habit – Sasha Dichter's Blog

The perfect pencil, or chair, or lighting aren’t required.

But we all need a place to do our work.

A place that says to our unconscious mind: this is where I get it done.

Our tools are close at hand.

Our mind clicks into gear.

And, because we are here, we get to skip the discussion with ourselves about whether we feel up for it today, whether we are inspired, energetic or motivated.

This is our workplace, here we are, so we work.

None of this guarantees an outcome—having the right place is a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition.

Meaning that if we don’t have a place we do our work, our job is infinitely harder.

Here’s hoping that you had your place in place in 2023, and that it was a productive year for you.

And here’s wishing that you create that place for yourself in 2024 if you haven’t yet.

The world needs the best from you, the things that only you can produce.

So do us all the favor of giving yourself your best chance to produce your best.

It’s nice to think that we do our best work irrespective of time, place, location and habit. That we produce what we produce regardless of the setup.

But we also know that it’s just as much the other way around.

With repetition, you, in a certain location at a certain time of day, produce a certain kind of work that has a certain quality. This might be work that you produce alone, with one other person, or with a team.

“This is what we do here at this time in this way.”

The production of great work is, as much as anything else, a learned behavior in response to our environment. Writers know this. Athletes know this. Artists know this.

That’s why that empty chair is calling out to you.

“Come here, today, and sit. I know it doesn’t feel like it, but if you do, we’ll do great things together.”