Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Some of the best advice I ever heard and heeded is simply, “Don’t try too hard.”

Writing. Studying. Researching. Don’t try too hard.

Writing: let it come out of you. When you hit a difficult spot, type “this is a difficult spot, come back later.” Done. Now keep banging away on the keyboard.

Studying: look at the material. Look at it again. Read it silently. Read it aloud. Walk around the room while reciting it. Got it. Time to stop.

Researching: set a time box. I have one hour to research this topic, and that is it. Go through it; take the notes—I’m done. It is all right in front of me.

Great concepts are right in front of me. Squeezing them in my mind doesn’t make them greater. They aren’t lumps of coal that my mind can crush into diamonds. Simply take it, hold it, recite it. There. Done. That was easier than expected. It is usually easier than I expect it to be.

When I am struggling with an idea, and I am having a day of clarity, I tell myself, “You are trying too hard.” I relax. The idea is there in its simplicity and utility.

Hmmm, simplicity and utility. Perhaps there is something with that duo.