0027: How to get 10 hours of value from 10 minutes of creative work (without using Ai)

On the elasticity of time and the inefficiency of language

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In this Blog:

1. Drawing Prompt: Petshop

2. Post it note drawings and stacking ideas

3. There is no such thing as 2 in the morning

1. Drawing Prompt:

Petshop

In a ten minute session there are two ways to approach this prompt, pick an element of a petshop that resonates with you and focus on drawing that one element. Or quickly draw multiple elements, this might be as little icons in a sketchbook neatly in a row or in a more organic way.

If you like this prompt consider turning it into a series, for example you could pair it with something like

Mr. Tom Froese

‘s Styleclass on skillshare

2. Post it note drawings and stacking ideas

I made Post-it note drawings of today’s drawing prompt.

My aim was initially to capture my fist impressions of pet shops from my minds eye and memory and adding to that some aspects of petshops collected by research. This practice allowed me to explore the subject matter broadly while generating an artefact that might be used in a variety of ways.

1. Discrete illustrations: I might turn any one or combination of post its into an illustration for my portfolio

2. Scene Arrangement: I could move the post its around to quickly build a scene.

3. Illustration Series: I might develop a series of illustrations by either creating variations of an idea i.e multiple fish, or vignettes for aspects of a petshop, or background inspiration for characters.

Collecting Primary Source Inspiration

It takes time to make good art.

Spending a ten minute increment like this is like collecting 10 minutes towards a future project. And this 10 minutes can now be used multiple times.

I’ve stacked up the post its as pocket sized inspiration as to flip through when looking for ideas. These useful Lego blocks for the future serving as a head start for future projects.

If I need to draw a pet related magazine article, I have a 10 minute head start.

If I need to draw a characters room, I have a 10 minutes head start.

If I need to think of a character that is into pets I have a 10 minute head start.

If I need something yo post on socials I have a 10 minute head start.

These head starts multiply the value of the 10 minutes spent making as that effort is leveraged over and over again. Now imagine if you have a stack of stored time like this. You would be able to put 10 hours of value into a 30 minute job.

This kind of value creation is essential to being paid well for your work.

Another way to think about it is you are building expertise in 10 minute increments that pays compound interests.

3. Two in the morning

Today I Learned that there is no such thing as 2 in the morning. It’s just a manner of speaking. But that I know this, I’ve come to dislike phrases like two in the morning because it’s just wrong and confusing.

Also isn’t it weird that there is no fixed time for when the morning begins, but there is a fixed time for when it ends. Beautiful and weird.

Depending on where you live, you get a different amount of ‘morning’, which we often take for a unit of time. One could write a whole book about this! I nominate Bill Bryson and

Stephen Fry