%% ID: 13204977 Updated: 2022-01-28 %% ![](https://readwise-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/static/images/article1.be68295a7e40.png) # About Title: [[Other/Obsidian Starter Vault(Second Brain)/Readwise 1/Articles/The Guilty, Crazy Secret That Helps Me Write]] Author: [[Ryan Holiday]] Category: #articles Number of Highlights: ==15== Last Highlighted: *2021-11-13* Readwise URL: https://readwise.io/bookreview/13204977 Source URL: https://thoughtcatalog.com/ryan-holiday/2014/01/the-guilty-crazy-secret-that-helps-me-write/ # Highlights It’s taking over my life ^278320511 --- most people would be surprised to find out I harbor a habit that hints at deep insanity ^278320512 --- . And then I wake from my stupor and discard the songs like used condoms and pretend it never happened. ^278320513 --- there is a method to the madness. I found that this secret habit has been the fuel for my creative output ^278320514 --- You have your noise canceling headphones or ambient noise machines. You can put your phone on “Airplane Mode” or tell everyone to leave you alone. ^278320515 --- The problem with these reductive techniques is that they leave everything a little empty. In my experience, it’s not about quiet, it’s about finding your zone. ^278320516 --- melodic music, played on repeat, puts you in a heightened emotional state–while simultaneously dulling your awareness to most of your surroundings. It puts you in a creative zone. The important facilities are turned on, while all the others are turned off. ^278320517 --- Writing a book–or really any major creative project–puts you in an “agitated mental state.” ^278320518 --- It’s hard to sleep, it’s hard to concentrate, it’s hard to be present in everyday. But you can’t afford that when you’re actually working. He fixes that by doing the following: ^278320519 --- the answer is no. Repeat on the same song or the same two or three songs allows the songs to fade into themselves–to become a more or less a continuous stream. ^278320520 --- The idea is that after enough listens to song becomes a perpetual chorus. Time stops. Distractions stop. Extraneous thinking stops. ( ^278320521 --- All that’s left is the work at hand. ^278320522 --- All that’s left is the book or the paper you’re reading. All that’s left is problem you’re trying to crack when you go for a walk. ^278320523 --- Creative work isn’t about pleasure. It’s not always fun. It’s about reaching something inside yourself–something that society and everyday life make extraordinarily difficult. ^278320524 --- Every writer (or painter or thinker or adman) finds their own way. This is mine. Maybe it will work for you. Or maybe you’ll try it and never look at me the same way again. ^278320525