Write? Write. Sleep? Sleep. Read? Read. Don't fight it.(sivers.org)
sivers.org
Write? Write. Sleep? Sleep. Read? Read. Don't fight it.
http://sivers.org/dont-fight-it
50 comments
I don't consider Carmack to be an expert on creativity, of all things.
His game ideas can be summarized thusly: DOOM.
The best id game, the original Quake, had both John Romero and American McGee as designers, among others, AND Trent Reznor on sound effects.
Without them, id did... DOOM 3.
What Carmack is really referring to is the gruntwork of things like writing multiple rendering pipelines to support the nightmare hodgepodge of consumer 3D hardware, trying out WELL-KNOWN rendering techniques (invented for film) in games as hardware improves, and so forth, which sometimes is just tedium and sometimes requires hackery like fast stencil shadows/sqrt/bit-twiddling tricks. Trying a bunch of methods to see what works on limited hardware is a process of discovery.
You cannot brute-force creative ideas in general in that manner.
His game ideas can be summarized thusly: DOOM.
The best id game, the original Quake, had both John Romero and American McGee as designers, among others, AND Trent Reznor on sound effects.
Without them, id did... DOOM 3.
What Carmack is really referring to is the gruntwork of things like writing multiple rendering pipelines to support the nightmare hodgepodge of consumer 3D hardware, trying out WELL-KNOWN rendering techniques (invented for film) in games as hardware improves, and so forth, which sometimes is just tedium and sometimes requires hackery like fast stencil shadows/sqrt/bit-twiddling tricks. Trying a bunch of methods to see what works on limited hardware is a process of discovery.
You cannot brute-force creative ideas in general in that manner.
He is an expert on creative problem solving. I doubt you are in a position to dispute that. And how long do you think consumer 3D hardware has been mainstream? Carmack's career spans a lot longer than that.
I wonder if you would accuse an artist who spends lots of time exploring dead end ideas of doing grunt work? Would you dismiss an artist as adapting WELL-KNOWN ideas if they allowed you to view someone else's work in a brand new, unexpected light?
I wonder if you would accuse an artist who spends lots of time exploring dead end ideas of doing grunt work? Would you dismiss an artist as adapting WELL-KNOWN ideas if they allowed you to view someone else's work in a brand new, unexpected light?
No.
You have to work, every day, whether you are too tired or not. You must push yourself, every day, and have discipline.
Extraordinary results require extraordinary efforts.
You have to work, every day, whether you are too tired or not. You must push yourself, every day, and have discipline.
Extraordinary results require extraordinary efforts.
Yeah, for some people, the advice in this article will lead to disaster. For example, I would rather be reading than doing, all the time. Reading is pure candy for me, instant gratification. To become (reasonably) successful, I had to stop reading.
I recall a study where researchers wanted to see how "natural" work was. They took a class of young children and told them they can do whatever they want. So the first day they all ran around outside and had fun. I think by the third day they were all begging to have class again and have some work to do.
That reminds me of a portion of a letter Ben Franklin wrote to Peter Collinson:
"The proneness of human Nature to a life of ease, of freedom from care and labour appear strongly in the heretofore little success that has attended every attempt to civilize our American Indians. . . . They visit us frequently and see the advantages that Arts, Science and compact Society procure us; they are not deficient in natural understanding and yet they have never strewn any inclination to change their manner of life for ours, or to learn any of our Arts.
"When an Indian child has been brought up among us, taught our language and habituated to our customs, yet if he goes to see his relations and makes one Indian Ramble with them, there is no perswading him ever to return. And that this is not natural [only to Indians], but as men, is plain from this, that when white persons of either sex have been taken prisoners young by the Indians, and lived awhile among them, tho' ransomed by their Friends, and treated with all imaginable tenderness to prevail with them to stay among the English, yet within a Short time they become disgusted with our manner of Life, and the care and pains that are necessary to support it, and take the first good Opportunity of escaping again into the Woods, from whence there is no reclaiming them."
"The proneness of human Nature to a life of ease, of freedom from care and labour appear strongly in the heretofore little success that has attended every attempt to civilize our American Indians. . . . They visit us frequently and see the advantages that Arts, Science and compact Society procure us; they are not deficient in natural understanding and yet they have never strewn any inclination to change their manner of life for ours, or to learn any of our Arts.
"When an Indian child has been brought up among us, taught our language and habituated to our customs, yet if he goes to see his relations and makes one Indian Ramble with them, there is no perswading him ever to return. And that this is not natural [only to Indians], but as men, is plain from this, that when white persons of either sex have been taken prisoners young by the Indians, and lived awhile among them, tho' ransomed by their Friends, and treated with all imaginable tenderness to prevail with them to stay among the English, yet within a Short time they become disgusted with our manner of Life, and the care and pains that are necessary to support it, and take the first good Opportunity of escaping again into the Woods, from whence there is no reclaiming them."
Is there a published collection of letters you're quoting from? I'd love to read it - what book is this from?
I originally read a reference to it in Huck's Raft: A History of American Childhood. Actually, looking it up again made me interested to know if a collection of Franklin's letters has been released in a mainstream volume, too. His Autobiography was awesome.
That's the educational theory behind the Summerhill School:
http://www.summerhillschool.co.uk/
Some kids that go there spend periods of years doing no work, going to no classes, and aren't punished. The idea is that when the kid is ready to learn, he will learn without provocation.
http://www.summerhillschool.co.uk/
Some kids that go there spend periods of years doing no work, going to no classes, and aren't punished. The idea is that when the kid is ready to learn, he will learn without provocation.
Sounds dangerous. When I was a kid, I was already enough of a contrarian that if I'd gone there I probably would have done no work just to prove their silly theory wrong.
That's why it's something like a ten-year school. The idea is that given a decade of freedom, kids will more readily find what they really want.
I have a friend who graduated from college double majoring in Physics and Economics... and now works maybe 15 hours a week at a grocery store and plays video games most of the time, and this is by choice. Strange conditioning, or living naturally?
Oh, and in case you think this is merely a phase, he's been doing this for over a year now.
Oh, and in case you think this is merely a phase, he's been doing this for over a year now.
I think 15-20 hours of work a week is natural. That is the amount the Kung Bushmen have been known to work per week gathering food. The rest of the time is leisure.
When at work, I use a timer to time the time spent in actual productive programming. I find that if I start to go over 20 hours of productive work a week, I start to become miserable and my body reacts by bringing on colds or allergies.
Perhaps your friend chooses to work at a grocery store because he can't find a job in his field where he would have the opportunity to only work 15 hours.
When at work, I use a timer to time the time spent in actual productive programming. I find that if I start to go over 20 hours of productive work a week, I start to become miserable and my body reacts by bringing on colds or allergies.
Perhaps your friend chooses to work at a grocery store because he can't find a job in his field where he would have the opportunity to only work 15 hours.
I've found the exact same thing. 20 hours of real, actual, focused work seems about right. I average about that:
http://files.dangrover.com/timechart081909.jpg
A 25 real-hours-of-work week ends up being a pretty productive and intense one for me. I feel lazy with such a low number, but I bet most office workers do far less.
A 25 real-hours-of-work week ends up being a pretty productive and intense one for me. I feel lazy with such a low number, but I bet most office workers do far less.
I'm in the same boat - if I don't make myself work, I'll end up reading all the time with zero to show for it.
Only one thing makes me deliver: deadline
Without deadlines, nothing gets done in my world, as I always get these ideas of how to do something better using the new shiny thing X and there is no end to it.
Deadline enforces discipline and requires me to do a good job of planning to allocate the precious time. Makes me say no to pleasant distractions that I would otherwise agree to...
Once I have something delivered (or during my consulting work), then I allow myself to go on a "sabbatical": read the books and lurk on HN and LTU. However, the sabbatical must have a scheduled end-date too, otherwise nothing will ever get done.
Deadlines must be concrete. Here are mine: my current sabbatical ends in 2 weeks (coincides with the end of my consulting engagement and loss of golden handcuffs http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=763743). Real work starts on October 4 with a clear deliverable by October 23...
Only one thing makes me deliver: deadline
Without deadlines, nothing gets done in my world, as I always get these ideas of how to do something better using the new shiny thing X and there is no end to it.
Deadline enforces discipline and requires me to do a good job of planning to allocate the precious time. Makes me say no to pleasant distractions that I would otherwise agree to...
Once I have something delivered (or during my consulting work), then I allow myself to go on a "sabbatical": read the books and lurk on HN and LTU. However, the sabbatical must have a scheduled end-date too, otherwise nothing will ever get done.
Deadlines must be concrete. Here are mine: my current sabbatical ends in 2 weeks (coincides with the end of my consulting engagement and loss of golden handcuffs http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=763743). Real work starts on October 4 with a clear deliverable by October 23...
I'm in the same boat. The deadline is everything. I structure my life around my deadlines, and the closer I get to the deadline, the more everything else ends up playing second fiddle to it.
I'm an illustrator, though, not a programmer. But it's nice to be able to tell new clients that I haven't missed a deadline in 15 years. No illness or injury or real-life event can change that.
I used to feel guilty for sometimes waiting till the last minute to finish a job, until I watched a documentary about Frank Frazetta. He would get a new painting project and wait till the night before the deadline before even starting on it.
He'd stay up all night and get it done on time, then go back to what he was doing--which was usually baseball or (as he got older) golf. :)
I'm an illustrator, though, not a programmer. But it's nice to be able to tell new clients that I haven't missed a deadline in 15 years. No illness or injury or real-life event can change that.
I used to feel guilty for sometimes waiting till the last minute to finish a job, until I watched a documentary about Frank Frazetta. He would get a new painting project and wait till the night before the deadline before even starting on it.
He'd stay up all night and get it done on time, then go back to what he was doing--which was usually baseball or (as he got older) golf. :)
Sounds like you have a future in literary criticism then. Seriously. The whole point of the post is "don't fight it," and I for one agree.
Heh. I don't think so. I'd rather be having sex than doing, too, but I'm not buying a bus ticket to San Fernando Valley.
No.
Some people need to do that. Others are workaholics, and need to take a break to inspire creativity. Others work because they're doing what they love, and do not need discipline because they're passionate about something. Others are usually passionate, but need momentary discipline to work through a tedious spot. Everyone is different. One size does not fit all.
This is a good place to apply the Paul Bucheit quote: "Limited life experience + Overgeneralization = ADVICE"
Some people need to do that. Others are workaholics, and need to take a break to inspire creativity. Others work because they're doing what they love, and do not need discipline because they're passionate about something. Others are usually passionate, but need momentary discipline to work through a tedious spot. Everyone is different. One size does not fit all.
This is a good place to apply the Paul Bucheit quote: "Limited life experience + Overgeneralization = ADVICE"
The question was "How do I work when I don't feel like it." Workaholics don't ask this. People who are doing what they love and don't need discipline because they're already doing it don't ask this.
If you want to make the the world march to your beat, you need to start with your body/self.
If you want to make the the world march to your beat, you need to start with your body/self.
I think there must be a nice middleground between your position and Sivers'. Even workaholics have periods where they need to spend a day reading a book or a weekend camping. In their case, they're just burnt-out somewhat, and need some "recharge" time. They know that they'll be ready to work again soon.
Others are lazier by nature, and would spend the majority of their lives doing little or nothing -- and that might include traveling, gardening, reading, playing video games -- and they do need to push themselves if they're going to accomplish anything ... if they want to accomplish anything.
Others are lazier by nature, and would spend the majority of their lives doing little or nothing -- and that might include traveling, gardening, reading, playing video games -- and they do need to push themselves if they're going to accomplish anything ... if they want to accomplish anything.
"People who are doing what they love and don't need discipline because they're already doing it don't ask this."
Even passionate people go through periods when they don't feel like working, or they're working on some boring task, or whatever. The answer is not always to self-immolate, but to be self-aware, and to figure out why you're not motivated. Sometimes discipline is appropriate; sometimes rest is the better prescription.
The world marches to your beat because your beat is inspiring, not because you beat your drum harder than everyone else.
Even passionate people go through periods when they don't feel like working, or they're working on some boring task, or whatever. The answer is not always to self-immolate, but to be self-aware, and to figure out why you're not motivated. Sometimes discipline is appropriate; sometimes rest is the better prescription.
The world marches to your beat because your beat is inspiring, not because you beat your drum harder than everyone else.
I have a problem with this phrase have to. I don't have to do anything. There is no proven formula that works for anything.
Winston Churchill was a lazy, lazy man who succeeded because he was capable of brilliance for the short bursts of time he worked. Brian Wilson spent the infamous three years high in his bedroom, then returned with a series of masterpiece albums. Ricky Gervais was a disc jockey until he was 39, then made possibly the best television show of all time despite being lazy and disruptive both while writing and directing it. Marcel Duchamp spent how long making his fountain? It became the most famous piece of art of the century.
While I don't disagree that extraordinary efforts are required to produce things, I don't agree that "extraordinary" means hard work. Sometimes it means a willingness not to work unless the work means something.
Winston Churchill was a lazy, lazy man who succeeded because he was capable of brilliance for the short bursts of time he worked. Brian Wilson spent the infamous three years high in his bedroom, then returned with a series of masterpiece albums. Ricky Gervais was a disc jockey until he was 39, then made possibly the best television show of all time despite being lazy and disruptive both while writing and directing it. Marcel Duchamp spent how long making his fountain? It became the most famous piece of art of the century.
While I don't disagree that extraordinary efforts are required to produce things, I don't agree that "extraordinary" means hard work. Sometimes it means a willingness not to work unless the work means something.
Winston Churchill was a lazy, lazy man who succeeded because he was capable of brilliance for the short bursts of time he worked
Do you have a reference for that? My impression was that Churchill had a fairly intense work schedule. For example, http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-cohen061802.as... :
"Churchill, far from being an aristocratic lounger, was a glutton for work ... His working hours were, it is true, hard on his subordinates, extending as they frequently did into the small hours of the morning."
Do you have a reference for that? My impression was that Churchill had a fairly intense work schedule. For example, http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-cohen061802.as... :
"Churchill, far from being an aristocratic lounger, was a glutton for work ... His working hours were, it is true, hard on his subordinates, extending as they frequently did into the small hours of the morning."
Churchill had a lopsided schedule. He would wake up, work from his bed for a few hours, then sleep through lunch and wake again in the afternoon. He was criticized for not working a proper workday, but he insisted that taking a break in between kept him sharper for longer periods of time.
So he wasn't lazy in that he did nothing—he wrote a series of histories and was one of Britain's most influential prime ministers—but he worked a unique schedule.
So he wasn't lazy in that he did nothing—he wrote a series of histories and was one of Britain's most influential prime ministers—but he worked a unique schedule.
Right. But I don't think the facts support that he was a "lazy, lazy man" or that he only worked for "short bursts."
Karl Pilkington played with ladybirds for thirty-odd years of his life and then came up with Rockbusters.
For the sake of argument, I'm going to ask why? I mean why do we work hard and push ourselves? We're all going to end up as worm food eventually anyway. So why push yourself? Why not just enjoy life?
Now, of course, I push myself for various reasons: I want income, I want to make the world a better place, I want to learn, etc... but in the end are those reasons for working hard any better than the person who says they want to have a happy life and thus don't work hard or push themselves?
Now, of course, I push myself for various reasons: I want income, I want to make the world a better place, I want to learn, etc... but in the end are those reasons for working hard any better than the person who says they want to have a happy life and thus don't work hard or push themselves?
Reminds me of http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html about 15 mins in.
You have to show up to work everyday and if your muse doesn't then you did your part.
You have to show up to work everyday and if your muse doesn't then you did your part.
do you care to share your tricks for doing that, when all you really want to do is read/sleep? how do you discipline yourself so that you don't constantly need inspiration?
My technique was:
Just get one thing done. Even if it's an easy, small thing. Get started and do it now. Especially if you don't want to. Having done it, try to do another; it'll be a great deal easier.
Just get one thing done. Even if it's an easy, small thing. Get started and do it now. Especially if you don't want to. Having done it, try to do another; it'll be a great deal easier.
Considering that Joshu was a famous Zen master, perhaps I should defer to your judgement.
I will say that in my own life, I am often tempted by immediate action or inaction that suddenly becomes unattractive when I remember my longer-term goals.
I will say that in my own life, I am often tempted by immediate action or inaction that suddenly becomes unattractive when I remember my longer-term goals.
I don't know much from Zen. I'm the opposite, if anything. I appear to be attempting to achieve a state of complete Worry.
That said, I DID build something while also working at a gruelling day job. So I know a bit about how to do this.
That said, I DID build something while also working at a gruelling day job. So I know a bit about how to do this.
I wish I had time to read and learn new things, but I feel antsy when I read books anymore, like I could be making things and pushing my product. Seriously, I feel like I only deserve to read when I'm on the toilet and can't really do anything else. I think I need to relax a bit.
This isn't good advice. It's self-gratification.
You have work to do. Do it.
Sitting at the terminal, but not sure what to type? Turn off the terminal, grab your source listings, scratch pad, and red and black pens and go to the other room. Or the library, Or starbucks. Work the problem that way and soon enough, you'll be dying to get back to the terminal.
Sitting on the sofa and analyzing that function with pencil and paper until you've worked yourself into a logic freeze? Get up and turn on your computer and code the simplest case. Before you're done, you'll find some enlightenment.
Have trouble doing either? Review old code, examine apps written by others, refactor something (you always have something to refactor, right?).
But do what you feel like? No.
You have work to do. Do it.
Sitting at the terminal, but not sure what to type? Turn off the terminal, grab your source listings, scratch pad, and red and black pens and go to the other room. Or the library, Or starbucks. Work the problem that way and soon enough, you'll be dying to get back to the terminal.
Sitting on the sofa and analyzing that function with pencil and paper until you've worked yourself into a logic freeze? Get up and turn on your computer and code the simplest case. Before you're done, you'll find some enlightenment.
Have trouble doing either? Review old code, examine apps written by others, refactor something (you always have something to refactor, right?).
But do what you feel like? No.
"You have work to do. Do it."
Oh, come on. Says who? You only "have work to do" to the extent that you need to survive. Beyond that, it's optional. It's equally bad advice to suggest people should force themselves to work when they don't want to, simply because they "have work to do."
The only insightful comment you can make here is that one-size advice doesn't fit everyone. Some people are workaholics, and should try harder to take breaks. Others are complete daydreamers, and maybe need more discipline. There's no one right recipe. The world is not binary.
Oh, come on. Says who? You only "have work to do" to the extent that you need to survive. Beyond that, it's optional. It's equally bad advice to suggest people should force themselves to work when they don't want to, simply because they "have work to do."
The only insightful comment you can make here is that one-size advice doesn't fit everyone. Some people are workaholics, and should try harder to take breaks. Others are complete daydreamers, and maybe need more discipline. There's no one right recipe. The world is not binary.
A Zen student once asked his teacher, "Master, what is enlightenment?"
The master replied, "When hungry, eat. When tired, sleep."
The master replied, "When hungry, eat. When tired, sleep."
Counterpoint:
"Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water."
There are plenty of things you just have to do if you want them to get done, enlightened being or not.
"Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water."
There are plenty of things you just have to do if you want them to get done, enlightened being or not.
Countercounterpoint:
"There are two ways to wash the dishes. You can wash the dishes so the dishes or clean. You can also wash the dishes to watch the dishes."
The moral I got from your koan when I first read it is what the difference is not in reality, but in the mind. That doesn't mean working when you don't feel like working. It means feel like working, or don't work.
"There are two ways to wash the dishes. You can wash the dishes so the dishes or clean. You can also wash the dishes to watch the dishes."
The moral I got from your koan when I first read it is what the difference is not in reality, but in the mind. That doesn't mean working when you don't feel like working. It means feel like working, or don't work.
I lived (and sorta still do live) by this advice. It's good, if you have the lifestyle and means to support it, except for the sleep advice:
But if you're tired, don't fight it. Sleep.
This worked out to be an absolute disaster for me (if you take it to its logical conclusion, if you're not tired, don't go to sleep, etc). I ended up free wheeling around the clock, sometimes getting up at 7pm, sometimes 2am, sometimes 11am.. it was nuts. And that sort of sleep pattern really messes with your head after a while.
But if you're tired, don't fight it. Sleep.
This worked out to be an absolute disaster for me (if you take it to its logical conclusion, if you're not tired, don't go to sleep, etc). I ended up free wheeling around the clock, sometimes getting up at 7pm, sometimes 2am, sometimes 11am.. it was nuts. And that sort of sleep pattern really messes with your head after a while.
This works fine for me, but my body has this habit of waking up when the sun is up -- even if I've only gone to sleep a few hours ago. That also isn't a problem in itself, as I will fall asleep around 16:00 on those days and catch up whatever I missed the previous night, and still be tired enough in the evening to go to bed at a normal hour.
It's a sort of built-in automatic circadian rhythm reset mechanism which kicks in after just one late night coding session.
It's a sort of built-in automatic circadian rhythm reset mechanism which kicks in after just one late night coding session.
I have a feeling most people here saying it's a bad advice, didn't get it in the first place. I think the key is that you got to give yourself a little freedom in the short distance, but be disciplined in the long run. For example, I think I'm going to get some sleep now and work in the morning, not tonight. But I'm still going to do the job. The only difference is: I'd be more productive.
It's like (a + b) is still the same thing as (b + a). But because 'a' is the first letter of the alphabet (for most of us) it's more natural to put it first.
And another short thought that I think is relevant: discipline is not about forcing yourself to work when you don't want to, but it's about managing the time and finding the best spots for your work to be done. Of course, self-employment is best for this.
It's like (a + b) is still the same thing as (b + a). But because 'a' is the first letter of the alphabet (for most of us) it's more natural to put it first.
And another short thought that I think is relevant: discipline is not about forcing yourself to work when you don't want to, but it's about managing the time and finding the best spots for your work to be done. Of course, self-employment is best for this.
This completely abstracts the mind from the concept of self-control, and that's a logical fallacy. Conscious executive decision making originates in the mind as well. The reason you go do something is because you made the choice to do it. Period. Sure, we do things we don't 'want' to do in a narrow sense, but in the broader sense when we choose to do an unpleasant task we have decided, based on outside forces that this task is what we need/want to do.
This isn't to say that there is no merit in working with your mind and being productive when your mind is ready, but the notion that you must not bring willpower to bear on any task is taking things a bit too far.
This isn't to say that there is no merit in working with your mind and being productive when your mind is ready, but the notion that you must not bring willpower to bear on any task is taking things a bit too far.
I like the sentiment but this does not really work for us "normal" (non-self-employed) folk. If I sleep/work/eat/learn whenever I feel like it then something will surely suffer.
That's why the idea is to get your life to a place where other people don't control you.
Putting creativity on a pedestal can also be an excuse for laziness. There is a lot of cultural belief that creativity comes from inspiration, and can't be rushed. Not true. Inspiration is just your subconscious putting things together, and that can be made into an active process with a little introspection.
Focused, hard work is the real key to success. Keep your eyes on the goal, and just keep taking the next step towards completing it. If you aren't sure which way to do something, do it both ways and see which works better.