Leave yourself a rough edge

May 02, 2015 2:24 PM

Colbert’s writing staff works through the night.

His team
scours the mainstream media landscape over the course of the evening, always
looking at what shadow those stories are casting, so he can then distort the
news in his own unique comedic way. That way, every morning when he commutes to
the office, he has a digest of the most important information he needs to know
to do his job effectively.

Colbert explained that this ritual allows his
workday to be preambled, so to speak,
so he can hit the ground running when he walks in the door. It’s a brilliant way to
build momentum in the early part of your workday. In fact, writers have been
using this technique for years.

Hemingway famously stopped his day’s writing
mid sentence. By letting his last thought sit incomplete until the next writing
session, he found, it was easier to regain momentum a day later. Stop when
you’re going good, he said, and you’ll never be stuck again.

I often preamble
my day by transcribing book notes. Before going to bed, for example, I’ll
gather all the ideas I wrote down that day and dump them into my idea
inventory. That way, when I sit down to write the next morning, inspiration
will be waiting for me.

Whatever it takes to leave yourself a rough edge.

It’s
like the knitter who leaves a hint of yarn sticking out of her unfinished
sweater so she knows where to pick it up the next day.

Give yourself something
to jump into immediately. Leave a little bit of the work ordained, so that you
afford yourself a little push before beginning your work.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

How do you preamble your creative routine?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For a copy of the list called, “7 Ways to Out Leverage Your Competition,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com