264. Creative Waste

<p>When Vincent van Gogh began his career as an artist, he had already failed at everything else. He even got fired from his own family’s business in the process.</p> <p>Not seeing any alternative, he completely immersed himself in art. In one two-week period, he created 120 drawings.</p> <p>But exactly none of those drawings are famous today.</p> <p>[This is Love Your Work, and I’m David Kadavy]</p> <h3>What feels like waste is not waste</h3> <p>Last week, I talked about <a href= "http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/iceberg-principle/">the Iceberg Principle</a> – the idea that any masterpiece you see is just the tip of the iceberg. There’s far more knowledge and experience beneath the surface, giving that masterpiece confidence and grace.</p> <p>But as you’re adding layer after layer to your iceberg, it doesn’t feel like that’s what you’re doing. It feels like you’re wasting your energy. But you’re not.</p> <p>After Van Gogh’s frenzied first couple weeks seriously pursuing art, he settled in to a more conservative pace. Instead of 120 drawings in two weeks, he was instead shooting to make just twenty a week. He figured that’s how many he’d have to make to end up with one good piece each week.</p> <h3>“Waste” takes many forms</h3> <p>What feels like “waste” can take many forms:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Failed projects:</strong> You made something, and nobody likes it.</li> <li><strong>Off on timing:</strong> Nobody like it <em>yet</em>, but some day someone will.</li> <li><strong>Unfinished projects:</strong> You started, got a little ways, and maybe <a href= "https://kadavy.net/blog/posts/shiny-object-syndrome/">Shiny Object Syndrome</a> took over. For whatever reason, you didn’t finish.</li> <li><strong>Research and Preparation:</strong> You don’t always know what you’re trying to learn, but all sorts of tinkering may seem like a waste.</li> </ul> <h3>Creative waste is part of the creative game</h3> <p>Sometimes what feels like “waste,” makes it directly into a current or future project, thus making it clearly not waste.