Merge pull request #115 from dev-human/dont-look-up

Don't look up

content/article/2023-08-16-dont-look-up/index.md

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+---
+title: Don't look up!
+description: A shift in attitude towards sharing knowledge
+authors:
+  - ramondelafuente
+categories:
+  - Productivity
+tags:
+  - creativity
+  - perspective
+  - staying positive
+
+---
+
+_Warning: This post has nothing to do with the [movie by the same title](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11286314/). I 
+do highly recommend watching it though._
+
+In the short time I've been alive in this world I've gone through a handful of profound changes in perspective. The 
+latest one has been slumbering in the background for a while. It goes to the heart of my personal productivity, 
+or rather the lack of it.
+
+My general feeling of being unproductive is not new. I've been struggling with it for a long time. There are many 
+bestseller books on the topic, like 
+
+- [Eat that Frog](https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/p/eat-that-frog/9200000059295510/)
+- [Getting Things Done](https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/p/getting-things-done/9200000107679892/)
+- [The 4-Hour Workweek](https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/p/the-4-hour-workweek/1001004006428399/)
+- The 5 AM club *.
+- etc..
+
+Given the [success of the genre](https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/s/?page=1&searchtext=procrastination&view=list&filter_N=8292+11209+14033&rating=all) 
+I'm certainly not alone in this feeling. I've watched the TED talk 
+[Inside the mind of a master procrastinator](https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_urban_inside_the_mind_of_a_master_procrastinator) 
+by Tim Urban more than a few times (usually when I needed to be doing something else). It's hilarious. And it's 
+also very relatable.
+
+_*I don't recommend "The 5 AM club", I found it a very shallow book_
+
+## How to be more productive
+
+What those books and talks have in common is that they all focus on the "how" of productivity. They give you tips on
+changing your routine or your habits. And this has certainly helped me in the past - 
+[Atomic Habits](https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/p/atomic-habits/9200000075132383/) by James Clear has had a profound effect 
+on how I arrange my day. I have a morning routine that I follow consistently and I have been able to stack a few habits 
+on top of each other. I've read many books starting from a "read 15-minutes at breakfast" rule.
+
+But I have not been able to apply these techniques to all areas I wanted to. I've got a bad habit of staying up late 
+when I know I should go the bed. Sometimes I play games on my phone that I know I don't enjoy. But most importantly for 
+me, I've been trying to do more writing for a long time. But I can't seem to find a rhythm that works for me.
+
+## Not _how_, but _why_
+
+So instead of focussing on **how** to be a more productive writer, I decided to look into **why** I'm not writing more.
+
+For instance, I know that I am not incapable of writing. I have no problem articulating an idea once I have a good 
+grasp of it. Making an idea public can be nerve-wrecking for me, but at the same time I know I can do it. I've done it 
+before. As for finding the discipline - I'm sure I can do that too. I made quite a few changes in my life over the 
+years, and I've been able to stick to them.
+
+So if I'm not too scared , too dumb or too undisciplined... what is holding me back?
+
+It has to do with the fact that deep down, I believe that _my ideas are not worth sharing_.
+
+### My ideas are not interesting
+
+After introspection, I think for me this is a matter of the audience in my head. I've spent a very long time 
+"looking up" at people who are more successful, more creative, more knowledgeable than me. I aspired to be more like 
+them, and to do so be as close to them as I could. This has helped me a lot in my career, I've been very fortunate to 
+be around people who are smarter than I am. This is, in my experience, the fastest way to learn and grow.
+
+But if you're constantly looking up, all you see is those ahead of you. You seem to lose track of your old self, the 
+one who was just behind where you are now. Because thát you is surrounded by others at the same level of experience. 
+And still ahead of even more others - all the way down to those who are just starting out. And this is an audience 
+I was not taking into account.
+
+![People pyramid](people-pyramid-edited.png "People pyramid")
+{{< subtext "Generated by DALL-E (and edited): 'a watercolor people pyramid on a light background'" >}}
+
+### I have nothing to add
+
+A lot of topics I came up with over the years never became a blog post because I felt that I was not the right person
+to write about it. There was always someone who I looked up to who could do a better job. And even for topics 
+I stared to write about, I would do research and find that someone else had already written about it. I would assume 
+I was not adding anything new to the conversation, and I would stop writing.
+
+But it is very telling that I've never thought about it the other way around. The articles I found might also not 
+be the original sources - but I never check. The authors I admire might have taken topics from others, but I assume 
+their views are worth it without comparing. It's not needed. If I learn something new then it was worthwhile _to me_
+as the reader. Maybe their wording was just right, or the examples were more relatable. Maybe I wasn't even aware of 
+the topic until a particular author decided to write about it and share. The point is, they shared.
+
+### I _must_ sound smart
+
+If I did manage to write something I would start to get discouraged when I read it back. I would imagine the people
+I look up to as readers and assume they would find it too simple or too obvious. A lot of my time would be spent 
+re-writing until at some point I would give up. You're never going to write an interesting article about "the 
+inner-workings of the pinball machine" if you're trying to write to the inventor of the pinball machine, right?
+
+But even that seems wrong. It might be that the inventor of the pinball machine is very interested in my experiences
+with them. Or even my description on how they work, either because I got it wrong or because my views inspire new ideas.
+Or maybe they are not interested at all, but someone else probably is. And that's the point. Don't try to write to 
+the inventor, write to the person who is interested in the topic. Write to the person who is either just starting out 
+or is just behind you. Write to the person who might be out there looking up to you. Write to old you.
+
+## Don't look up
+
+So the advice I have to me from my future self (the one who writes more than me) is:
+
+Don't look up!.
+
+![Traffic sign](traffic-sign.png "Traffic sign - don't look up")
+{{< subtext "Generated by DALL-E: 'a scratched round traffic sign with a red border and a black arrow pointing up, by banksky'" >}}
+
+At least not when sharing knowledge. The fact that I actually wrote this article makes me hopeful that I'm on to something :-)
+
+
+
+