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Do the same thing (for beginners and experts)

February 23, 2021

Alright Booster’s finally street legal so we took her on a walk while going to grab some coffee. I can get used to this!

One of my favorite videos about making things is by the artist Struthless:

Basically, do the same thing every day (in his case, drawing the same type of bird) and you’ll find creative ways to not do the same thing every day.

One lesson…

  • Constraints create room for creativity

Because I’ve been missing New York lately, here’s a quote from Shane Snow’s Smartcuts about the power of constraints in city planning:

Constraints made New York City an architectural marvel. Manhattan Island’s narrow shape forced the city to build up, to rethink and renew; it impelled architects to reinvent stone buildings into steel skyscrapers.

And they built down too, with the subway as the main form of public transportation.

One connection…

  • Repetition is valuable for experts also

Jack Butcher has had a few tweets recently about the power of repetition. Here’s one:

Everyone wants to "find their niche" — barely anyone wants to repeat themselves every day.

— Jack Butcher (@jackbutcher) February 20, 2021

Most famous people are known for maybe like 1-3 huge things. And they’re known for those things because they did them over and over and over and over.

Repetition: Just do it.

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Constraints Create CreativityJack ButcherNew York CityShane SnowSmartcuts

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