[Mondays BOOST #19] Week 21 -2024
French art, elimination and walk in the woods
Happy Monday!
This Monday, we’ll discuss French art, elimination as the foundation of Art and take a walk in the woods.
Have a wonderful week!
Frank
🎨 Artistic Feel
I have lived in Paris (more in the suburbs but working inside the city) for about 20 years. A beautiful city I’m glad I quit but I enjoy going back to regularly. One of the numerous art forms I got to enjoy is the Art Nouveau style of the few remaining original entrances of metro stations.
Why?
Because it still stands out after more than 100 years. It’s unusual, daring and unique. It’s a testimonial of what great creations can be.
And the lettering is so nice.
🎵 Musical Motivation
This is a special one this week. From a TV show you may know “The Voice”, but the French edition. You may not understand French, but I think you will feel something when you listen to this cover of a song from Zazie.
Why did I choose this performance, despite the annoying comments and irritating presenter? Because it shows how you can amplify something already good — I really like the original version — and make it something bigger or at least completely new.
A lesson for all of us trying to stand out and create something unique.
✨ Monday Win
Stop in the middle of a task,
Yes, I know it goes against common advice. But you’ll be interrupted at some point in your day and probably more than once.
If you have the possibility, I suggest to take your break or deal with an interruption right in the middle of a challenging task.
Why?
You’ll get back in no time to your work
Your brain will continue to process and try to solve the challenge you present it with.
You reduce the chances of procrastinating
That’s the benefit I experience each time I do this.
If you fear losing your thoughts or where you are when you come back, you can write down quickly a cue that will help you connect back. Use a notebook, your daily note app (Notion, Capacities, Obsidian…), or a post-it you place on your keyboard. Anything that works for you.
🧠 Weekly Reflection
Art is the elimination of the unnecessary.
– Pablo Picasso
I would rather say “Mastery is the elimination of the unnecessary”. But I think we mean the same thing: researching the simplicity in the complexity which is Art but also a sign of mastery, in any discipline.
If you observe any creator — I use that term in a general way, not just content creator — you will notice how the greats make things so simple. At least until you start to try to do the same!
You might not be there yet and so do I, but we can use that as a guideline to improve our creative work. Seeking simplicity, which is much harder than it seems.
It shows in a famous quote from a text by the French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal mentioning a letter he wrote: “Je n’ai fait celle-ci plus longue que parce que je n’ai pas eu le loisir de la faire plus courte.” This can translate as: “I have made this longer than usual because I have not had time to make it shorter.”
Being more concise in writing takes some work. You have to rewrite many times.
I do it often when I write a tweet. Less now because I’ve been practising for some time, but I at least rewrite twice.
It’s a great platform for that, no matter what you think about it: developing the skill of expressing ideas in a short and punchy way. At least if you use the standard tweet and not the premium blog-type posts.
And it goes beyond writing.
In your life, what are the things you can simplify? What can you remove this week to improve your life?
🔗 Mystery Link
You can find weird things in a forest…
📅 Plan Your Week
Every minute you spend in planning saves 10 minutes in execution; this gives you a 1,000 per cent return on energy! Plan, Plan, Plan!
Brian Tracy
This section is the same every week. It’s the routine that changed my productivity the most.
You can either use the Notion template I created or check the previous issues of Monday Boost for a step-by-step guide.
That’s all for today!
PS: let me know how you liked this issue!
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