The Upside of Being Unproductive
I tend to use my weekends to play catch-up on work. For better or worse, this tends to happen when your office is inside your house. When you see your work staring at you, it's kinda hard to ignore it.
However, I spent yesterday being completely unproductive. No writing, no paying bills, no answering e-mails or blogging. Instead, a big chunk of time was devoted to watching a "best of" series of clips of Conan O'Brien's Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. If you want to see the clips, there are a bunch you can find online by searching "Triumph the Insult Comic Dog." Or you can check this page--with some of the best Triumph segments--in this article from MSNBC:
One Last Treat From Conan's Dirty Dog, Triumph.
Laughed my head off watching these (especially the clip with the Hawaii American Idol auditions.)
After the Triumph-fest, I went to see It's Complicated and laughed some more. HYSTERICAL flick.
I've spent most of this morning in a writing frenzy, probably because I let myself have a completely brainless day of entertainment. Proof that being unproductive is, every so often, a very good thing.
However, I spent yesterday being completely unproductive. No writing, no paying bills, no answering e-mails or blogging. Instead, a big chunk of time was devoted to watching a "best of" series of clips of Conan O'Brien's Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. If you want to see the clips, there are a bunch you can find online by searching "Triumph the Insult Comic Dog." Or you can check this page--with some of the best Triumph segments--in this article from MSNBC:
One Last Treat From Conan's Dirty Dog, Triumph.
Laughed my head off watching these (especially the clip with the Hawaii American Idol auditions.)
After the Triumph-fest, I went to see It's Complicated and laughed some more. HYSTERICAL flick.
I've spent most of this morning in a writing frenzy, probably because I let myself have a completely brainless day of entertainment. Proof that being unproductive is, every so often, a very good thing.
Labels: Writing Advice
posted by Niki Burnham at 12:25 PM
2 Comments:
I think that's one of the paradoxes of creative work--that sometimes you're most productive when you seem least productive. It's been something I've struggled with, especially when I'm pressuring myself to get stuff done. I have to keep reminding myself that, yes, watching Caprica instead of putting words on paper is working, even if doesn't seem like it.
Exactly! Anyone who spends time with me figures out pretty quickly that I have a hard time sitting still. I feel like I need to be DOING something, being productive. But I've learned that I'm actually more productive in the long run when I take breaks.
Guess that's why "refilling the well" is such a popular topic of discussion amongst authors.
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