Craig Constantine

No more later

But, when you work in six week cycles, or relatively short time frames, later means something else entirely. There’s no time for later. It’s now or not. Later doesn’t mean we’ll get to it at the end of this cycle. It means we’ll drop it. Later means another time, not this time. Later isn’t an obligation, it’s a maybe. Later isn’t a cage, it’s freedom. It’s not a debt to pay off, it’s an asset. There’s no pile of pile ups, there’s no guilt, there’s no feeling of late nights and crunch time ahead. Later simply means not now, not soon, and not for sure.
~ Jason Fried, from Avoiding pile-ups

slip:4uheja1.

I read this and it really landed. Six weeks. Six weeks is an amount of time I can truly apprehend and plan for. Six weeks has become my new project size. If it cannot be done in six weeks, it needs to be broken down into multiple projects.

It’s only a movie

19 Days Ago

The movie is also missing (though it very nearly captured) a fascinating archaeological sidenote to the story: the extraordinary investigations of Dutch archaeologist Hendrik Robert van Heekeren while he was a prisoner of war.
~ Cyler Conrad, from An Archaeologist on the Railroad of Death

slip:4usaaa4.

Sure, it’s a film from the 50s, so it’s going to gloss over some things. But it’s interesting to learn about what really went on in that theater [of war.]

Simplicity, patience, compassion

20 Days Ago

As I continue to think about coaching movement, I was recently reminded of this quote, added to my collection long ago:

I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.
~ Lao Tzu

slip:4a104.

Those three words struck me as guides— both in the sense of what I want to convey, and how I want to coach.

For myself:

Is this simple?
Am I being patient?
Am I being compassionate?

But also in terms of shaping others’ thinking:

What’s the simplest thing which could possibly work?
Are your expectations realistic?
Are you being compassionate to yourself?

Eventually, it’s all just ‘yes’

21 Days Ago

Our self-awareness as actors is pretty missing in that way! There are plenty of times where I thought, “That was something…” And then nobody thought that was anything. (Laughs) And then there’s other times where I said, “Oh, I don’t know about that.” And everybody loves it! So it’s not that easy.

~ Mads Dittmann Mikkelsen, from Mads Mikkelsen – The Talks

slip:4uteie51.

Recently I’ve noticed I have a list of actors and when I see they are in a project… yes.

That’s clarity

22 Days Ago

I decided to retire in 2021 because, after such a long career, I had done enough, and it was time for something different. My art was much more interesting and challenging to me (and still is).

~ Andrew Wulf, from What I Miss And Don’t From Working As A Programmer

slip:4utewa4.

Interestingly, when people ask me “what do you do?” I used to say, with snark, “As little as possible.” These days? Still that, but now without the snark.

Joy or sorrow

23 Days Ago

In the Greek story of Sisyphus, the king was condemned for eternity to move a massive rock up a hill but never reach the summit. Albert Camus famously saw it as a parable of the human condition: Life is meaningless, and consciousness of this meaninglessness is torture. This is how I’d remembered Camus’ essay The Myth of Sisyphus, which describes an afterlife as devastating as that of Prometheus having his liver pecked out by an eagle anew every day. But when I reread it recently, I was reminded that for Camus, the king isn’t entirely tragic; he has some power over his existential predicament. Once he grasps his fate—“the wild and limited universe of man”—Sisyphus discovers a certain freedom; he gets to determine whether to face the futility of it all with joy or sorrow.

~ Gal Beckerman, from A Case for Sisyphus and Hopeful Pessimism

slip:4utebo8.

It’s our choice.

A lead lining?

24 Days Ago

Ironically, it is actually far easier for us archaeologists to investigate the monument now than it was before the fire. Although the fire released a lot of lead, making it necessary for researchers to don protective clothing and abide by procedures to avoid lead toxicity, we no longer face the obstacles presented by floods of tourists on the site, and materials damaged by the fire are now more available for analysis. Together, we have learned a lot about the building, its materials, and the possibilities for reconstruction.

~ Maxime L’Héritier, from Archaeology in the Ashes of Notre Dame

slip:4usaaa3.

But, metaphorically, a silver lining. Clearly some good is coming out of the fire at Notre Dame. What an amazing layering of history there.

Wait wat

25 Days Ago

After ending on a startlingly inconclusive note in 1991, Twin Peaks returned in 2017 to extend the story for one more season. Yet audiences who’d hoped for a traditional ending were again denied one. Again, Lynch seemed to be imploring them to stop seeking clarity and embrace the moments whose overarching connections are far less obvious. What mattered to him, it appears, was the experience itself: the feelings they evoked, the uncanny images whose significance were difficult to parse yet impossible to forget. David Lynch didn’t want to leave his viewers with an interpretation, but with something more visceral—like the taste of cherry pie and a cup of hot coffee, black as midnight on a moonless night.

~ Emma Stefansky, from David Lynch Captured the Appeal of the Unknown

slip:4utecu2.

I watched Twin Peaks in real time on ‘ol broadcast TV. It bent my brain in the best way possible. But . . . there’s another season?! Shut up and take my money— I was reading this, thinking it was simply interesting. Until I got to this line… excuse me while I run to whatever streaming service it takes . . .

Potent paper and pen

26 Days Ago

Paper is good. Somehow, a blank page and a pen makes the universe open up before you. Why paper has this unique power is a mystery to me, but I think we should all stop trying to resist this reality and just accept it.

~ “Dynomight,” from Paper

slip:4udypa2.

Paper is good is a colossal understatement. The magic of writing comes from being forced to slow down; One has to hold on to a single-sentence sized thought long enough to write it. You’ve never held one thought, clearly in mind, for 10 seconds… unless you were writing it down.

Slow down

27 Days Ago

[I]t’s important to have a sense of urgency. But there’s a difference between urgency and rushing, hurrying, going quickly for the sole sake of speed. There is an old Latin expression that I think captures the balance here nicely: Festina Lente, which means, Make haste slowly. A sense of urgency…with a purpose. Energy plus moderation. Measured exertion. Eagerness, with control. It is about getting things done, properly and consistently. They like to say in the military that slow is smooth and smooth is fast.

~ Ryan Holiday, from These Are Leadership Ideas I Try To Apply Every Day

slip:4uryte5.

This is just one, from a long list of great ideas. I’ve been thinking and mentioning festina lente ever since I first learned about it.

Consider: How do you handle the tension between quality and consistency?

28 Days Ago

We’re told to “just ship it,” but also to “make it great.” Where do you draw the line? When do you prioritize polish, and when do you hit publish?

I had to learn—the way you learn to ride a bicycle: do it over and over, the “principle” of the thing doesn’t help you do the thing—that the tension is a good sign. Now when I feel the tension between quality and consistency I know I’m in the correct place.

This morning, I’m thinking about a rowing metaphor: One oar is quality and the other is consistency. Pull evenly and the boat goes straight-ish. Also, if you try to row too hard, you get exhausted. The best way to make long-term progress is to row these two things, in balance, at a sustainable pace.

First, balance

29 Days Ago

Well, I trust that if I’ve got a night’s sleep, if possible, and have had something to eat, and have worked on the part, I can kind of just show up. It’s of course a case-by-case basis, depending on the part and the scene. But just put some attention and some good honest effort into trying to solve the puzzles of the scene and it will work out, without overly trying to inflate my condition, my inner thinking and feeling — without overly abusing myself.

~ Jeff Goldblum, from Jeff Goldblum – The Talks

slip:4uteie50.

I do love that the first item on that list is sleep. But yes, absolutely, there’s magic in preparing, and then letting go of that preparation. In thinking: I’m prepared, smiling, and looking forward to this adventure.

On the other hand

April 16

Along the way, over years of practice, I lost faith that awareness was always curative, that resolving childhood trauma would liberate us all, that truly feeling the feelings would allow them to dissipate, in a complex feedback loop of theory and practice.

~ Niklas Serning, from I am a better therapist since I let go of therapeutic theory

slip:4uaeea41.

I read somewhere that what likely makes any therapy work is the effort one puts into creating the relationship with the therapist. Striving to be a better person seems to lead to—wait for it—slowly becoming a better person. To that end, I recommend deploying tools like discovery and reflection to attempt to ground your self-assessment in reality, and to give yourself a force multiplier for the incremental insights.

Immersive

April 14

You stand back and in a way, the reason it’s interesting is because it stands out, it doesn’t fit in, it doesn’t look like anything you’ve seen. But this is not really my position — generally. There might be moments where such a performance is necessary but we like to find a stronger relationship between the familiar and the unfamiliar. My feeling is that when a building is too self-referential, the audience is distanced; architecture becomes something that you look at. [Like in a cathedral or a monument?] Right, it’s a spectacle — whereas I think for 99% of the time, architecture is something that you should be inside and absorbed by. It’s something which convinces you by experience more than impresses you by image.

~ David Chipperfield, from David Chipperfield – The Talks

I think that tension exists in any creative endeavor. Perhaps, the existence of that tension is what defines something as being creative?

Scheduling is the important thing

April 13

Set a recurring date on your calendar to get together. And then stick to it.

Some people might find this tactic a little soulless and formal, the same way that some couples deride the idea of scheduling sex. Yet when your life is ruled by your phone and nothing gets done unless it ends up on a to-do list, booking repeat friend dates is practical—a way to carve out real time not just for errands and work, but also for engaging with the people you love.

~ Serena Dai, from The Easiest Way to Keep Your Friends

slip:4utefa7.

I once had a long-running dinner with a few of my cousins and our spouses. We all liked to have dinner in, rather than out… but we couldn’t settle on a strict schedule. So instead, we made sure to start each gathering by having the “when do we next meet” discussion? :) Sure it took time to do that, but it has the advantage that everyone is in the room. We’d end up planning 4 or more weeks out, but it got on the calendar every time. And yes, we stopped because the last time we met up, we didn’t plan the next time.

Not sorry

April 12

Sorry — too little time left.

~ Richard Avedon, from Creative People Say No

slip:4umeke1.

Well, there’s someone who has it figured out.

Consider: What does a sustainable podcasting routine look like for you?

April 11

This is a perennial struggle for me. My ability to imagine things that I’d like to create, vastly and consistently exceeds my ability to actually create.

The standard advice is to narrow one’s focus. Choose one thing to focus on— especially if we’re talking about charging for a product. But even more generally, in podcasting, the standard advice is to choose one thing… one show… one format…

I’ve come to the conclusion that I am not that sort of creative. A while back I stood up a new “home” for myself on the Web at craigconstantine.com and as I was deciding what to put there, this occurred to me:

I create a ton of free, public stuff. Each of my current projects is its own rabbit hole to explore.

After decades of struggle against my own nature, I’ve given up trying to focus on just one thing. Instead, I’ve learned to relax—or at least, to be slightly more relaxed. When the creative energy is flowing, I channel it. And sometimes I simply pause.

That’s how I keep my podcasting sustainable. I create processes and move things along when I feel engaged and motivated. And sometimes I pause.

Many podcasters burn out. What’s a pace that actually works for you? How would your show change if you prioritized sustainability over growth?

Resistance is futile

April 10

Dinner resists optimization. It can be creative, and it can be pleasurable. None of this negates the fact that it is a grind. It will always be a grind. You will always have to think about it, unless you have someone else to think about it for you, and it will always require too much time or too much energy or too much money or some combination of the three. It is unrelenting, in the way that breathing is unrelenting. There is freedom in surrendering to this, that even in this golden age of technological progress, dinner refuses to be solved.

~ Rachel Sugar, from Dinner Is Terrible

slip:4utehe5.

I agree with Sugar. Somewhere along the way I learned that leaning into the mundane parts of meal preparation is actually what I need to do more often. I tend to get very head-down doing and that’s not healthy when it’s protracted hours upon hours. Instead, pre-planning when I’m supposed to stop doing and go work on the meal always results in my spending some meditative time in the ‘ol kitchen. Combined with “simple food, simply prepared”—fresh or raw ingredients, reduced combinations of flavors, smaller quantities, visually interesting—I feel I’m making some progress towards health and mental wellness in one activity.

Feeling motivated?

April 9

Remember, motivation isn’t a thing. It isn’t a possession and isn’t static. Motivation is a process. And like any process, it can vary depending on the inputs.

Understanding all of these theories can help you identify which are operating in a certain scenario and how to “hack” them to maximize your motivational energy and get yourself moving in the right direction.

~ Brett & Kate McKay, from The Science of Drive: 5 Theories of Motivation That Can Help You Achieve Your Goals

slip:4uaoca22.

As I’m making plans to begin coaching, motivation has been on my mind. Not just how to motivate myself (to do all the preparatory work) but how to motivate others. The more I learn, the more vistas open before revealing vast lands of further learning.