Want too hear a joke? Have you heard the one about the blogger who hired a girl to slap him in the face if he gets distracted?
You haven’t?
“Digital nomad,” blogger, and entrepreneur, Maneesh Sethi is a very intelligent, very talented guy. However, even he struggles with maintaining productivity. After realizing that nearly 19 hours of potential work time were lost each week to distract, Maneesh decided to rectify this situation, and apparently, he was prepared to go to extreme limits to correct his productivity problem because he put an ad on Craigslist asking for a person willing to sit with him while he worked at an area cafe, slapping and/or yelling at him if he got off task. Eventually, he settled on a young lady named Kara, who helped him reach a productivity level of 98% during their few hours together.
You can see him getting slapped here.
While I think that the premise of this experiment is a bit extreme, even creepy, Maneesh’s final assessment is telling:
Honestly, the fear of the slap wasn’t the productivity driver. That just made it fun. The real reason why Kara made me more productive is because she added a social element to writing. When I was drafting the outline, I asked for her feedback. When I couldn’t think of the right way to phrase a sentence, she was there to help. Instead of it being a chore, Kara made it fun to write.
Writing in a Vacuum—It Sucks!
Sometimes, I think that blogging, writing, creating becomes difficult because we often do these things in isolation. In my opinion, one of the greatest dangers to pastors who are on the rise is the isolation they enter into when writing a book or working on a large project. That time alone can be killer, both to your spirit and to your writing. We are social creatures, created by God for relationship from the beginning.
Here are some benefits that would obviously come out of social interaction while writing:
1. Quality Improves
Maneesh found that his work improved overall due to Kara’s presence. He benefitted greatly from having someone to read what he wrote immediately after he wrote it. Perhaps this rings true for you? Do you find it helpful to write with an audience close at hand?
2. Creativity Abounds
When I’m working on a new project, I love having someone around to bounce ideas off of, to riff with, and to all around be creative with. Two heads are better than one in many ways, and this is certainly one of them.
3. Accountability Helps
Nothing is as helpful to your productivity, your quality, or your creativity as having someone to answer to each step of the way. Essentially, this is the very idea that Maneesh started with: he needed someone to “slap” him with accountability.
Writing is one of those tasks that does often require a deep focus that prevents a lot of eternal social interaction. However, that doesn’t mean that you have to write in a vacuum, but how do you do it any other way? Well, I’m not expert, but what if you and some like-minded friends meet regularly to work individually and yet hold each other accountable as a group. You don’t all have to be writers—one might be blogging while another writes code while yet another is producing a podcast or a host of other things. The point is to take solitude out of creativity and put a bit of sociality into it.
Are you in need of accountability regarding your productivity?
[HT Hack the System | Image via romana klee]
Marcus Williamson says
Good points all around. Love this. I think creativity abounds more than I realize most times and I’m learning to lean in this a little more each day. Trust. I’m learning.
Definitely need more accountability in that area for sure.
Phil Schneider says
We all definitely need more accountability, Marcus. Thanks for the comment!