Category: Creativity
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30 productivity hacks
1. Start for just 15 minutes. You’re allowed to stop after. 2. If you’re nervous about writing an email but need to respond, schedule it to go out. 3. Make a decision at the end of the meeting. Don’t do in two meetings what you can do in one. 4. Do something, even if there’s…
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Wiz ships
Two weeks before I wrote this, Wiz Khalifa published a new documentary, Still Rolling Papers (11 years after his debut album, Rolling Papers). A quick look: Will Smith has close to 10 million subscribers, so does Ye. Ellen DeGeneres has 38 million. Kim Jong-Kook’s Gym Jong-Kook channel has close to 3 million subs. Gary Vaynerchuk…
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The “no skip” intro
I skip most introductions of TV shows. But never The Simpsons. It’s mastered the perfect balance of novelty and familiarity; same songs, same characters, but slight tweaks in style or short storylines make a huge difference. It keeps me intrigued; what will happen this time? It’s a tension that’s too light to feel close to…
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Obscurity is a gift
You have a great idea, you write a blog post in five minutes, you post it. A friend reads it, they message you and say, “Hey, I know you had the best intentions, did you consider how this could be misinterpreted?” Oops, you didn’t. You misspoke, and could be easily misunderstood. No big deal. You…
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Stop stopping
Margaret Atwood writes in the Paris Review, “Everyone writes in a way; that is, each person has a ‘story,’ a personal narrative which is constantly being replayed, revised, taken apart, and put together again. The significant points in this narrative change as a person ages—what may have been tragedy at twenty is seen as comedy…
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How to present your work so it gets the results it deserves
Good work absolutely does not just speak for itself. That’s why a piece of art is always accompanied by an artist statement, and each art show is accompanied by ephemera, an audio guide, or a curator. A staff member at a restaurant not only delivers the food, but explains the story behind a dish or…
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“Quarter million a year, and that don’t bounce”
That’s from “Untouchable,” when Pusha T talks about working as the president of Ye’s record label GOOD Music. His boast was in the salary he’d be earning working in a powerful role at a cutting edge record label, and not relying on the fickle income of music and the struggle of staying relevant in an…
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3 Ways to Change Your Attitude to Change Your Circumstances
Phrases like “Visualize success,” or the importance of having a “Winning attitude,” have been thrown around so much that they’ve almost become parodies for team building office culture. Because they are so cliché, and often used as an excuse for unfair situations (corporations like to distribute the book, “Who Moved My Cheese?” whenever they lay…
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“Rules for the temple”
Excerpted from Donald Glover’s behind the scenes look at Atlanta seasons 3–4 writer’s room: 1. No shoes 2. No smoking inside 3. No tweeting, instagramming or blogging about where we are/ what we’re doing 4. Do not bring others in without asking for the invite beforehand 5. Work begins at 10 am Create a safe…
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3 Lessons I Learned from Virgil Abloh About Saying “Yes”
How does one go from being a recording artist’s trusted, and reliable, creative collaborator to being the menswear designer at Louis Vuitton? Some might say that such a journey would be practically impossible. That’s the journey that the late Virgil Abloh made, accomplishing in years what others take decades to; it all started with screen…