The work that helps you do the other work
March 11, 2011 1:37 PM Subscribe
What's the name for a secondary project that helps you collect your thoughts on a primary project that you're stuck on?
I recently heard someone tell a story about a friend who was a studio assistant to a famous painter. The assistant noticed that the painter sometimes took a break from his painting and walked out of the studio through a door to an adjoining space, re-entering the studio 20-30 minutes later. After several days of this, the assistant finally peeked into the adjoining room to see what was back there, and found that it was a whole other studio, with a whole other painting in progress.
I think the name for the process at work here is incubation -- that when you've worked yourself into a corner on something, sometimes the best thing you can do is stop thinking about it and throw your energy and focus into something else while you let the project percolate for a bit. What I want to know is whether there is a term for the Project B that lets you think about the Project A. I often refer to this as a "think piece," but that term has a different connotation than the meaning I'm assigning to it. What else might someone call this?
I recently heard someone tell a story about a friend who was a studio assistant to a famous painter. The assistant noticed that the painter sometimes took a break from his painting and walked out of the studio through a door to an adjoining space, re-entering the studio 20-30 minutes later. After several days of this, the assistant finally peeked into the adjoining room to see what was back there, and found that it was a whole other studio, with a whole other painting in progress.
I think the name for the process at work here is incubation -- that when you've worked yourself into a corner on something, sometimes the best thing you can do is stop thinking about it and throw your energy and focus into something else while you let the project percolate for a bit. What I want to know is whether there is a term for the Project B that lets you think about the Project A. I often refer to this as a "think piece," but that term has a different connotation than the meaning I'm assigning to it. What else might someone call this?
Sideline.... secondary project... busywork.... palate cleanser... mental break...?
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 6:34 AM on March 12, 2011
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 6:34 AM on March 12, 2011
This isn't exactly what you're talking about, but related: In learning, I think, it's called "repetition with variation." So you learn better when you vary your activities within a subject: like for music, 10 minutes of scales, 10 minutes of ear training, 10 minutes of working on a song. There was an article about this in the New York Times recently.
posted by Ollie at 10:03 AM on March 12, 2011
posted by Ollie at 10:03 AM on March 12, 2011
Side Project? I don't know if there's an official term for it.
One of my favorite examples - The Coen Brothers wrote Barton Fink in three weeks during a bout of writer's block while working on Miller's Crossing. Writer's block plays a big part in the plot of Barton Fink.
posted by Roommate at 6:30 AM on March 14, 2011
One of my favorite examples - The Coen Brothers wrote Barton Fink in three weeks during a bout of writer's block while working on Miller's Crossing. Writer's block plays a big part in the plot of Barton Fink.
posted by Roommate at 6:30 AM on March 14, 2011
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posted by aunt_winnifred at 4:09 PM on March 11, 2011