writing

Don’t Stop even when distracted

| jaylazzo

This method works for Elon Musk. He works on several things at the same time. When he gets tired, he shifts, then goes back. Maybe five things; I think that could be a max. I tried it, and I think it can work for me. It’s another way of resting. The point is to get things done. Rest allows one to get things done.

I used to draw everyday for two years. I worked on more than one drawing and learned to draw fast. I’m became less intimidated by drawing even complex stuff. The trick is to do work from big shapes to small beginning with the most interesting subject and then adding details, all without stopping. At the sketch stage, it also means not lifting the pen from the paper, drawing even while looking at the object.

I follow a similar technique with writing.,

Why am I bringing this up? Because it positively impacts work. I just need to be a tad more productive per day to be much more productive in the long run. And I should not be stopping projects! I should be writing an health technology assessment (HTA) report, an imaging flow cytometry paper, other stuff, without stopping. I should be managing the school, setting visions, strategizing, talking to people, putting the HTA and the Cell Society (PSCB) work into it as well, without stopping. Sometimes I can compartmentalize, telling myself that this day and hour I will only do PSCB or HTA or my research. I should be capable, when appropriate, of doing several things, keeping totally focused for a length of time on whatever it is I’m focused on at the moment. At some point I will get tired and I will appreciate the rest provided by the other projects. And if I walk, it is to manage by walking around.

It all works for the greater good of all. I know it worked for me with weightlifting, drawing and guitar. I could fall into overworking some activities, but I think I’ll know when I’m not giving sufficient attention to some. Everything should work out in the end.

Conclusion: it’s not important how I got to where I am, but how I work now that I’m here. That’s protection against lack of talent and energy. I’m not the best manager or researcher or teacher, but maybe when we combine any two I might turn out to be quite OK. What else can explain the fact that I still have a job?

Still, there are some things that I probably should work on that will improve my chances of growing in all those areas. I’m trying to be productive by NOT THINKING. That is: to fully focus not by thinking, but by doing. That’s like not lifting the pencil from the page. When I plan, things slow down and sometimes stay slow. There are times when planning speeds things eventually, but that’s usually when I plan the day itself, or when I’m planning a complex procedure. Still, even when planning, the focus is not so much on thinking while thinking but thinking while doing. I guess that’s what all the productive people do.

And it’s what I hope to do. Perhaps this would involve some kind of kinesthetics. Some of my colleagues would stand up, talk louder, say jokes. I could walk around while I let discussions take place at the table. As long as I’m doing something, maybe even if it is not obviously productive. The whole hour or day can be viewed this way. I’m typing now, but I’m also thinking. And I think better. It’s like a conversation, which often leads to good insights, just because I have those conversations. In big matters or in small, writing, conversation, walking around, performing procedures lead to insights because one thinks while doing.

And praying. True prayer is not planning, or daydreaming, but conversation. Praying while writing is like writing to God. That could be true for activities other than writing. One can pray by working.

Whatever I do, many of them are beautiful; more often, they are mediocre, and sometimes they are bad. But that’s not so bad. The more I fail the more I succeed.

So, the real point is to keep working.

(21 Jan 2020)

Deep Work

| jaylazzo

How much time do I think is deep work?

  1. Writing, 2h/day on weekdays
  2. Reading, 1 article/day for 1h/article at least
  3. Cultural, 1h/day everyday

Why deep work?

The ability to work undistracted for 2h at a stretch is superpower. Furthermore, it’s beyond what most people can do. This means, one who can has a distinct advantage at work.

Writing and reading are closely related. Reading scientific articles is necessary to stay on top of one’s field.

Cultural reading, i.e., novels and non-fiction not related to one’s work, mainly give pleasure. The classics are most suitable for learning good English, for exercising the imagination, and for learning models on how to deal with people. Non-fiction books are excellent for all kinds of models. With an app like Evie I can “read” while painting or driving.

But the real WHY of deep work is to learn the language of the world, expressed through science and art and through work itself. Thought and action, not all thought as armchair theoreticians believe. But work has to be concentrated for it to be productive and for it to significantly affect one’s mind and morals. Even when I’m enjoying a leisure activity such as reading cultural books, painting, or music, I wish there to be absolute no other thing on my mind.

The real job here is the focused attention. It’s like prayer, an activity of the spirit. It is prayer, and it is meant to be a prayer that involves no other conversational partner. When I read, especially, I’m conversing with another writer. When I paint I converse with the subject.

Why mix painting and reading? Because they are part of the same conversation. Painting is one side of the brain, reading is the other side, at least the way I see it. Another way I see it is that working with one’s hands improves cognitive skills. Even a light activity like cultural reading that does not involve deep thought is deep work. Bring these learnings to conversations with real people and one will see why reading has often been recommended as an exercise to improve interpersonal communication in general.

As to music, isn’t that hand work? And it’s something I truly love.

Deep work is done alone. So what about class work? Giving a lecture is not deep work. Deep work is also creative. Thus, editing or checking papers is not deep work. But they can be meditative.

The goal of deep work is that for at least 4 hours in my day I am in total concentration. The conversations, lectures, and other matters in between are not only rest, but the application of the fruits of deep work.

(QC, 3 April 2021)