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Essential reading on this topic: "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield https://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Through-Creative-Battles/dp/1936891026/ https://www.amazon

by mikece 8y ago

Essential reading on this topic: "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield https://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Through-Creative-Battles/dp/1936891026/ https://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Through-Creative-Battles/dp/1...

Someone1234 8y ago
Please could you explain a little how that helped you?
- mikece 8y ago
  The key takeaway for me was: you will complete none of the jobs on which you don't work. If you don't feel like getting started, do something anyway. Just do something, no matter how small, and then do another thing. The hard part is getting started: once there is momentum then getting things done follows.
  - rainbowmverse 8y ago
    This is like saying "you get to Mars by starting the trip." The advice is sound, but doesn't help with getting off the ground. It's the kind of thing someone who already has little or no trouble starting buys on a poster for their workspace.
- svat 8y ago
  I'm not the person you're replying to, but I find The War of Art very relevant, and let me explain how it helped me. The book is about the struggle of doing things that one cares about: writer's block and the like. It puts in very clear (if metaphorical) detail the nature of this inner struggle (what the author calls Resistance), has some description of the many pitfalls, and gives a bunch of tricks for beating it. Mostly, if you find you relate to the description of Resistance in the book, then framing the struggle in the way the author does can be inspirational. I have read the book two times so far, and each time it has helped me for a little while at least — until the demon of Resistance conquers me again. (Maybe the trick is to just read it every few months…)
  - raywu 8y ago
    Thanks for this explanation
tonyedgecombe 8y ago
This has to be the most disappointing book I've read this decade, I came away with nothing actionable. It was like reading the advice "just eat less" as a way to loose weight.
- donquichotte 8y ago
  If you crave for further disappointing books, I can also recommend "Do the Work" by the same author. Instead of actually doing the work, I read the book, and it hasn't helped me a bit.
- jonnybgood 8y ago
  It had the opposite effect on me. It's not so much about what is actionable, but a way of seeing. It opened my eyes to an interesting way in approaching my work that I've never thought of before.
jayliew 8y ago
I read the same author's other book ("Do The Work") and I did find it interesting. I'll look into this one.

by mikece 8y ago

Someone1234 8y ago

Please could you explain a little how that helped you?

mikece 8y ago
The key takeaway for me was: you will complete none of the jobs on which you don't work. If you don't feel like getting started, do something anyway. Just do something, no matter how small, and then do another thing. The hard part is getting started: once there is momentum then getting things done follows.
- rainbowmverse 8y ago
  This is like saying "you get to Mars by starting the trip." The advice is sound, but doesn't help with getting off the ground. It's the kind of thing someone who already has little or no trouble starting buys on a poster for their workspace.
svat 8y ago
I'm not the person you're replying to, but I find The War of Art very relevant, and let me explain how it helped me. The book is about the struggle of doing things that one cares about: writer's block and the like. It puts in very clear (if metaphorical) detail the nature of this inner struggle (what the author calls Resistance), has some description of the many pitfalls, and gives a bunch of tricks for beating it. Mostly, if you find you relate to the description of Resistance in the book, then framing the struggle in the way the author does can be inspirational. I have read the book two times so far, and each time it has helped me for a little while at least — until the demon of Resistance conquers me again. (Maybe the trick is to just read it every few months…)
- raywu 8y ago
  Thanks for this explanation

tonyedgecombe 8y ago

This has to be the most disappointing book I've read this decade, I came away with nothing actionable. It was like reading the advice "just eat less" as a way to loose weight.

donquichotte 8y ago
If you crave for further disappointing books, I can also recommend "Do the Work" by the same author. Instead of actually doing the work, I read the book, and it hasn't helped me a bit.
jonnybgood 8y ago
It had the opposite effect on me. It's not so much about what is actionable, but a way of seeing. It opened my eyes to an interesting way in approaching my work that I've never thought of before.

jayliew 8y ago

I read the same author's other book ("Do The Work") and I did find it interesting. I'll look into this one.