How Artists Work
0307273601
Mason Currey
Notes
I always began my task by reading the work of the day before…
After dinner, Freud went for a walk around Vienna’s Ringstrasse. This was not a leisurely stroll, however; his son, Martin, recalled, “My father marched at terrific speed.”
I pump the water from the well. I chop the wood and cook the food. These simple acts make man simple; and how difficult it is to be simple!
I have acquired the reputation over the years of being prolix when in fact I am measured against people who simply don’t work as hard or as long.
He keeps another, mirror-image studio in a remote wooded location along the California coast, where he goes to work for short periods.
On his walks, he carried a pen and ink to record his thoughts.
…behave rather as dogs do when they retire with a bone; they depart in a secretive manner and you do not see them again for an odd half hour.
“Before setting about the pleasant task,” his brother noted, “Pyotr Ilich always hastened to get rid of the unpleasant.”
It’s always a search for the uninterrupted three- or four-hour stretch.
Pritchett wrote longhand on an old pastry board arranged across the arms of his desk chair, his papers held in place by a binder clip.
Thoughts
Habits for: routine, reflection, exercise, time-blocking, focus, and steady progress.
Review work either right away or next day in order to spur on more activity.
Use a quota as a means to develop discipline and get your creative engine warm.
Brisk walks clear the mind and allow you to work through problems.
Retreats – private seclusion – to disconnect. Keep activities simple.
Develop a routine or marker for each endeavor.
Work blasts of 3-4 hours is norm. Mornings or nights is common.
Habits for: routine, reflection, exercise, time-blocking, focus, and steady progress.
Creatives clearly delineate how they split their day up.
Incorporate a habit into your everyday life (just one) that allows for some quiet personal time to reflect.
Bill Gates “Think Week”