Train, perform, recover
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Some readers of this newsletter ask me why I publish on a two-season cycle.
Instead of simply publishing on an unbroken two-week schedule, CreativeBoost goes on hiatus in the summer and over the Christmas season.
There are two reasons why I do this.
First, there’s the practical one. My metrics show that people don’t read newsletters all that much while they are on holidays. So why add more to everyone’s inbox, right?
But there’s a deeper reason and it’s one that goes to the heart of what it means to be an independent creative pro in today’s markeplace.
The work cycle in this business is not a Monday to Friday, 9-to-5 proposition. Instead it’s more like what professional athletes do: train, perform and recover.
I’ve used that approach in my work as a consultant for nearly 20 years and it extends to this newsletter.
Twice a year, I take time off from writing it. And when I do, I work very hard at not thinking about it.
Yes, it comes with a risk. Some readers are prone to unsubscribe to newsletters that don’t stick to a singular schedule.
I’m ok with that. Not only because my readership over the years has remained remarkably loyal, but also because quite frankly this way of working serves me the best.
And like you, I’m interested in outcomes.
A few years ago, a productivity study was conducted on elite musicians. It found that most of them engaged in a cycle of intense work followed by breaks. Doing so, they were better able to engage in deliberate practice: successfully accomplishing highly focused activities in clusters of time rather than muddling through on a schedule.
That approach makes sense to me. Taking breaks has the effect of rebooting my thinking and gives me the opportunity to come back later feeling refreshed.
It’s consistent with advice I give to others, too, when working to solve complicated problems: allow for simmer time.
Give yourself permission to do this with your own work. Step away—even just for a few minutes—and work on something else. Watch how it influences the way you think.
When you’re paid to be creative, you’re paid to solve problems in new and unexpected ways. You owe it to yourself to have a productivity framework that works for you rather than against you.
Very best, Patrick
P.S. Thank you to all of you who kindly forward this email to a friend. It helps me a lot. Do that now.
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