Slow Work

I am a fan of slow work. Let me explain what does it mean to me. It’s primarily thinking and creative work. It can be developing a marketing strategy, an idea to deliver a talk, creating a case study, research & insight work, writing a book, designing software, preparing for the sales pitch, coming up with a business plan, creating delegation plans, coaching the team, improving existing systems, hiring new team members, Exploratory Tests etc.

I think you can only do one task of such work in a day and it cannot exceed 120 minutes when you get your flow you will be lucky to get 180 minutes. You cannot set a target to complete something or set a deadline. It’s a work that has its own pace and slowness. You should feel like you are an inventor or an artist while you work. You should feel light and motivated. In the middle of your work randomly there will be a light bulb moment or a smile on your face.

You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.

James Clear

Process

You may ask that’s all sounds good and well. How do I do such kind of work? What should be the steps to take. How do I know if I am doing it right or wrong?

I agree creative work needs a different mindset and there is no 1 right way to do it. Here are few suggestions for you

1. Start with small
2. Pick mornings so that you have high energy
3. Work in a quite place with no interruption
4. Turn off all your notification and devices
5. Sit with a blank page and a pen
6. Write the thoughts that come to your mind
7. After 30 mins review what you worked on
8. Improve up your existing work and polish it
9. Keep water next to you and drink every 30 minutes
10. Go for a walk for 5 mins after an hour
11. Ask yourself if you are tired or bored and stop if you are
12. Get your task reviewed by atleast 3 people.

Let me know how did you feel about your work? Tweet me at https://twitter.com/vikramshettyc

12 points to keep in mind while you want to do your creative work

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