The Hard Hat Mentality

27 April 2009

Recently on Hacker News, someone asked how to fight procrastination.

My advice isn’t for procrastination in general (e.g. putting off paying bills or mowing the lawn), but for that special kind of procrastination that stops you from getting a business or important project going.

Read “The War of Art” by Steven Pressman and internalize its message. You can finish it in a day. In a nutshell, the book describes procrastination and some other vices as embodiments of Resistance, an evil spirit that plagues anyone who tries to do anything worthwhile.

The strategy Pressman outlines for fighting Resistance dovetails nicely with the techniques described in the other book I’d recommend, which is “The Creative Habit” by Twyla Tharp. With respect to procrastination, Tharp talks about recognizing (1) that creative work is still work and (2) the importance of developing solid daily routines and rituals so that you stop treating your work as something you do only when you’re “inspired.” She more or less adds details to the Pressman’s description of the “hard hat mentality” necessary to get anything done.

The hard hat mentality is that you don’t procrastinate on your job or wait until you “want” to do it, you just put the hard hat on every day and do the work so that you can get paid (whatever “paid” means for you). You’re doing it not because you’re inspired or motivated; you’re doing it because it’s your job. Period.