One of productivity work’s big divides is between those who try to work while connected to the Internet and its many distractions, and those who have figured out that that’s a really bad idea. The second group understands the benefits of disconnecting at least part of the time, including not just increased productivity, but less stress, better health, and more enjoyment of life in general.

Yes, of course I know that you need to be on the Internet sometimes. But you probably don’t need to be on it as much as you think. You can, for instance, organize your work so that you do all your online tasks together in a batch, thus freeing you to disconnect for a while. And you can also train yourself to save minor online tasks—like looking up a date or writing a quick email—for your next online session, instead of constantly letting them interrupt your flow. (I keep some scratch paper near my computer so that I can write down such tasks as they occur to me.)

Another great technique is to download lectures and other videos so that you can listen to them offline. Doing this also gives you more flexibility, such as the ability to listen to lectures while driving or on the bus.

Ditto for reference materials: if you think you’ll need certain formulas or constants to do your work, then download that information and organize it into a document before starting. (This, itself, could be a good learning exercise, so long as you don’t overdo it and slip into Quasiproductive Procrastination.)

Even many people who think they must be online constantly for their work can cut back some—and, often, a lot. After writer and consultant Gregory Ferenstein started using timers to limit his social media use, for instance, he realized that: “[T]here was hardly ever a time when I needed to constantly monitor social media. Even when I posted something that was popular, I rarely needed to spend more time than a few minutes on the app to meaningfully engage. The marginal utility [meaning, the additional value – HR] from minutes 5 to 60 on Facebook and Twitter wasn’t much more than the first 5 minutes.”

You don’t hear much about it, but many people do disconnect regularly. Some only go online in the afternoons or evenings, after finishing their creative work; while others limit email and other online work to just once or twice a day; while still others shun certain applications—e.g., some social media platforms—entirely. Still others abstain on weekends, or go on multiday “digital detox” retreats. Novelists Zadie Smith, Isabel Allende, and Jonathan Franzen are famous “disconnecters,” and so is Cal Newport, who’s written two books on the topic: Digital Minimalism and A World Without Email. Programming legend Donald Knuth is a disconnecting pioneer, and in 1990 famously explained his decision to almost entirely dispense with email this way: “Email is a wonderful thing for people whose role in life is to be on top of things. But not for me; my role is to be on the bottom of things. What I do takes long hours of studying and uninterruptible concentration.”

Let’s be clear, however, that even many who need to “be on top of things”—like, say, many activists or entrepreneurs—benefit from limiting their online time, both because their work does indeed have an intellectual or creative component, and because a lot of our online time is spent on low-value activities like social media and watching videos. Yes, of course, it’s okay to do some of that! (And I allocate some time for it in Chapter 49’s sample time budget and schedule.) But too much is problematic, not just from a productivity and effectiveness standpoint, but a mental and physical health standpoint.

If all this sounds extreme, please remember that the choice isn’t a dichotomized “always online” versus “always offline” one: it’s about seeing the Internet and social media as the tools that they are, and figuring out how best to use them. It’s especially about recognizing that the apps are designed by experts to suck you in, and that being sucked in is actually a form of disempowerment that, like all forms of disempowerment, you want to avoid. By the way, that “sucked in” experience has a name: a ludic loop. The classic ludic-loop-generating technology is the slot machine, which uses fun and flashy displays—plus the lure of the occasional small win, and the possibility of a (very rare) big win—to “hook” people and suck their time and (more importantly) money out of them. But many social media apps, television shows, games, and other escapist diversions are also designed to generate ludic loops. (In social media, the feeling that you’re “winning” often come from people “liking” or “following” you, or responding to your posts.)

Once you do decide to limit your online time, you’ve got three main choices:

1. First, you can try a WiFi /social media blocking app, like Forest, Freedom, or Cold Turkey. If one of these works for you, that’s great. But it’s easy to get sucked into procrastination before and while using them, and also easy to “cheat” and restore your access. (No, I’m not going to say how.)
   

2. A better solution, in my view, is to work in a space without WiFi. Some of the top artist residency programs, including Yaddo and MacDowell, use this approach to support their visiting artists’ productivity. They limit Internet access to just a library or other common area, leaving the rest of the campus, including the artists’ studios, disconnected. Similarly, you can probably find a WiFi-free library, café, or other study space on or near your campus, where, like those pampered artists, you can work in luxurious disconnected peace and freedom. As a bonus, you’ll probably find yourself working alongside some highly productive others who have also discovered the benefits of disconnecting. (Which should further boost your own productivity.)
   
   
3. The best solution to online distraction is to do the bulk of your work on a computer from which you’ve deleted not just Internet connectivity, but (obviously) all games and other distractions. In practice, this usually means using two computers: the disconnected one, on which you do your writing, programming, problem sets, and other work that requires sustained focus and concentration, and the connected one, on which you do your research, social media, gaming, etc. (In many cases, the disconnected computer can be an old one that you repurpose.) This two-computer system can not only boost your ability to concentrate, it can also help you create some empowering new options for yourself.
   
   

One of my own most effective productivity tricks, for instance, is this: every night, before going to bed, I shut down my “connected” computer while leaving my “disconnected” one on. That way, when I return to my office the next morning, it’s the disconnected one that’s “alive” and beckoning to me, and not the connected one. This simple-but-powerful ritual almost always ensures that I start right in on my work in the mornings, instead of getting waylaid by social media.

If you do most of your work at home—or at an office, assigned library carrel, or other fixed location—working with two computers is pretty straightforward: you leave your disconnected computer at that location, and carry around your connected one (swapping files between them using thumb drives). True, the juggling gets more complicated if you’re moving around a lot and/or working at multiple locations. Still, try to use a disconnected computer whenever you can. You could, for instance, bring your disconnected computer to the coffee shop, and use your phone for periodic email checks and other “urgent” online activities. (But keep your phone shut off most of the time, or you risk losing the whole benefit.) Then, when you return home, you can boot up your connected computer and do the bulk of your online work or play.

Ultimately, you want to leave your connected computer off at all times except for those when you intentionally go online. Although it is probably harder to practice this kind of “digital minimalism,” as Cal Newport calls it, in some fields than others, keep an open mind, and also keep trying out new ways to work—and play—disconnected. (See Chapter 44 for more tips on limiting your online time, and social media use in particular.)

Again, we’re talking about a big divide here. Some people, when I suggest that they disconnect, understand why. But others are aghast, as if I had suggested that they disconnect an arm or leg while working. A college-aged reader of the manuscript for this book called the advice “peak Boomer,” not realizing that many Boomers hate it, too! People of all ages have come to find the idea of disconnecting, even briefly, unthinkable. But ask yourself why that’s so—and, also, who is benefiting from your spending long periods online in either low-value activities or corporate-engineered ludic loops.

Especially if disconnecting seems unthinkable, that’s reason enough to give it a try. Few habits have as much potential to improve your productivity and life.

The post Disconnecting Shouldn’t be Radical! first appeared on Hillary Rettig.

I tend to be skeptical of New Year’s resolutions, which are often grandiose and built more around impulse than planning. But here are two good ones for 2023:

1) Reduce the time you currently spend on housework, chores, and errands by 25%, investing that time instead in “mission work” (creative / activist / entrepreneurial work), and also self-care, relationships, and recreation. (Good general rule of thumb: 2/3 of reclaimed time to your mission, and 1/3 to the rest.) Here’s an article I wrote a while back offering some suggestions on how to achieve that.

2) Work on a computer that’s NOT hooked up to the Internet. Here is an excerpt from Productivity is Power that discusses this. (Note: I omit the excerpt’s numerous citations for brevity.)

If you’re committing to these or other resolutions, here’s an article I wrote that should help. (In hindsight, a better title would have been, Overcoming the Three Main Barriers to Achieving Your New Year’s Resolutions, because that’s what it’s really about.) The three barriers are perfectionism (of course!), ambivalence, and lack of investment.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on these suggested resolutions, or others that you’ve found useful. Please comment on my blog.

Hillary

PS – If you’ve read one of my books, please leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or another online bookseller. Reviews are the best way to support my work, and even a 2-line review is absolutely fine!

PPS – If you’re a former student or coaching client I always welcome updates and quick questions via email. You folks sustain me! Ditto if you’ve read one of my books or articles and have a question.

The post Two Great New Year’s Resolutions first appeared on Hillary Rettig.

Productivity is Power is for ALL undergraduates (and college-bound high schoolers), as well as for the parents, faculty, counselors, coaches, tutors, and others who support them. If your student is wrestling with procrastination, perfectionism, time management, and/or issues of resiliency, Productivity is Power will help them overcome those barriers and achieve their best.

It will also help non-students! The principles are universal. It represents a big advance in my thinking over The 7 Secrets of the Prolific: if that book helped you, this one will help you more.

I’m truly honored that James Wilkinson, the former head of Harvard’s Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, and the organizer of the leading international undergraduate pedagogy conference, wrote the foreword.

More details below. If you read and enjoy Productivity is Power or any other of my works, please leave an online review at your favorite bookseller. Reviews are the best way to support my work, and even a one or two line review is fine!

About Productivity is Power

College is one of life’s most enriching experiences, but there’s no doubt that it can also be a challenge. It might, for instance, be your first time living on your own, among people and ideas dramatically different from those you grew up with.

And today, more than ever, there’s pressure. A bad economy makes it even more important to get great grades, get great internships or work-study experiences, and to graduate with a great plan. The competition at every stage is intense, and so is the stress. And social media isn’t exactly helping. Not only is it massively distracting, it’s full of competitive, critical, negative, and otherwise destructive messages that makes things (vastly) worse.

At the same time, you’re probably dealing with all the “normal” productivity challenges that most people face, including procrastination, perfectionism, and time management.

Traditional productivity books for general audiences can help some, but what’s really needed is a book that addresses college students’ particular needs and productivity challenges. Productivity is Power is that book.

It will help you:

1. Locate, understand, and overcome your barriers to productivity and success so that you can become immediately more productive, successful, and happy.
2. Start your work on time, work steadily on it, and hand it on time. (Or early!)
3. Work through problems and obstacles. (No procrastination or derailments!)
4. Handle mistakes, failures, and other setbacks.
5. Manage your time well, so that you can succeed academically while also living a healthy, happy, and balanced life. And,
6. Work more effectively with your professors, teaching assistants, and other academic personnel.

And much more!

Productivity is Power also offers many unique, and uniquely effective, solutions, including:

• Re-Empowerment. How to locate and remedy the specific forms of dis-empowerment that keep you from doing your work.
• Compassionate Objectivity. The mindset that neutralizes perfectionism while maintaining accountability and a success orientation.
• Timed Work Intervals, Randomization, “Having a Dialogue with Your Inner Critic,” and other solutions to perfectionism.
• The Joyful Dance, a highly effective work method founded on principles of personal empowerment and compassionate objectivity.
• Values-Based Time Management, which helps you achieve not just maximum empowerment and productivity in the short term, but maximum success and happiness over the course of your career and life.
• Many solutions for common writing and work problems including not finishing, not submitting, over-researching, constantly starting over, and avoidance (of difficult parts of the project). Also, for efficient decision-making both within and around projects.
• Many techniques for efficient problem-solving, especially in STEM courses.
• Solutions for coping with criticism, rejection, and perceived failures. And,
• Solutions for “digital distraction,” online harassment, and other 21st Century obstacles to work and success.

Get Productivity is Power now for the students and teachers in your life, and also for yourself!

The post My New Book on Undergraduate Productivity is Out! first appeared on Hillary Rettig.

Description:

Why do some writers seem to write effortlessly, turning out page after page, chapter after chapter, and book after book, while so many others struggle over every word? The difference often comes down to how one relates to one’s work. If you feel a lot of fear and ambivalence when you write, or set too-high expectations for productivity or quality, then writing will probably be hard. But if you can avoid those traps, it becomes easier and even a joy.

Through workshops and exercises, Hillary Rettig (Productivity is Power and The 7 Secrets of the Prolific) will teach you how to do just that. We’ll begin by identifying the forces that create procrastination and blocks, including our own fears, damaging societal messages, and the pernicious habits of perfectionism and negativity. Then we’ll work on solutions, including “compassionate objectivity,” writing without hesitation, writing through “the wall,” and using timers and other tools.

Class Format

This class will take place using Zoom videoconferencing. About 15 minutes before your class is scheduled to begin, you’ll receive an email from your instructor with a link to join the class meeting!

Scholarship Information

Thanks to the excellent literary citizenship of our donors, scholarships are available for all GrubStreet classes. To apply, click the gray “APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP” button. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your application at least one week before the start date of a class. Please await our scholarship committee’s decision before registering for the class. We cannot hold spots in classes, so the sooner you apply, the better. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.

For more more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.

The post Next Grub Street Writers Workshops: Saturday September 17 and Friday October 7 first appeared on Hillary Rettig.

If my approach to productivity resonates with you, consider getting one of my books* or taking my next class at Grub.

*Reminder that even though my new book Productivity is Power is aimed at college students, the principles are universal, so even if you’re not a student please check it out.

The post The Heart of Productivity first appeared on Hillary Rettig.

From the meme world…

From the New York Times…

…and from J.K. Rowling herself!

No quote tweeting, but if you’re a ‘life coach’ who’s on here implying people are losers if they aren’t learning a new skill/building a brand while on lockdown, maybe stop. People have challenges you know nothing about. Sometimes getting through something is more than enough.

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 3, 2020

Love to see the culture getting smarter and more compassionate!

Stay well, and stay nonperfectionist!

The post We’re All Done With Pandemic Shaming! first appeared on Hillary Rettig.

One of the core problems and paradoxes of productivity work is that many kinds of work demand solitude (for thinking and concentrating), and yet few of us seem to tolerate it well. (We get lonely and restless and distracted.) The most effective solution for many is to work quietly alongside a buddy who is doing the same. A good buddy can be hard to find, however; and even if you’re lucky enough to find one, it can still be hard to schedule a time together, and to not chat when you should be working.

Focusmate is really as close to a perfect solution as you can get. It’s basically a calendaring program combined with videoconferencing. Use the calendar to sign up for a 50-minute work shift, and the app: (a) matches you with a buddy, and (b) connects you via videoconferencing at the appointed time.

Once online together, you both say hi, spend a few seconds each describing the work you’re hoping to accomplish, and get to it. Then, after the shift is over, you each report on how the session went and whether you met your goal(s).

That’s it! And for many of us, it works like a charm! Working with a buddy remotely, it turns out, is about the same as working with one sitting next to you. In fact, in some ways it’s better: when you find your own buddies, they tend to be people like you. (Fiction writers buddying other fiction writers, for instance.) But on Focusmate I’ve worked alongside diverse people from four continents who were working on diverse projects, and the diversity itself was fun and motivating.

True, I find some people easier to work with than others: I really want buddies who show up on time (or a bit early), get right to work, and stay seated and focused for the full 50 minutes. (Some people are late and/or always hopping in and out of their chairs, which isn’t conducive to my productivity, or–I suspect–their own.) But you can flag those whom you’d rather not buddy with again, and they won’t appear on your calendar.

Here’s what a couple of friends say about Focusmate (both quoted with permission):

• “In the four months since I joined Focusmate, I’ve done around 125 sessions. It’s the best accountability tool I’ve found. For most of those 50-minute stints, I’ve been willing to stay on task. I’ve recommended it to all of my friends who work at home.”
• “I have used Focusmate to help me successfully complete tasks and projects that I had procrastinated on for weeks and months. There is life-changing magic in working with someone else, at a specific time, for a specified duration, on delineated activities.”

Focusmate is especially worth trying if, due to social distancing or other reasons, you’re working from home and find the isolation a challenge. It’s cheap–just $5/month, and you can do up to three sessions a week for free–so give it a try!

And let me know what you think!

PS – As always, I receive no commission or other remuneration for this post.

The post Focusmate: a Productivity App That Really Works! first appeared on Hillary Rettig.

I’m compelled to write now, however, because there’s been a spate of posts by people who seem to think that shaming others for their supposed underproductivity during a pandemic is useful.

It’s not!

To be clear, memes like this AREN’T HELPFUL:

And tweets like this AREN’T HELPFUL:

Just a reminder that when Shakespeare was quarantined because of the plague, he wrote King Lear.

— rosanne cash (@rosannecash) March 14, 2020

Implicit in the above, as in most perfectionist statements, is a comparison. Perfectionists will compare themselves to anyone—famous, obscure, living, dead—and on any criterion (looks, wealth, popularity, productivity, etc.).

They’ll even compare themselves to themselves at a higher level of performance (e.g., their productivity during peaceful times).

They’ll also compare themselves to an idealized version of how they think they should behave (e.g., “I should work with complete focus no matter how chaotic and stressful things are.”)

And they’ll even compare themselves to singular historical geniuses! (Who also benefited from colonial wealth, massive amounts of what we now call white male privilege, and other advantages.)

Perfectionist comparisons hurt. In fact, they’re designed to hurt: to bully and shame you into working harder. But perfectionism never helps, and always makes things worse. Even when it seems to work in the short term, it just leaves you more fearful and disempowered around your work, and thus less able to do it in the future.

Fortunately, however, the world seems to be catching on. Rosanne Cash got a lot of pushback on her tweet, including this beaut—

No pressure but anyone not writing King Lear right now is a worthless piece of shit and waste of everyone’s time

— Chris Scott (@iamchrisscott) March 14, 2020

—which I love because it makes the perfectionist subtext to Cash’s tweet explicit.

And this one—

Fair point, but I’ll bet he had childcare.

— Emily St. J. Mandel (@EmilyMandel) March 14, 2020

—which nails the whole white male privilege thing.

The good news is that you can teach yourself to not be perfectionist. You do this by gently (key word!) correcting yourself whenever you catch yourself saying, or thinking, some version of, “I should be doing better….” Instead, substitute, “I’m doing the best I can, and that’s okay.” (Which may sound trite, or like you’re making excuses, but actually happens to be the whole truth.)

Keep substituting nonperfectionist for perfectionist language, and you’ll eventually find yourself being naturally nonperfectionist—and happier, calmer, and more productive as a result.

And be sure, when making comparisons, that they’re accurate and balanced. (Or, better yet, stop comparing!)

Take care, stay safe, and thanks to L for the inspiration. (Below, some related links.)

On Trying to Write While Sitting in the Midst of the Battle of Hogwarts

Perfectionism is All Lies and Oversimplifications, Part One Million

Roll Over Beethoven!

Why We’re Such Poor Appreciators of Our Own Work

The post How About We Not Be Perfectionist During a Pandemic? first appeared on Hillary Rettig.

Oh, the things people say to writers!

• “What do you do?”
• “What do you write?”
• “Is there any money in that?”
• “Where have you been published?”
• “How’s the book coming along?” (Alt: “When will you be done with that thing?”)
• “Why don’t you just sit down over a weekend and just finish it?”
• “You should write like Stephen King!”
• “You should put a vampire in it!”
• “Why don’t you just go on [popular TV show]?” And, the ever popular,
• “When are you going to get a real job?”

These are the kinds of (often, but not always) well-meaning questions, comments, and conjectures that bedevil writers. A little planning can help a lot in terms of coping, however. Below are strategies for: (a) increasing your tolerance for difficult questions; (b) maintaining conversational boundaries; and (c) dealing with hostility.

Increasing your Tolerance for Difficult Questions, Comments, and Conjectures

By far the best thing you can do to increase your tolerance is to work on your own perfectionism and ambivalence. If a part of you actually believes you’re “taking too long” to finish your book, or that writing is a waste of time when it doesn’t earn any money, then any hint to that effect from someone else is bound to hurt. In contrast, the more grounded and realistic you are around your work, the more resilient you will be in the face of challenging questions or comments.

Also, think about your motive when answering questions. If it’s to convince the questioner of the validity of your viewpoint – for instance, that money really isn’t the most important thing in writing or life – then you’re already in trouble. You can’t be responsible for what other people think, and certainly won’t convince anyone by lecturing. The best way to convince people about the value of your path is to live it proudly, productively, and joyfully.

When a friend or loved one repeatedly asks, “How much did you write today?” it can stress you out even if they mean well. Explain to them that nagging isn’t helpful, and that a better way to support you is to: (1) do the dishes or laundry so you have more time to write, and (2) be a compassionate and nonjudgmental listener.

Maintaining Conversational Boundaries

Of course, there could be other reasons you don’t like to answer questions. Perhaps you find them invasive, or perhaps you’re shy, or perhaps you don’t like small talk. Many writers, I’ve found, are uncomfortable with superficial conversations, especially about their work.

I believe that even the most reticent writer should be able to tell people that she’s a writer, since withholding a fundamental truth about yourself creates shame. What you say beyond that, however, is up to you. (I favor a lot of candor, but know that approach isn’t for everyone.) Delimiting conversations can be tricky, however, so here are a few tips:

• Talk About Writing in General. The answer to, “Where do you get your ideas?” doesn’t have to be some kind of uncomfortable self-exposure, but a more general statement of how writers work. (“Well, you know, we get our ideas from all over.”) If your questioner presses for specifics, just say, “I actually don’t like to talk about the specifics of my work.” Most people will respect that.
• Talk About Your Past Works, but Not Your Current Work. “I prefer not to talk about the project I’m currently working on,” is a great reply that people usually respect.
• Answer Without Justifying. If, after you tell someone you’ve been working on your novel for four years, they reply, “Isn’t that a long time?” refrain from going into a long, defensive explanation of how complex your novel is, how much research it took, etc., and simply correct the questioner’s information, “Actually, it’s not. Many novels take years to write.”
• Deflect. E.g., “You know, I really don’t like to talk about my projects, but you seem very interested in books – what do you read?” This often works because most people like to talk about themselves even more than they like to talk about your writing!
• Use Humor. If someone asks, rudely, how much money you make from your writing, you can embarrassedly mutter, “None.” Or, grin crazily and say, “Oh, millions!” Humor can be tricky, though, so if your listener is simply not getting it, it’s a good idea to switch to another tactic.

Keep in mind that how you say something is at least as important as your choice of words: if you yourself are confident and at ease with your choices, all but the most obtuse questioners will get the point.

Dealing with Hostility

Always assume questioners are innocent until proven guilty. If someone asks me a clueless or even callous question, I try to give them benefit of the doubt, because I’ve asked my own share of clueless and callous questions over the years.

If someone is truly insulting or offensive or hostile, however, you shouldn’t tolerate that. You have two basic choices: to either not interact with him anymore, or (if you value the relationship) to explain to him why his comment is inappropriate and how you would like to be treated in the future. If you do that and the person continues mistreating you, I would: (a) end the friendship or acquaintanceship, or (b) if it’s a family member, forbid conversation about your writing. These steps may seem extreme, but they’re essential. You must protect your creative core from those who would undermine you.

Don’t Let them Stop You

The most important tip about dealing with challenging questions is to never let them stop you. High achievers in every field say the same thing: “I thought about quitting during a difficult period, but knew that that wouldn’t accomplish anything.”

So, you shouldn’t quit, either.

The post How to Cope With Clueless Questions, Crass Comments, and Crazy Conjectures first appeared on Hillary Rettig.

That’s why this anecdote from Caro’s autobiography Working is so satisfying:

• “I was bothered, too, by the length not only of the manuscript [The Power Broker, about New York City “master builder” Robert Moses], but also of the time I had been working on it.“That was the thing that made me doubt the most. When I had started, I had firmly believed that I would be done in a year, a naive but perhaps not unnatural belief for someone whose longest previous deadline had been measured in weeks. As year followed year, and I was still not nearly done, I became convinced that I had gone terribly astray.“This feeling was fed by the people Ina and I did know. I was still in the first year of research when friends and acquaintances began to ask if I was “still doing that book.” Later I would be asked, “How long have you been working on it now?” When I said three years, or four, or five, they would quickly disguise their look of incredulity , but not quickly enough to keep me from seeing it. I came to dread that question….”

Skip forward a few years, and Caro has been given desk privileges in the New York Public Library’s prestigious Frederick Lewis Allen Room, where he finds himself working alongside, among others, two of the twentieth century’s most celebrated biographers: James Flexner (author of a multivolume biography of George Washington) and Joseph Lash (author of Eleanor and Franklin, about the Roosevelts). One day, Caro looks up from his work:

• “James Flexner was standing over me. The expression on his face was friendly but after he had asked what I was writing about, the next question was the question I had come to dread: “How long have you been working on it. This time, however, when I replied, “Five years,” the response was not an incredulous stare.“‘Oh,’ Jim Flexner said, “that’s not so long. I’ve been working on my Washington for nine years.”“I could have jumped up and kissed him, whiskers and all–as, the next day, I could have jumped up and kissed Joe Lash, big beard and all, when he asked me the same question, and, after hearing my answer, said in his quiet way, “Eleanor and Franklin took me seven years.” In a couple of sentences, these two men–idols of mine–had wiped away years of doubt.”

There are at least two excellent lessons to be derived from Caro’s story:

1) You need mentors. And at least some of them need to have done what you’re trying to do. Neither Caro’s journalist friends nor his literary agent was able to mentor him on the idea that “biographies take a long time to write.” But when Caro finally met some other biographers, they set him straight immediately.

2) Reframing (looking at something from a fresh angle or perspective) is a brilliant, fun, and powerful technique. Here’s another example, quoted in my book The 7 Secrets of the Prolific:

• “In his essay “The Eleventh Draft,” from the book The Eleventh Draft (Frank Conroy, ed.), Chris Offutt offers one of the most brilliant and delightful re-empowerment strategies I’ve seen:“The notion of submitting anything to a magazine filled me with terror.A stranger would read my precious words, judge them deficient, and reject them, which meant I was worthless 4 … My goal, however, was not publication, which was still too scary a thought. My goal was a hundred rejections in a year. I mailed my stories in multiple submissions and waited eagerly for their return, which they promptly did. Each rejection brought me that much closer to my goal—a cause for celebration, rather than depression. “Eventually disaster struck. The Coe Review published my first story in spring 1990.”

Please remember that, no matter what your goal, nonperfectionism (including longsightedness / perspective) comes first, time management comes second, and finding great mentors is third. (To find them, do what Caro did, and join organizations they belong to.)

The post Biographer Robert Caro on How It’s All About Perspective first appeared on Hillary Rettig.