Bootcamp for creatives

It's true. I need a swift kick in the butt every so often to do the things I need to do professionally. Don't get me wrong. I work hard every day. I try, with more or less success, to practice "inbox zero," and have certainly improved in management of my scary to-do list. I get assignments done on time, make it to meetings, and spend time on developing my team. But when it comes to writing - blogging, reading the research, developing an article or presentation - I need a periodic "kick" to clear my head and get me focused on what's really important. So every once in a while Amazon tells me I need yet another book on creativity/productivity/psychology, and I obligingly "one click," purchasing what is usually a cheap, short e-book that is clearly a compilation of blog posts, often by someone with a certain too-cool-for-school writing style. And yet, despite being cheap, short, and casual, I often find these kicks to be just what I need to shut my door, minimize Outlook, and focus on important stuff.

My burst of professional productivity the last couple days is likely connected to my most recent purchase, Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered by Austin Kleon. According to my Kindle app I'm 64% of the way through the book (probably the equivalent to about 30 pages if you account for font size, blank space, and large images). At this point, the most powerful message for me has been to "share something small every day." Of course this is old advice - but nevertheless a good reminder to find a way to have some productivity each day - and not let "perfect" get in the way of "good," something I've perhaps done better at preaching than practicing.

In this same section Kleon talks about finding time. There are 24 hours in every day, and you can "find time the same place you find spare change: in the nooks and crannies." This comment reminds me of another book for the creative's bootcamp, Laura Vanderkam's 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think.



Here are a few more books to fire up your creative productivity:
The 99U compilation, Manage Your Day-to-Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, and Sharpen Your Creative Mind (The 99U Book Series)










The book with the cheery title Die Empty: Unleash Your Best Work Every Day, by Todd Henry.


And, for a truly bootcamp approach, Steven Pressfield's Do the Work