What you've done here is sort of self-discovered some of the prevailing theory about innovation and problem solving.

When I was in grad school, I studied creativity and innovation, and one of the findings was that temporal and geographical displacement actually assist with creative problem solving / innovation.  That is, when faced with a problem, removing yourself from it and NOT thinking about it actually allows your subconscious to sort of work on a solution in the background.  It's the reason why so many of us have big "ah hahs" when sleeping or in the shower.

Geographical change is also good.  Get yourself away from the computer and out of the RV.  Everyday, I spend an hour in the late afternoon lying in the grass and reading in Balboa Park in San Diego just to escape whatever I'm working on.  Later in the day, I'll mix in some music time similar to your violin time.  It's the things OTHER than work that actually make your work more efficient!

You know, I've always wondered about something Tynan...you frequently talk about how you used to get bad grades, but it never really bothered you.  Was this because you were doing something else productive that was consuming your time, or because you decided you didn't like school or the rigidity of grading?

The reason I ask is that your current attitude towards productivity and learning makes me think you would put a lot of effort into learning (and subsequently getting good grades) if you were to be enrolled in school today, even if it was a subject you found only so, so.

In undergrad, my grades were kind of blah because I found Engineering completely boring.  When I went to graduate school many years later, I worked a lot harder to get good grades, even in subjects I knew that wouldn't matter to me, because it was a matter of learning something new I would never otherwise pursue, thus broadening my knowledge, and it was the fact that I had no legitimate excuse to not try and get a great grade..."not being interesting" sounded like a cop-out to me, so I ground through those boring classes and got a good grade.

Grades were not about "what will my parents think" but more about, "I'm here, and I'm going to kick ass no matter what."

You really nailed it with the last paragraph...

One thing I would mention with your novel is that sometimes you have to be OK with a scene or a paragraph taking a looooong time.  For example, I'm really into music and song writing, but its really difficult and unproductive for me to sit down and say, "Ok Arun, time to write an awesome song!" The process ends up frustrating and the product is mediocre.  BUT frequently I'll have song inspirations at the weirdest times.

That being said, I'll noodle around with some melodies for months until some inspiration hits.  This "noodling" is my "half-hour" - it basically keeps the problem in the back of your mind and allows your subconscious and creativity to work on it while you do other things.  So rather than brute-forcing songs (or difficult parts of your novel), they can happen much more organically, and for me, that results in the best stuff.

Similarly, I used to be a Computer Engineer in undergrad and would frequently get stuck writing code.  If I tried to ground n' pound the code, I ended up tired and hating life.  But if I rested or did something else, frequently the solution would come to me (many times, in the middle of the night!). 

You make several good points in this post, and in all likelihood people will make an effort to do this...unfortunately it will only last a day or two and this bout of inspiration will be fleeting.  Why?  Because people who tend to procrastinate need to essentially rewire their brain so that this type of behavior becomes habitual.  Most people favor short term pleasure vs. long term gain.  This is why, for example, New Years Resolutions are rarely accomplished.

Of course, rationally it makes sense to get up early on Saturday and knock out some work, but most will think, "gee my bed feels so good, I'll do my taxes later!"  

I think the best approach to this "rewiring" is to become a "list person."  Basically making daily, weekly, and monthly lists of things that HAVE to get done and revisiting it everyday.  There's something psychologically comforting in crossing off to-do list items.  I became a list person like six years ago and I'm far and away more productive and ahead of schedule than I had ever been.

I think that the act of doing these things are good in *theory* but I definitely think for certain things, its good to have a "moving standard" as opposed to a rigid one.

For example. I am always punctual as well, and I think people expect so much of me.  However, I have a certain group of Brazilian friends that are ALWAYS late to things...and not like 10 or 15 minutes - more like an hour!  This used to drive me crazy and spending time waiting can be irritating.  I knew there was no way I can change all of their behavior, so instead, when I meet with that group of people, I'm late.  I feel better not having waited, and no one thinks less of me.

It was more the latter.  The sales were good for awhile - a few hundred a month.  Nice money but certainly not enough to survive on - But the book is what gave me my initial credibility in internet marketing which snowballed into my own marketing business!

So I've got a VERY interesting story about the zany way this blog might be responsible for changing my life in a big way...

I think I discovered Better Than Your Boyfriend about six years ago or so...I worked as an Engineer in a boring office job, and right around that time I discovered these things called blogs.

I loved these crazy stories by some nut named Tynan - the balcony swing, the indoor pool, the pet penguin, the gambling, and living with Courtney Cox because, well, my life was full of unusual stories as well.  But one day, in some random post, Tynan mentioned that he makes hundreds of dollars a month on advertising.

The wheels started turning.

I thought, "What the hell?!?  HUNDREDS per month?  Why should HE be making all this great money when I've got GREAT stories too!  I'm starting a blog and becoming rich! Hooray!"

Hmmm...while I DO think you make valid points, I definitely think you are the exception rather than the rule Tynan.  For example, I feel pretty confident in saying that MOST people who decide to go to college are far more ambitious than those who don't.  Yes, this is a major generalization, but if we were to compare your success, knowledge, ambition etc to the "typical" college dropout, I think we would find that you are an outlier.

You are right that school is totally inflexible, but I think most people are undisciplined and need rigidity in order to actually extract value from school.  I have two degrees, one of which I don't use at all (engineering) and the other of which I probably didn't really need in hindsight (MBA), BUT I'm still glad I have them.  I not only learned a lot academically, but college actually instilled a sense of discipline that I never had before (I breezed through high school).

So, while I think you make great points, I also think that most people don't have the type of laser focus and discipline that you do.  And for those people, the investment in school makes more sense.  

Ha. I actually grew up in Alaska.  Do you have any plans once you're up there?  It's amazing this time of year!

Ha. I actually grew up in Alaska.  Do you have any plans once you're up there?  It's amazing this time of year!

Ahh yes...the good ol' moped. I went to college in San Luis Obispo and drove a moped for two years. I actually bought mine new! It was a "Tomos Targa" I believe.

About the insurance thing, I think the rules are a little murky. I too didn't think I needed insurance...until I got pulled over for wearing a bicycle helmet (apparently, by law you have to have a thicker helmet). I received a fix-it ticket for the helmet AND not having insurance.

Anyways. MOPEDS ARE AWESOME, and I totally miss mine. I wrote a little ditty about my moped adventures including an embarrassing accident at http://dailyremedy.blogspot.com/2007/02/moped-madness.html