Task Avoidance

One of my go-to strategies for TASK AVOIDANCE is to design whatever graphics the project might need. For example, last year as I was finishing up Azure Stone, even though the music was not quite where I wanted it to be, I stopped working on it to design the “album” cover.

This kind of maneuver reminds me of what Solzhenitsyn called “the rule of the last inch”:

Now listen to the rule of the last inch. The realm of the last inch. The job is almost finished, the goal almost attained, everything possible seems to have been achieved, every difficulty overcome — and yet the quality is just not there. The work needs more finish, perhaps further research. In that moment of weariness and self-satisfaction, the temptation is greatest to give up, not to strive for the peak of quality. That’s the realm of the last inch — here, the work is very, very complex, but it’s also particularly valuable because it’s done with the most perfect means. The rule of the last inch is simply this — not to leave it undone. And not to put it off — because otherwise your mind loses touch with that realm. And not to mind how much time you spend on it, because the aim is not to finish the job quickly, but to reach perfection. [from The First Circle]

In other words, just as I’m about to finish a project, my mind veers away from that last little bit of work and focuses on something else.

Personally, I think there is value in allowing yourself that breathing space, allowing your brain to relax and take stock before driving that last nail or painting that last little bit, before confronting the terrors of ABANDONMENT. It’s like taking a deep breath before jumping off a dock into the lake.

So as I round the corner on assembling my team of collaborators for William Blake’s Inn, I find myself thinking about logo designs for the show. Of course, I started on this back in 2007, but because the piece hasn’t moved since then I never made any firm decisions. Here’s where I left it:

Pick one.

(Fun Fact: One reason my music is called William Blake’s Inn rather than the full A Visit to William Blake’s Inn is that the latter is difficult, if not impossible, to make look balanced.)

Of course, I have also realized that once I have assembled my team of collaborators, this is the very thing I can offload onto someone better than I am at graphic design.