any meet-and-greet, and you’ll hear fifty people explain how busy they are. Busyness, despite the fact that we all claim to resent it, is a badge of honor. We all appear to have an inner gremlin jumping up and down inside our brains shouting, “Go, go, go!” The gremlin is hard to ignore. And yet, if we want to push back against discouragement, if we want to feel more grounded, if we want to truly learn and grow, we need to build a habit of reflection.
Gretchen Rubin, of Happiness Project fame, suggests a variety of strategies to make good habits possible. One of those strategies is the strategy of convenience.
How can you make reflection convenient?
- Choose a starting place. Don’t try to become a reflection aficionado overnight.
- Designate a collection tool. Once you’ve chosen one kind of reflection to add to your routine, consider how and where you’d like to capture your thoughts. A notebook? A digital tool? Consider convenience both in the moment of reflection and later when you review your notes.
- Create a template. Pre-thinking about the questions you’d like to answer makes the reflection process much more efficient. Also, a standard format for responses makes reviewing the set as a whole more meaningful.
- A template may be a set of three questions you write in the front of your paper notebook, and that you answer each time you reflect.
- A template may be a PDF that you load as a custom page into a digital app such as Noteshelf.
- A template may be an outline that you draft, and then copy/paste in an app such as Evernote or Google Drive.
Once you get one reflection habit underway, you can turn to another area of your life where reflection may help you grow. If you build a system that is easily expandable, soon, you’ll find that reflection has become a way of life. You will feel a greater sense of ease as you take action on the goals that are important to you. The time you invest in learning will yield more significant results. By slowing down, you not only save time, but allow each experience to be more rich, valuable and meaningful.
I use a template for end-of-the day reflection. It includes a place to record ideas from the day, story moments, “gold stars” (moments I’m proud of) and “demerits” (moments I’d do over if I could.) I particularly like using the playful “gold stars” and “demerits” as a process of noting what’s going well and what I’m learning. Demerits, particularly, help me to let go of the “I wish I had …” thoughts that can get in my way.
If you’d like to download my template and try it out yourself, download it here.. I recommend loading this page into the Noteshelf app as a custom page, and dedicating a digital notebook to your reflection process. However, you can, of course, use or adapt the template however you like!
by Naomi | Oct 24, 2016 | Creative Life
My wish? To be mentored by Madeleine L’Engle.
In my twenties, I wrote a letter to Madeleine L’Engle.
I knew the chances of hearing back from her were very low. She was busy and surely couldn’t respond personally to every reader. Knowing these truths didn’t stop me from harboring a fantasy that somehow, in some way, my letter would spark a connection between the two of us. In the end, I did hear back from Madeleine. Her assistant wrote me a sweet note to say that Madeleine had been touched by my letter and wished me all the best with my writing.
I realized that I had received more than most people do. And still, I couldn’t help feeling slightly tragic about the situation. Tragic enough, actually, that I spent time unpacking the issue. What did I want? Why did I want it? Was there a way I could achieve that goal even if I couldn’t spend time with Madeleine herself?
A quick side note: I’ve written before about the superpowers that belong to writers. The scenario I just described is a prime example. Writers know in their bones that what a character wants isn’t always what she ends up achieving. Since this truth applies to characters, it’s not hard to see how it applies to our real lives, too.
In any case, as I unpacked my wish, here’s what I discovered.
1. Mentorship is the art of asking resonant questions.
While mentors often have life experiences we seek, mentorship isn’t about being given a step-by-step guide. Someone else’s story is unique and particular to their own life circumstances. However, their stories offer connection points that lead us to questions of our own. The best mentors open discussions and then listen as we explore the resulting questions and possible answers. Through asking questions and seeking answers, we unlock the answers and that next-step clarity that we seek.
2. Often, we’re already being mentored without realizing it.
Why did I want Madeleine L’Engle to mentor me? Because she already had. Through her nonfiction and fiction, she had already led me to deep questions that sparked significant growth. She had unlocked next steps for me. What I wanted was more of that experience. It’s not only writers who can be mentors. Visual artists mentor us through their artworks and their artist statements and stories. Musicians mentor us through their music, their liner notes, and their interviews on the process. The same is true for dancers, teachers, chefs, gardeners … any creative person whose work results in something we can observe, examine and explore.
3. In order to make use of the mentorship at our fingertips, we need to think in specifics.
As an enthusiastic reader of Madeleine L’Engle, I gained a certain level of mentorship. To dive deep, I thought I needed to meet her in person. Had she been sitting with me in person, however, I’m sure she would have turned the focus back to me. She would have asked me questions, pushed me to reflect, and invited me to make discoveries. I wondered: what if I read her work with my specific questions in mind? Might I stumble across clues that would lead me to deeper discoveries––in writing craft, in mindset, in creativity? It turned out that by bringing specific intention to the reading process, I entered into an entirely new level of mentorship with Madeleine L’Engle. The amazing thing was that not only could I have her as my mentor, but any other author who I also admired. I had a new skill set that allowed me to learn from the masters.
As another side note, it’s important to point out that I continue to work monthly with an actual living, breathing mentor. An outside perspective provides insight into our blind spots, encouragement and accountability. Finding ways to mentor with the masters doesn’t replace our need for authentic connection with advisors. However, once you learn the skills needed to mentor with the masters, libraries, museums and even Netflix turn into treasure troves of learning opportunities.
What skills are needed?
- Observe a poem, painting or film to identify what is working.
- Analyze specifically why and how that element of craft works.
- Experiment with similar strategies in your own work.
- Riff on the strategies until you make them your own.
And don’t forget that you can replace “poem, painting or film” in the above list with “creative life” or any other focus that appeals to you with regard to one of your heroes.
Here are your action steps:
- Choose a hero-mentor and decide what you’d like to learn.
- Reach out to someone you know and respect. Ask them if they’d meet with you regularly as you pursue your learning goals.
- Give them permission to challenge you, and commit to listening fully without defending yourself. Remember, growth takes courage and determination.
- Get started!
by Naomi | Oct 20, 2016 | Tools & Apps
My playlist is an eclectic collection of tools that help me approach my work as play. My hope is that they’ll do the same for you.
Object: Creating a focused learning plan
What Didn’t Work: Allowing the content that others post, podcast or promote to shape my learning on their schedule, being constantly overwhelmed and distracted, not knowing where to start.
My Aha! Moment:
You know how it feels
when you see your to-do list
and its filled with tasks
you don’t know how to do
your heart races
and your mind fizzles
and you feel like a rock climber
scrambling
with no hand-holds
your feet slip-sliding
Why am I so behind?
I know I need to learn but what
do I type into google?
Does everyone else already know …
everything?
You remember
How simple it seemed
In school
Your teacher shaped your learning
All you had to do was show up
The day planned in sturdy blocks
Topics listed in clean lines on the board
Here’s the next step
And the next
Sometimes you were bored
But if you were overwhelmed
You could raise your hand
I’m lost.
Where do I start?
Where do I start?
If I only study what I already know
What about the things I don’t know?
What if I’m missing that one
magic wand
shortcut?
If I raise my antenna
to take it all in
I won’t miss anything.
But what if I actually miss everything?
What if the noise
drowns out what actually matters?
Thus: The Knowledge Map
- You know more than you think you know about where to start learning.
- Think of your growth like a jigsaw puzzle. If you obsess on one middle piece, you might be stuck for years.
- Instead, you start with the edges, and look for what fits. What you’re doing is giving yourself a starting place.
- A knowledge map pins down the “you are here,” arrow and constructs a learning plan from that location.
How to Play:
- Brainstorm the general categories involved in this area of knowledge. For instance, in marketing, your areas might be social media, email marketing, content development. In writing, your areas might be character, plot, setting, theme.
- Are any of your subcategories of others? Sort accordingly until you have master categories and subcategories.
- Add any other key subcategories that come to mind. The more intricately you know a topic, the more subcategories that are likely relevant to you.
- Put your categories on a map. Tap into your intuitive thinking by assigning each category an image. Draw them or collage them––have fun with it. Perhaps “dialogue” is a well on the farm labeled “character.”
- Use two post-its per category and subcategory. One post-it is for knowledge or mastery. Where is your firm footing when it comes to this topic? The other post-it is for what you wonder. What would you like to know?
- Map the entire area of knowledge, and then step back to take a look. It may be that some categories are stage one, others are stage two, and some are stage three. Alternatively, you may have stage one, two and three within each category.
- Give your stages names that clearly describe their aims. For instance, your stage names may include: build foundational skills, experiment with possibilities, dive deep into specifics.
- Sort your questions into these stages.
- Figure out a plan for how to start stage one. Seek out resources specifically focused in this area.
Player’s Notes:
- Keep the process playful. Don’t think in terms of right and wrong. The point is to figure out where you are currently, and based on that location, where your energy will be best focused next.
- Keep the process loose. As you head into stage one, you’ll encounter new information that may change the categories or timeline. Give yourself permission to revise your plan. You’ll know if you’re sabatoging yourself and derailing the process, or if a change is genuinely needed.
- Keep the process rule-free. Once you know a topic fits in stage three, you won’t be so overwhelmed when you encounter it in real life. If you find a podcast about stage three that you’d like to listen to while you’re in stage one, go for it! Your map isn’t a set of rules. It’s a navigation tool.
Our world is changing at an extraordinary rate. Lifelong learning is no longer optional. If we want to work, play, connect, and make a difference in the world, we need to engage with new ideas, new technologies, and new skills. It’s true that we need to stretch ourselves. True growth, however, takes time. When we choose to go deep, to learn authentically, and to build bridges from current knowledge to new concepts, we may feel like we’re going to be left behind. However, in the end, much less time is lost skittering from idea to idea, only to learn nothing. Take the time you need. Make choices, however difficult they may be. See how life becomes more settled and richer because of the decisions you have made.
by Naomi | Oct 17, 2016 | Creative Life
Do you have enormous goals on your mental or physical to-do list such as:
- Learn how to podcast
- Write a novel
- Run a half-marathon
- Learn to play the guitar
Projects such as these beg the question: Where should I start?
When learning to draw, the first task is to stop one’s mind from translating the concept “apple” into a symbol. We must see the real apple with all its curves and irregularities in order to accurately draw it.
In my experience, the same is true with goals. Our brains, amazing tools that they are, simplify complex projects into impossible-to-tackle placeholders. While we can pick up a guitar and start plucking strings, for most of us, the time spent isn’t likely to result in learning to play guitar.
Why?
- We haven’t clarified what we mean by “learn to play the guitar.”
- We don’t know where to start.
- We quickly lose heart when we can’t track or measure our progress.
Let’s turn these challenges into proactive steps, and see where they lead.
Clarify the Goal
In the Attic, we explore the heart of a project. In the Studio, we improvise to bring new possibilities into the world. However, the Workshop provides us with tools to give our loose idea-material structure. In the Workshop, one asks: What do I know? What do I need to know? What are the pieces of this project or this skill? Where might I start?
One major task of the Workshop is to determine the scope of our project. It’s one thing to learn to front a rock band, and an entirely other one to learn to strum campfire songs. When we clarify our project, we determine our focus. With focus, we can clearly see which actions will be most effective to help us reach our goal.
One of the best strategies for clarifying your project is to take a quiet moment, close your eyes, and picture success in detail.
- What will the scene look like on the day you achieve this goal?
- What will you see, hear, feel?
- What will you be physically doing?
Once you have a clear picture, capture the highlights on paper. This scene becomes your destination point, and helps you determine which actions are relevant, and which are not.
Determine Where to Start
While we want our destination to be a firm location, with creative projects especially, the path to the goal can vary widely. Consider an open space with many trails that end at a lake. There may be four or five possible starting points, and various trails with scenic points along the way.
In the end, our experience of “hiking to the lake” is singular. No matter how much we plan a hike or a creative project, something is bound to surprise us along the way. Ideally, we want to create a plan with enough structure to keep us moving toward our ultimate goal, while leaving room for surprise.
Ask Yourself:
- Where are my current circumstances with regard to this project?
- What do I hope to learn along the way?
- How much time and stamina do I have?
Track and Measure Progress Toward Your Goal
Each year when Society of Young Inklings begins the Inklings Book editorial process, we ask our mentors to choose a specific revision focus. For instance, the mentor and youth writer may focus on developing character through dialogue.
By focusing on dialogue, the youth writer sees improvement that can be specifically described. “My dialogue used to be x, and now it is y.” This clear growth builds confidence. While revising with a specific focus, writers often identify other weaknesses and fix them without becoming sidetracked. Contrast this approach with a general “I’ll fix everything that’s wrong” approach. You can see how rabbit trails and discouragement easily set in.
In order to track and measure your progress, be specific about what you’re tracking. Ask yourself:
- What external milestones are essential along the way?
Here, consider the achievements between start and finish, such as character profiles, a plot, a first draft, a critique session, a revision, etc.
- What internal milestones are essential along the way?
Here, refer to the question: What do I want to learn along the way? Break that goal into measurable steps. If you want to learn about developing believable characters, what is involved?
First Steps
If you do have a giant project on your to-do list, depending on your style, your first step may be to head into the Attic to figure out why this project is so important to you. Alternatively, your first step may be to hit the Studio to play around and find your general direction.
Somewhere, though, early on in the process, the Workshop becomes a necessary step. For most of us, the purpose of major projects such as writing a novel or running a half-marathon is to challenge ourselves to grow. Growth will happen naturally whether we make a plan or not, but we’re more likely to see the results we hope for if we understand what those results will look like—both externally and internally.
I look forward to hearing about your projects and successes! Make sure to share so we can cheer you on.
by Naomi | Oct 13, 2016 | Tools & Apps
My playlist is an eclectic collection of tools that help me approach my work as play. My hope is that they’ll do the same for you.
Object: Breaking a complex problem or idea into manageable parts
What Didn’t Work: Starting a project with the first step that came to mind, trying to hold an entire problem in my mind at once while playing with possible solutions, hoping a solution would show up if I simply “thought harder.”
My Aha! Moment: When I first rolled up my sleeves to try David Allen’s Getting Things Done method, the piece that sounded most ridiculous to me was the suggestion to “write each to-do on a separate piece of paper” as part of a general brain-dump. Umm … I thought, That’s going to be a whole ream of paper, and an overwhelming stack to work through.
However, the brilliance of the suggestion became quickly clear. As I wrote each item on a separate piece of paper, the tangles in my mind loosened. Snarl by snarl, the tasks and projects unwound themselves until I had a clear vision of my situation. Even though the pile was overwhelming, it was also complete. It turns out one piece of paper is easy to handle. Dealing with one to-do at a time is efficient and satisfying. Sorting tasks became much more simple, too. I could make a project stack, and put the tasks in a general order.
Since then, I’ve applied this one idea per paper idea to many projects. Most of the time, I use index cards rather than full sheets of paper, as they are highly versatile and also small enough to allow me to see a full storyboard of sequential ideas. Sometimes I use paper index cards, but often, I use one of my favorite iPad tools, Cardflow+.
How I Play:
- I start with a general list brainstorm. What are the parts of this problem? What are the pieces of this idea? I write one idea or question per card.
- I spread the cards out on my carpet, or zoom out from my digital storyboard until I can see the full picture.
- I consider how I might sort the cards. Could the questions be put into categories? Could the tasks be sorted into stages? Once I come up with an organizing plan, I start to sort.
- Sometimes, my sorting plan fails. Maybe the idea only fits half the questions. In that case, I look at why my plan failed and decide how I might alter or revise my approach.
- Once I have my ideas sorted, I look at them again and decide whether I can now create an action plan, or whether I need to break some of the pieces down even further.
Player’s Notes:
- I decide whether to use digital tools or paper ones based on the level of mess. When I have a highly tangled knot of a problem, I generally use paper to start.
- When I start with paper, I often transfer over to digital once I have the first round of sorting done. That way, I can take my ideas with me and continue to adapt the plan.
- I particularly like Cardflow+ with the Apple pencil on my iPad because I can doodle pictures and write words on my cards. The entire process reminds me very much of storyboarding a plot.
Take it to the Next Level:
I’ve found that the more I list and sort, the better I become at categorizing. Also, I’ve become more daring about the sorts of problems I’ll take on, knowing that I have a way to break down the challenges into steps. What kind of challenge might you use index cards or an app such as Cardflow+ to help you tackle?
