This piece from Neff Notes is worth repeating…Chris Sauve gave a TED Talk called “The Habits of Highly Boring People.” Here is my paraphrase of a quotation he uses from Gustave Flaubert:
“Be boring in your daily life so you can be more original in your creative work.”
Here are three hints from Chris to make boring habits lead to creative ideas and activities.
Write everything down. (Research shows that we can only hold between 5-9 items in our active working memory.) Lists are wonderful safety nets that can help give us peace of mind.
Reduce essentials. Our mental energy pool only has so much water, and if we waste it by analyzing a myriad of choices then our energy will be drained for more important decisions. Ignore the “sirens of choice” and buy the same toothpaste, at the same store. Reduce our items of clothing. Steve Jobs wore the same black turtleneck/blue jeans/runners for his major new product presentations. Seemed to work for him!
Stop and question. What is the value of doing______? Can I eliminate or delegate? As the saying goes: “The good can be the enemy of the best.”
Years ago, someone described me as “flaky.” Aware of this tendency, I have aimed to organize my days to please the God Who loves me and has a plan for my life. (It amuses me when people say that I am organized. Little do they know!)
