43 Folders

Back to Work

Merlin’s weekly podcast with Dan Benjamin. We talk about creativity, independence, and making things you love.

Join us via RSS, iTunes, or at 5by5.tv.

”What’s 43 Folders?”
43Folders.com is Merlin Mann’s website about finding the time and attention to do your best creative work.

Disk maintenance small boost to productivity?

Whenever I run DiskWarrior (starting-up from a CD), do an Applejack repair, or otherwise cause some event that renders my PowerBook temporarily unusable, I often find a few things happen:

  1. I'm initially stressed-out, although I soon move to feeling kind of relaxed -- like someone called a snow day on the morning of the Chemistry final.
  2. I'm drawn to several small (truly neglected) chores related to my immediate physical area -- cleaning off my desk, returning file folders, or taking out the recycling.
  3. Forced to write in either a notebook or at my girlfriend's Mac, I often end up drafting something quickly, easily, and occasionally in a style I don't think I write in.
  4. I don't miss the computer that much after 2 minutes; but I do get itchy after a couple hours.

There's any of a dozen reasons for all these, but I suspect there's commonality.

My "mode" was disrupted, so on the one hand, I don't have access to Quicksilver, tab sets, bookmarks, scripts, and all the other things I've added to make my Mac more suited to my style (and theoretically faster for me to use). But, by the same token, forcing myself to abandon all that recursive familiarity winnows my distractions in some novel ways.

I imagine I'm not the only one for whom this is true; I know Danny has at least one other account on his PowerBook for interruption-free writing mode. I've always loved writing in cafes -- I get to drink coffee, plus my brain seems to run a little differently when others are around.

I dunno. Nothing earth-shattering to note, except that while constant modal change absolutely kills my day, an occasional shift can be just the smack I need to get something good happening. I wonder if a really hot-rodded setup sometimes serves just to help me blow time and practice bad habits more efficiently than I would without them.

All I know is I enjoy the change, and I often return to the freshly-maintained PowerBook feeling more energized than I did when I left it. Maybe it's just the unexpected "sunshine" and "movement."

You ever get anything like this?

mkb's picture

Artists have used this to...

Artists have used this to their advantage for a long time. Some bands will all move into a rented house for a month to record a new album. Songwriters have been known to leave the band, home studio, and reams of MIDI gear behind to hole up in a room with just a notebook and a piano.

Lately I've been leaving my trusty Canon A95 behind and shooting with a cheesy toy camera or even a disposable modded with clear nail polish.

It is interesting to see the idea of context shifts and deliberate imposition of limitations making its way from the artistic world to the world of office-style productivity.

 
EXPLORE 43Folders THE GOOD STUFF

Popular
Today

Popular
Classics

An Oblique Strategy:
Honor thy error as a hidden intention


STAY IN THE LOOP:

Subscribe with Google Reader

Subscribe on Netvibes

Add to Technorati Favorites

Subscribe on Pageflakes

Add RSS feed

The Podcast Feed

Cranking

Merlin used to crank. He’s not cranking any more.

This is an essay about family, priorities, and Shakey’s Pizza, and it’s probably the best thing he’s written. »

Scared Shitless

Merlin’s scared. You’re scared. Everybody is scared.

This is the video of Merlin’s keynote at Webstock 2011. The one where he cried. You should watch it. »