Getting Things Done
14 years ago
So recently, I read about Pixar and their process. Pixar - lots of talented people, putting out lots of great work. And here's how they do it: start by being willing to suck.
In the process of making the film, we reviewed the material every day. Now this is counter-intuitive for a lot of people. Most people—imagine this: you can’t draw very well, but even if you can draw very well, suppose you come in and you’ve got to put together animation or drawings and show it to a world-class, famous animator. Well, you don’t want to show something that is weak, or poor, so you want to hold off until you get it right. And the trick is to actually stop that behavior. We show it every day, when it’s incomplete. If everybody does it, every day, then you get over the embarrassment. And when you get over the embarrassment, you’re more creative.
As I say, that’s not obvious to people, but starting down that path helped everything we did. Show it in its incomplete form. There’s another advantage and that is, when you’re done, you’re done. That might seem silly, except a lot of people work on something and they want to hold it and want to show it, say two weeks later, to get done. Only it’s never right. So they’re not done. So you need to go through this iterative process, and the trick was to do it more frequently to change the dynamics.
So hey - that's a good model to follow. I have a new goal: content, posted here, every weekend. Even if it sucks. Getting used to showing your work gets you feedback, and gets you used to your work being perfectible.
In the process of making the film, we reviewed the material every day. Now this is counter-intuitive for a lot of people. Most people—imagine this: you can’t draw very well, but even if you can draw very well, suppose you come in and you’ve got to put together animation or drawings and show it to a world-class, famous animator. Well, you don’t want to show something that is weak, or poor, so you want to hold off until you get it right. And the trick is to actually stop that behavior. We show it every day, when it’s incomplete. If everybody does it, every day, then you get over the embarrassment. And when you get over the embarrassment, you’re more creative.
As I say, that’s not obvious to people, but starting down that path helped everything we did. Show it in its incomplete form. There’s another advantage and that is, when you’re done, you’re done. That might seem silly, except a lot of people work on something and they want to hold it and want to show it, say two weeks later, to get done. Only it’s never right. So they’re not done. So you need to go through this iterative process, and the trick was to do it more frequently to change the dynamics.
So hey - that's a good model to follow. I have a new goal: content, posted here, every weekend. Even if it sucks. Getting used to showing your work gets you feedback, and gets you used to your work being perfectible.

Relee
~relee
Neat stuff. I hadn't really thought about that.

Krinn
~krinn
OP
Good luck implementing it. :)

buni
~buni
One of the original reasons behind the Nail was to force a regular schedule for creative work, to force myself over the "you suck" period. And, frankly, I think the improvement from CoM to BW to BoS is visible. The next one will be even better. And yes, it's already in planning.

Krinn
~krinn
OP
Yeah, that definitely seems to have worked out pretty well for you. :) Good luck with the Next Big Thing.

Desertfox2231
~desertfox2231
I think this journal has really gotten me motivated.

Krinn
~krinn
OP
Hooray, I'm glad! I can point you towards lots of other productivity porn if you want. :3

Desertfox2231
~desertfox2231
... I think would like this in many ways

Krinn
~krinn
OP
One of my favorites: "You eventually learn that true priorities are like arms; if you think you have more than a couple, you're either lying or crazy."

trishkitten
~trishkitten
Or you've built up a mental-somatechnical assemblage that extends your reach and your capability to prioritize. *kittygrin* Those robot arms are pretty heavy, but for me, they're worth the cost.

Azazial
~azazial
I wish I could fave journals.

Krinn
~krinn
OP
Glad to help, kitty.