The trick to sticking to a project every day
For years and years / Issue 1,156
Oh, hi friends!
I’m hopping on a flight so in the interest of time, speed, and my sanity, wanted to simply share something with you that I’m proud of and hope you might enjoy.
My latest article for Quartz, published today.
The trick to sticking to a project every day—for years
My big project? This newsletter.
I write about how I’ve published 1,000+ issues, how artists like Eudora Welty and Sol Lewitt found their working cadence, and dig into why we commit with a long-term intensity to our jobs (and working for other people) but not our own projects.
Here’s a quote:
We often assume our creativity and effort exist within fixed boundaries—that we’ll only ever have a certain number of ideas, or reach some kind of dead end. Instead, why not acknowledge there's much we don't know about our future selves? One good idea, when actually executed, can lead to a dozen new ideas. What if there's a thread to follow, and the more you continue, the farther you're led by the thread?
Hope you might find some value in this one.
Your projects deserve you — and your time.
What an inspiring post and a wonderful article. 1,177+ days ago, I started a daily "mischief managed" diary to truly sit down and work on a book that I'd been picking away at for a couple years prior. I've missed a few days, so that count isn't consecutive but accumulated. But I'm almost done with that first book and I've started working on my second book because those ideas would not remain contained. Thank you for all your inspiration over the years and here's to hoping you continue for a long time to come. I'll be listening, that's for sure. - di
writing "we find what we seek" on a post-it note and putting it on my desk