Think Process, Not Product! - Show Your Work! (Chapter 2)
This is my takeaway of the second chapter of the Show Your Work! book. An interesting chapter that I resonate with!
What’s all this about ?
We are all victims of thinking about the final result. Whether it’s a project we’re working on or a trip we’re taking. Where in fact, the beauty lies in the journey, rather than the destination.
And here comes the approach of: “Think Process, Not Product”
One of the main ideas of the second chapter is the notion of focusing on the process of the work you’re doing, rather than just showing the final result of your work.
To do so, the author focused on two main aspects:
1. Take People Behind the Scenes
Here, there is a distinction to make, between the painter’s process of creating a portrait, and the products resulting from that process.
What we think about, most of the time, is the final product, the finished artwork, and the image that the others would like to see. Sure, that’s important to keep in mind.
In fact, to all viewers, but yourself, what seems to matter is the product. However, to you, and you alone, what should matter is the process, the experience of shaping the artwork, and the discoveries you’re exploring during that period of time.
Using a new tool or a new technology can be interesting for you to know about.
Therefore, by sharing the day-to-day process, the thing you really care about can help you form a unique bond with the people around you. And ultimately, your audience.
The process is messy!
But guess what, people really enjoy the “What”, by knowing that there is someone who has this issue X. And what makes them interested is the “How”, or the process.
We all can relate to each others’ issues, and that’s what creates the bounds between us.
“By putting things out there, consistently, you can form a relationship with your customers. It allows them to see that there’s a human being out there, rather than interacting with a “No Soul” item or a product.”
If you’re not that type of a guy, maybe the second part of the chapter about documenting what you do can help!
2. Become a “Documentarian” of What You Do
Whatever the nature of your work, there is an art to what you do, and there are people who would be interested in that art.
You have to turn the invisible into something other people can see. “You simply have to make stuff!”
The american journalist, author and newspaper editor David Carr said:
“No one is going to give a damn about your résumé, they want to see what you have made with your own little fingers”
One of the best things that happened to me is when I started documenting my first internship in a company.
The idea came as a challenge, where I believed that there are problems I’ve gone through, and the lack of documentation about my life didn’t serve me well when I needed to make a decision.
Documenting each week, during the six months of internship, helped me identify patterns in the way I operate. From emotions, decisions, and regrets. I found out things that influence my life, in the good or the bad.
The best thing about this, is that I can go back to my notebook, to the first days of my internship, and live those moments again!
Ideas that could help you in this regard:
Write your thoughts down in a notebook, or speak them into an audio recorder. Keep a scrapbook.
Take a lot of photographs of your work at different stages in your process.
Shoot a video of you working.
It’s not about making art, it’s about simply keeping track of what's going on around you.
Believe it or not, your life follows a pattern. One of which is after every great success you get, a major crisis is right in the corner waiting for your dumb choice to be made. And it goes on and on and on…
Sorry for the example, but yeah, that’s something I’ve been through ;)
Final ideas
Whether you share it or not, documenting and recording your process as you go along has its own rewards:
You’ll start to see the work you’re doing more clearly.
You’ll feel like you’re making progress.
And when you’re ready to share, you’ll have a surplus of material to choose from.
Oh, I forgot to mention...The Future Looks Bright!
I enjoyed reading ❤️,thaank you for this beautiful work
Interesting
Well said
I enjoyed reading it
Thank youuuu