When I have a piece of writing in mind, what I have, in fact, is a mental bucket: an attractor for and generator of thought. It’s like a thematic gravity well, a magnet for what would otherwise be a mess of iron filings. I’ll read books differently and listen differently in conversations. In particular I’ll remember everything better; everything will mean more to me. That’s because everything I perceive will unconsciously engage on its way in with the substance of my preoccupation. A preoccupation, in that sense, is a hell of a useful thing for a mind.

James Somers • More People Should Write

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- “When I have a piece of writing in mind, what I have, in fact, is a mental bucket: an attractor for and generator of thought. It’s like a thematic gravity well, a magnet for what would otherwise be a mess of iron filings. I’ll read books differently and listen differently in conversations. In particular I’ll remember everything better; everything... See more

jsomers.net • More People Should Write

Brian Sholis added

Sari Azout • The End of Productivity

Rania El-Ghezzaoui added

James Somers

James Somers • JamesSomers – More people should write

sari added

I feel this way about collections. When I have a collection I have a mental bucket.

Omar Hassan added

Rahul added

In his 2012 essay, “More people should write,” writer and programmer James Somers described this process as creating a mental bucket for an idea, thereby unleashing a magnetic force between that idea and the world:

When I have a piece of writing in mind, what I have, in fact, is a mental bucket: an attractor for and generator of thought. It’s like a

Enrique Green added

With a steady writing and creation habit, it narrows my attention to things that I’ve written about, am curious about or want to learn more about. By taking notes on these things, it enables me to learn things in a way I never did before.

Paul Millerd • #100: We Need 100x More Creators Online

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Whether it’s to organize ideas for a project (me); to have material to turn to for inspiration when you get stuck (Adam Alter); to save idea-sparks without getting distracted by them in the moment (Steven Johnson and Dan Pink); or to create a receptacle of fleeting impressions (Rachel Ingalls), I think having a repository for interesting things you... See more

David Epstein • Don't Let Good Ideas Get Away

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