Show Your Work

I’m one of those nerdy readers who takes notes as they write. I’ve also been known to take notes in the cinema/while watching TV. I’m one of life’s note-takers.

Austin Kleon’s ‘Show Your Work’ is a short, incisive read encouraging us creators to well, show our work. It’s a potent little book, with great actionable ideas. Here’s a bunch of lessons I learned, as well as some of my own notes.

If I had to sum up this book in one sentence, it would be: share something small about your work, everyday (without becoming human spam).

Creativity is a social activity. Great work doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Get out and work IN the world. I love mellow cafes, libraries, galleries and parks for writing.

Work is about the ideas you share, the quality of connections you make and the conversations you start. Everything else is gravy.

The gap between mediocre and good is narrower, than the gap between doing nothing and doing something. So, start now.

Curiosity is a superpower.

There is an advantage to knowing less - you can innovate more easily.

“You can’t find you voice if you don’t use it”

If your work isn’t online, it doesn’t exist. Get a website and build a mailing list. Your website is a multimedia narrative you construct about yourself.

Read obituaries. Reading about death teaches you how to live.

We all love to go behind the scenes. Take photos of your workspace. Share your influences, inspiration and tools. At the end of creating, go back and find one snippet to share. (This was a big take away for me. Amber does this really well on Instagram.)

Answer the daily Q: What are you working on?

Documenting your work helps you see it more clearly. You’ll notice themes and trends as well as fresh opportunities for expansion.

Find cracks in your day for creative work. Mine are: my lunch break, 5pm-7pm, 6am to 8am and my weekends.

Don’t share everything. Protect your privacy. If in doubt, don’t share it.

Structure matters. Visualize the scaffold on which your work unfolds. I usually draw my ideas as I write them. Structure is neat, tidy and logical which is the exact opposite of life/creativity. So, crop & edit at will.

Start teaching. It adds to your work, and generates more interest in it.

Be interested in other people’s work. It’s the ecosystem in which your work lives.

Think of it as a conversation, in which you are just one voice.

Get out of the way of the work. Put it out there, let it breathe, and stand on its own two feet.

Make more stuff for yourself. THIS WAS MY KEY TAKEAWAY. The idea of writing for myself feels rather quaint, but I know I’m gonna love it.

“Be as generous as you can, but selfish enough to get your work done.” @austinkleon

Don’t quit. Take a sabbatical instead. You need perseverance to survive through the peaks and troughs of life.

Forget the big idea. Have lots of little ideas.