There is no rush…

April 12, 2023April 15, 2023 Neera

Sprints are great to build a habit and to bring momentum, but real achievements happen when you are consistent.

The American Navy Seal has a saying — Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.

Long-distance marathon runners know that. They learn to pace themselves. The way they pace themselves is by understanding their bodies during the training. They are taught to focus on their heart rate while running . To gauge their perceived exertion while running. And to slow down appropriately. They need to be able to run without huffing and puffing.

During training, new runners are asked to run a mile as fast as they can. That is their magic mile. When they are running long distances,
they are asked to run 2 to 3 minutes slower than their magic mile. That way they conserve their energy. Pacing means “undershooting” your best performance. It means doing things without exertion.

How to apply that to writing?

Find out your peak performance, then slow down from there.

A cheetah can run 76 mph but covers only 4 miles a day. Elephants can run only at 15 mph, but walk about 50 miles a day. They are in no rush. They know how to pace themselves.

Schedule Time For Exploring

April 8, 2023April 9, 2023 Neera

I first learned about the concept of exploring and exploiting from Austin Kleon, who in turn learned it from Derek Thompson’s reports on research into what causes “hot streaks” in careers in The Atlantic. Thompson breaks down the complex idea into three words, “Explore, then exploit.”

As creators, we are either in exploring mode (reading, listening, learning, growing) or exploiting mode (writing articles and books, teaching courses, creating products). We usually have systems for exploiting, but not for exploring.

I have good systems in place for exploiting (ie, writing articles and books) but I have nothing for exploring. My exploring is pretty haphazard, based on whim, and whenever time permits.

I need to schedule a regular time for exploration.

My friend, illustrator Sue Clancy of A.M. Sketching sits each morning with a cup of tea and her sketchbook and sketches. Nothing in particular, whatever fancies her at the moment. And with her sketches, she usually has very insightful comments. Austin Kleon also has a daily exploration process of writing and drawing in his notebook. Then he publishes them.

I need to incorporate sketching and daily publishing into my routine. Both sketching and reading are forms of exploration and publishing brings accountability.

Sketching is crucial for creativity. It keeps your hand moving and hence engages your creative brain. That’s why Lynda Barry insists on “keep moving your hand.”

We focus too much on what we create rather than what we think through the act of creating. I have been journaling for twenty years; I am still exploring the same ideas. It takes a lot of time for things to come to fruition.

What we need is a system for collecting things and a system for going back through them. My website is a repository for my published work (exploitation). And my Knowledge Management System is a repository for my exploratory work.

For people who are thinking of becoming writers, it’s a rough road. Learning to write is a process that goes on throughout your lifespan. Exploration is a very important part of your daily schedule. The ratio of exploration to exploitation needs to be at least one-to-one. If not, two to one. You need to do an insane amount of reading to get good ideas to percolate in your head. Stephen King writes for three hours in the mornings, then he reads for the whole afternoon. His famous quote is, “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time to write.”

There is a lot of garbage out there. Part of a creative person’s job is to become a creative refinery. When you are exploring, you are making connections, fusing ideas, refining, and explaining. So I think part of our job is to make sense of all that we consume and pull out the good stuff. Dolly Parton said, “Figure out who you are and do it on purpose.”

Writing is tough, very tough. You can’t sustain it for a long time if you are not having fun. And exploring is fun. One way to bring fun back to your writing is to schedule time for exploration. Preferably every day.

Feynman’s twelve problems approach

March 24, 2023May 7, 2023 Neera

Richard Feynman was a Nobel Prize-winning physicist. He is best known for his groundbreaking discoveries in Theoretical Physics and Quantum Mechanics for which he received Nobel Prize in 1965.

As a child, he already showed a talent for engineering, once building a functioning home alarm system out of spare parts while his parents were out running errands.

He was also known for his wide-ranging, eclectic tastes. During his colorful lifetime, he enthusiastically traveled around the world exploring other cultures and giving lectures. He learned to play the bongo and the conga drums well enough to play with orchestras. He wrote half a dozen books and played a pivotal role on the commission that investigated the Challenger space shuttle disaster

How could one person make so many contributions across so many areas?

Feynman revealed his strategy in an interview:

“You have to keep a dozen of your favorite problems constantly present in your mind, although by and large, they will lay in a dormant state. Every time you hear or read a new trick or a new result, test it against each of your twelve problems to see whether it helps. Every once in a while there will be a hit and people will say, “How did he do it? He must be a genius!”

This cross-disciplinary approach allowed him to make connections across seemingly unrelated subjects while continuing to follow his sense of curiosity.

In the book Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman James Gleick, tells the story of how Feynman once took inspiration for his physics from an accident at dinner:

” . . . he was eating in the student cafeteria when someone tossed a dinner plate into the air—a Cornell cafeteria plate with the university seal imprinted on one rim—and in the instant of its flight he experienced what he long afterward considered an epiphany. As the plate spun, it wobbled. Because of the insignia, he could see that the spin and the wobble were not quite in synchrony. Yet just in that instant, it seemed to him – or was it his physicist’s intuition? – that the two rotations were related.

After working out the problem, Feynman discovered a 2-to-1 ratio between the plate’s wobble and spin, a neat relationship that suggested a deeper underlying principle at work.

That simple observation became the basis of his research into rotation into the equations underlying rotation informing the work that ultimately led to his receiving the Nobel Prize.

When a fellow physicist and mentor asked what the use of such insight was, Feynman responded: “It doesn’t have any importance . . . I don’t care whether a thing has importance. Isn’t it fun?”

He was following his intuition and curiosity. Feynman’s unique approach encouraged him to follow his interests wherever they might lead.

He posed questions and constantly scanned for solutions to long-standing problems in his reading, conversations, and everyday life. When he found one, he could make a connection that looked to others like a flash of unparalleled brilliance.

I have adopted Feynman’s approach to having a list of open-ended questions. Below is the list of 12 areas I have always been interested in.

Writing
Creativity
Productivity
Learning
Marketing
Storytelling
Sketching
Fiction
Travel
Artificial Intelligence
Human Potential
Personal Knowledge Management

I have now created an overarching open-ended question about them. These questions have made my reading more intentional.

How to learn and teach the art and craft of writing?
What is creativity and how to unleash it?
How to be more productive and still live a balanced life?
How to learn fast and retain what I learn?
How to market myself and my work?
How to master storytelling?
How to convert conceptual ideas into sketches and how to sketch better?
How to master fiction writing?

How to travel deliberately?
How to embed artificial intelligence in my work and life to help me achieve more.
How to be extraordinary and help others to maximize their potential?
How can I consolidate all the information I have accumulated and make it readily available to me when I need it?

Surprisingly, it is the last area, “personal knowledge management,” will make it possible to find answers to all the above questions.

For the past two years, I have been building my personal knowledge management system. It is helping me write consistently and prolifically. Now I have added another layer of sophistication to it – Feynman’s Twelve Problems Approach.

It will make my research and notes taking more intentional.

Although the questions might seem mundane but they are relevant to so many people. If I continue to research them and share what I learn, I will not help myself but many of my readers.

Simplification vs optimization

March 11, 2023May 7, 2023 Neera

In his book “How To Fail At Everything And Still Win Big,” Adam Scott, the creator of Dilbert comics, distinguishes people into two categories: simplifiers and optimizers.

Simplifiers choose the easiest way to accomplish a task, even if some extra effort might have produced a better outcome. In contrast, optimizers search for the very best solution, even if the added complexity increases the chances of unexpected problems.

Adam describes himself as a simplifier, while he thinks his wife is a world-class optimizer. To illustrate his point, he tells a story of how his wife added ten tasks to be done on the way to a simple dinner at a nearby restaurant, followed by a movie. They end up being late for dinner and missing the movie (although this is an exaggeration to make the point).

I must admit I have been an optimizer all my life, finishing ten tasks before leaving the house for a social event, which makes us late every time and annoys my husband.

However, optimizing can be exhausting and stress-inducing. On the other hand, simplification frees up time and energy, making everything else a little bit easier.

Simplification is generally the strategy of people who view the world in terms of systems. Simple systems are usually better because complicated systems have more opportunities for failure. Human nature is such that we are good at following simple systems and not so good at following complicated systems. The most optimized diet plan or fitness plan will also be the most complicated. But a few people have enough willpower in reserve to follow complicated plans.

Simplification is often the difference between doing something you know you should do and keep putting it off. You don’t mind brushing your teeth because it is simple. But you keep putting off flossing them because it is tedious. That’s why dentists often suggest flossing one tooth. That sounds simple and you don’t mind starting. But of course, when you start,t you end up doing all.

After reading Adam Scott’s book, I have started simplifying things in my life. I have shrunk my daily “To Do” list to only two items a day. My whole focus now is to do them. Everything else can wait. If they get done, fine. Otherwise, they will get done eventually. Someday. And even if they don’t, no big deal.

In my quest to manage my weight, I have tried several diets and Weight Watchers plans. But I didn’t stick with any. They were too complicated. But since I started Intermittent Fasting sticking, it is no problem. I have my dinner before eight pm and breakfast at mid-day. There is no need to count calories or watch what I eat. Over time, my body has gotten used to tolerating hunger, and I am not putting everything tempting I see into my mouth.

As far as writing is concerned, I have limited myself to writing 1000 words a day. That too in four 15-minute intervals. And I time myself. As soon as they are done, I am free to do whatever I want to do.

The same goes for sketching. I intentionally don’t include any background in Ms. Jolly’s cartoons. It is a huge timesaver, and I can create them in under one hour. I don’t think people expect much from my cartoons other than it brings a bit of lightness to my message.

My newsletter, too, has simplified over the years. I started with writing industry news, training module, homework, and whatnot. But I have learned what people like the most is the main story. And that is the bit I enjoy writing the most. So most of the newsletter issues are vanilla versions. Now and then, if I have time, I add a bit of sprinkle to it in the form of a book or other newsletter recommendations.

I have simplified my exercise routine as well. Gym class at seven thirty am and walking at four pm five days a week. There are no ifs, buts, or thinking involved.

If the cost of failure is high, simple tasks are the best because they are easier to manage and control. Once you have success, optimizing begins to have more value. I have a simple strategy to write books – I write the first draft in ten days. If the idea is not good, I will know within a few days. I then drop it and move on to the next one.

If your day is full of ‘things to do,’ and you are stressed all the time, simplification might be just what you need.

You may not have the option of choosing simplicity, especially if you have a thousand things to complete in a day. But it’s a good idea to have an overarching plan to move towards simple systems as opportunities allow.

You can chip away at the complexity of your life over time. Simplicity is a worthy long-term goal. That’s how you will free your personal energy so you can concentrate it where you need it.

A Single Habit That Helped Me Write Four Books, 500+ Articles And Over A Million Words

March 10, 2023April 9, 2023 Neera

500+ Articles And Over A Million Words

It’s my simple habit of writing a journal every day.

I wake up at six am, brush my teeth, and then crawl back into bed with my favorite pen and journal in hand. For twenty to thirty minutes, I write uninterrupted.

When I was working full-time, I didn’t have the luxury of journaling every day. Instead, I would try to write for 15 minutes on weekend mornings. I cherished that time with my journal so much that I started looking for spare moments during the day to jot down my thoughts.

Those moments became precious to me. They helped me process my thoughts, connect with my emotions, and gain insights from my experiences.

There comes a stage when journaling becomes an obsession.

Since becoming a full-time writer in January 2019, I haven’t missed a single day of journaling. It has become somewhat of an obsession, but it allows me to capture fleeting thoughts before they vanish like a bubble in thin air.

Whether the thoughts are good or bad doesn’t matter. The practice of capturing thoughts makes me aware of them. Now, I keep a notebook handy at all times, no matter where I go in my home. You never know when a good thought will appear, and I don’t want to miss it.

Some might see it as an obsession, but I think of it as a game.

Did I catch it? Yeah! I did.

Oh! What was that I thought of this morning while reading the newspaper? It was something related to…

I can’t even remember what was it related to. Bugger. All I could remember was that it was very exciting. I should have noted it on my phone. Now it is gone. Forever.

The true benefit of journaling lies in the expression of thoughts.

As you fill notebook after notebook, you’ll find that you’re better able to articulate your ideas. This is a moment to be proud of, as few people ever achieve this level of skill in their lifetime. For many, writing is a daunting task, and the mere thought of composing an article, story, or even a letter can be overwhelming.

In my early days of journaling, I wrote with a pencil so I could easily erase and refine my sentences. It took me three years to graduate from pencil to pen, so if you’re writing with a pen, you’re ahead of where I was.

Fluency is the ultimate reward.

Once you’re confident in expressing your thoughts on paper, fluency will come naturally. Soon, you’ll be typing so fast that your fingers hurt because your thoughts are flowing too rapidly to keep up with.

When I reached this stage, I cried. There was a time when I would sit with a pen and paper, unsure of what to write. Now, I have so many ideas and stories to share that I can’t keep up.

As a writer, everything becomes worth writing about. Simple anecdotes hold captivating stories, and mundane details reveal unexpected insights. When you’ve reached this point in your writing, you’re not far from achieving your goals. It might take you years (like it did for me), or it could happen in just a few months, but when it does, you’ll have discovered the joy and satisfaction that comes from writing.

The result of fluency in writing is a wealth of material.

At this point, you will have accumulated a substantial amount of material that can be turned into articles, stories, and even books. You can either pull content from your journals or start anew.

However, it’s important to note that your thoughts and perspectives may have evolved over time, so re-writing a piece can be more beneficial than digging up something from years ago. With your newfound expression of thought and writing fluency, you have a better chance of producing a high-quality piece.

But, don’t dispose of your journals just yet. They contain a part of you and serve as a reminder of the challenges you faced in the past and how you overcame them. I personally find inspiration in my old journals and use them to generate stories and ideas for my work.

So, how can you take your journal writing habit to the next level?

For me, reflective prompts have been instrumental in unlocking my creativity and critical thinking skills.

They help me explore my thoughts and emotions, and provide me with fresh insights and perspectives for my writing.

Here are some reflective prompts to try:

What were the most significant events or moments of my day, and how did they impact me emotionally, physically, or mentally?
What did I learn today, and how can I apply that knowledge to improve my life or help others?
What are the most pressing challenges I am currently facing, and how can I overcome them?
What are my goals for the day, week, or month, and how can I make progress towards achieving them?
What are my strengths, and how can I leverage them to achieve my goals and help others?
What are my weaknesses, and how can I work on improving them to become a better version of myself?
What are my values, and how can I align my actions with those values to live a more meaningful and fulfilling life?
What are the most significant lessons I have learned in life, and how have they impacted me or helped me grow as a person?
What are the things that bring me joy and fulfillment, and how can I incorporate more of them into my daily life?
What are my biggest fears or insecurities, and how can I work on overcoming them to live a more confident and fulfilling life?
How have I grown and changed as a person in the past year, and what experiences or challenges contributed to that growth?
What are some habits or routines that have had a positive impact on my life, and how can I continue to cultivate those habits?
What are some patterns or behaviors that have held me back, and how can I work on breaking those patterns to move forward?
What are some things I am grateful for in my life, what are the various ways I can pay forward.
What are some obstacles I have overcome in the past, and how can I use those experiences to build resilience and strength for future challenges?
What are my relationsip with others are like and how can I improve them?
What are some things I am passionate about, and how can I use that passion to make a positive impact in the world?
What self-care needs I am ignoring at the moment and how can I prioritize my well-being to live a more balanced life?
How can better handle the current situation? What coping mechanisms can I use to manage these challenges in a healthy way?
What are some goals or dreams that I have been putting off, and what steps can I take to make progress toward them, today?

Want to take your writing to another level? Subscribe to my weekly newsletter.

Want To Build Good Habits, Start With Routines

December 21, 2022January 6, 2023 Neera

As I sat in my bed, earphones in my ears, listing to the calming music, I did my morning meditation.

Five minutes later, I opened my eyes, grabbed my journal and my favorite pen, and started writing the thoughts and the ideas I received in that short meditative state.

Twenty minutes later, after following an invigorating, productive, and short morning routine, I was ready to face the day.

I also had enough material to write an article later in the day.

The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine — Mike Murdock

We need routines.

When I wake up in the morning, I brush my teeth and then sit in bed and meditate. That is my morning routine. It starts my day.

When I start working, I open my computer and check my emails and Slack messages. That’s my work routine. It helps me get into a work mindset.

We need routines to guide us.

Journaling is one of the several routines I have developed to get me straight into the writer’s mindset. Writing in a journal each morning helps me collect my thoughts so that I can become more intentional with my time.

Ending my day with a personal daily debrief in the daily diary is a routine that helps me evaluate what I accomplished in the day.

In all these routines, I learn how to be efficient with my time and how to match what I do with what I care about.

The opposite of routine is chaos.

Chaos is a deep rut leading nowhere.

It is also known as bad habits such as giving up to distractions and procrastination.

It is letting your monkey mind take over and lead you in the wrong direction to reach unimportant goals.

When we feel stressed, tired, or derailed, a routine helps us get back on course.

“The right routine gives us the equivalent of an energy rebate. Instead of spending our limited supply of discipline on making the same decision again and again, embedding our decisions into a routine allows us to channel that discipline toward some other essential activity.”

There’s a sense of well-being that comes when we complete tasks.

Routines help us form habits.

Think about driving a car. You check and adjust your mirrors, put your feet on the brake, start the car, and release the handbrake. You do all these steps without noticing because they have become habits.

Habits form when we follow a predetermined routine.

The best routines lead to the best results.

Routines set a tone for developing good habits that last your entire life.

A good habit means you’re driving in the fast lane. Buckle up and hold on for the ride! You’ll reach your destination quickly and efficiently.

A bad habit means you’re in the slow land or, worse, stuck on the side of the road. Constant distractions and derailments keep you from making progress.

The more details of our daily life we can hand over to the routines, the more capacity our mind will have to do the proper work.

A good routine is not only a source of great comfort and stability, but it’s also the platform from which stimulating and fulfilling work is possible. — Ryan Holiday

You can follow the routine at any time or place during the day. I write my journal even on holidays. And if for some reason, I can’t write it in the morning, I will write at the first opportunity I get during the day. Because journaling has become a habit.

This month I started publishing an article a day. I am still setting up the routine. Some days I get it done early in the morning. On other days, life interferes, and I have to stay up late at night writing. Slowly, a routine will form, and I will be able to perform this task like several others without thinking much about it.

Back in mid-June 2021, I wrote and published a book in one week. That was an act of extreme productivity. But it was not sustainable.

Small changes to build a routine that leads to forming habits are more sustainable.

Like John Maxwell said, “You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret to your success is found in your daily routine.”

Build routines and turn them into habits.