I was sitting at my desk, after a full day of work trying to write my newsletter. Body tired, mind tired too. In this condition, my old routine would be closing the laptop, skipping writing today, and waiting for another day when I am fully rested and ready.
This reminds me of a concept I read from Joshua Waitzkin’s The Art of Learning.
Most people operate in what Waitzkin calls the “Hard Zone”. They would only do creative work when they have fresh energy, complete silence, and an open schedule. They wait for the perfect working condition before starting.
That’s the problem.
If your system only works when you feel 100%, you will constantly miss your cadence.
Creative resilience is about integrating tiredness into your baseline, not waiting for peak energy. I noticed that when I stop fighting low-energy states and accept them as normal, the tiredness stops being the reason I quit.
Here’s what I do in my writing routine.
Lowering the friction floor. When I am wiped out after a long day, I stop trying to craft a polished piece.
Start small. I set a 10-minute timer, write a raw imperfect draft.
Writing through the mess. No editing while the timer runs. Fix it tomorrow if it needs fixing.
The goal is to lower the bar so I can work with my fatigue instead of waiting for it to vanish. A system that adapts holds up when life gets heavy.
I am still exploring Joshua Waitzkin’s The Art of Learning. Still working out what his ideas on pressure and presence look like off the chessboard.
Until next time,
Gav.
