It’s the end of the year, so it’s a good time to be contemplative. And you know those novels or TV shows, usually fantasy, where some character opines that they have “fewer winters ahead than behind?”
It’s in that contemplative mood that I looked through my stack o’ possible blog posts and found an article called “The Tail End” by Tim Urban. You probably know Tim Urban from his gloriously funny and insightful piece on procrastination from 2013 or the 2016 version in TED Talk form. This is the one with the “Instant Gratification Monkey” and the “Panic Monster.” There are now stuffies available of both these icons which is both just and right.
Anyway, the article “The Tail End” came out 10 years ago this month and I believe it’s equally worth a read, especially at the end of the year when many of us naturally look to the year ahead and consider what we want to make of it. And what to make of it –and what to make– is all the more vital for folks doing creative work (though we’re all making art in the new year, right?). I mean, as I’ve linked to before, creative industries aren’t fair (as I posted in July 2017), but one should never wait to create (also as posted in July 2017).
And, of course, there’s more than just creating stuff, as “The Tail End” gets into. So, give it a read and consider, as Gandalf might suggest, what to do with the time that is given.
My hope is for a creative, connected year ahead for you all.