I've recently been working on a lot of what I've come to think of as 'slow projects'. Things like the Instorematic and Best Urban Places. And other things which are too slow even to have a URL. Not long ago the idea of a slow project would have horrified me; where's the nimbleness, the agility? But now I'm thinking that for some projects slow is both unavoidable and good (like slow cooking).
It's unavoidable because these are the kind of projects you do with your friends, because you want to. Money is involved but only as a lubricant, not as the point of doing it, so these projects are cheap. And you're only doing them because you want them to be really good, that's the point. And that means the awesome logic of the fast/cheap/good trio swings into place - dictating that if something's going to be both cheap and good it can't also be fast. And of course it can't be fast, because these are projects done in evenings and weekends, in people's own time.
So you learn patience, and you realise that those long pauses are opportunities for reflection and that extra goodness might result from all that extra mulling, from stepping away for a while. The excitement and energy of a headlong sprint to execution is addictive and it can get a lot done, it's mostly what my working life has been about. But I'm enjoying the slow way, it's almost like craft.
(And to everyone who I'm doing one of these projects with: this is not me dropping a hint, honestly)
Your comments resonate strongly with me. I am now 28 years old, but I used to be 15, 16, 17... And all the way up to my 22nd year on this planet, I was working towards becoming a rockstar. Seriously. The band was the plan A. College was, well, just in case I ever needed to use plan B. Plan B seduced me and took over, and the band has not been active for about 6 years. Now, slowly, writing music has become something like what you are talking about. A slow project. For nights and weekends. I can write one song per quarter, and that's enough. Or I can go a whole year without touching my guitar. There's no hurry. And realizing that there's no need for anxiety anymore has been great. I don't even want a band as the focal point of my life anymore. I truly don't. I don't need it to define who I am (and, yes, I used to...). But the fact that I can work, with a best friend from my teenage years, slowly, on putting songs together... It's fascinating.
Off to take a shower. Then eat dinner and hang out with my girlfriend. And then, if I feel like it, I'll work on the latest song ; )
Oh, last point. Slow side projects are important. They give you a break from being productive. Like a vacation for the brain.
Posted by: Pablo Rosas | March 14, 2008 at 12:10 AM
couldn't agree more. My little projects, some a year in, have been given time to grow and form properly. It's like gardening, you feed the garden every now and then and slowly it starts to make sense.
Also, love the comment above 'I used to be 15' going to be smiling about that all day.
Posted by: Charlie Gower | March 14, 2008 at 11:26 AM