🍞 How To Be As Creative As Michelangelo
Find the most important task, stop going ape shit, & become more creative.
This is Bread Crumbs, and you’re going to like this email newsletter, I guarantee it (men’s warehouse voice).
Today’s estimated read time: 4 minutes & 45 seconds.
This edition is written by the Jiu Jitsu addict, Paul.
One Tiny Habit
Under 5 minutes a day can change your life.
I’ve always envied my brother John’s mechanical abilities. Growing up, the kid was the GOAT at setting up furniture, toys, and sports equipment. He was our dad’s right-hand man for those projects. I was the opposite. I had one reaction when I saw an instruction manual…
I think I’ve figured out what makes John so good - prioritization. He divides up what is important now vs what is important later. He doesn’t get flustered with all of the potential steps. Rather, he focuses on the most important step - the one right in front of him.
Prioritization can also help you navigate work, school, & life. How do you go about doing that?? The Eisenhower Matrix. It helps you divide tasks & take action on them based on importance and urgency:
Pretty nice! To get started, you can use this tiny habit:
On Sunday night, take 5 minutes to list out 10 items on your “to-do list” that are stressing you out (ex: work, school, or personal). Then, plot them on the Eisenhower Matrix. Once you’ve graphed them, circle the 3 tasks closest to the top right edge. These are your big 3 tasks for the week. If you get them done, the week was a W.
I started using it a few months ago and have fallen in love. My productivity has shot through the roof as my stress levels have slowly decreased (lots of Ws recently)!!
During the first few weeks, you’ll probably suck at calibrating what is actually important and urgent (at least I did). But it’s 100% worth a try. Test it out for 4 weeks and see what happens…I think you’ll like the results ;)
One Insightful Question
Stop unconsciously floating through life & start thinking about things that really matter.
Earlier this spring, I flew to Madrid to visit Luke. I was joined by my friend Andrea and girlfriend Kate. After meeting at the airport, we hopped on the subway. Andrea took the lead on navigation.
After riding the subway for 40 minutes, we finally arrived. We exited the subway, excited to be in the heart of Madrid! Coming up to street level, we found ourselves in the heart…of a suburb 60 minutes outside of Madrid. Andrea had mixed up the station names.
A wave of anger and frustration rushed over my body. I was sleep-deprived, jet-lagged, lost, and perfectly primed to lose my temper.
A year ago, I would have completely lost it. But this time, I didn’t. In fact, I brushed it off and laughed at us being typical tourists. What kept me from going ape shit? A question I learned from a great friend…
”Will this matter in 10 days, 10 months, or 10 years?”
When I ask myself this question, it reveals the true importance of an event. It frees my monkey mind from the present moment and allows me to step back and think.
Does getting lost in a foreign country suck? Yes. But, how long does it suck for? Idk, a few hours, maybe? Knowing that my anger wouldn’t last forever, made it less painful in the moment and prevented me from doing something I would have regretted.
This question applies to all kinds of things in life…
Getting criticized, being turned down at the bar, or bombing interviews all suck. But they only suck for a few days or weeks. Recognizing this fact, we can stop losing our cool, going for low blows, or panicking that we will never achieve success.
Do I still get pissed when missing the bus? Absolutely. But these situations rarely spiral into an ape shit moment. The 10 days, 10 months, or 10 years question puts a muffler on our emotional responses and limits explosive reactions.
One Guiding Principle
Principles can guide you to a great life.
In grade school, I sucked at art. I’d much rather hurl a dodgeball than draw a self-portrait. The difference between the two activities was the structure (or so I thought).
In gym class, I knew the rules. Most importantly, I knew how to win. Art had fewer constraints. Should this painting be abstract or impressionist? Would I grab watercolors or pastels? I couldn’t figure out how to win.
The (seemingly) limitless set of options paralyzed me. I dreaded art class throughout high school. Because of this experience, I never saw myself as “creative”. That all changed when I stumbled across this principle: Constraints spur creativity.
I was the problem, not art. Art is an infinite game…a game where rules can change that is played for the purpose of continuing to play. To harness my creative energy, I needed to narrow my focus. Create a game within the game. I needed to construct my own constraints.
Look at any great artist and you will see these constraints at play:
Michelangelo…the size and curvature of the Sistine chapel.
Julia Child…a few simple ingredients.
Kanye…a wired-up jaw (mandatory listen!).
Using constraints to spur creativity applies to any infinite game: our careers, our relationships, and our lifestyles. Luke and I use topic & time constraints for this newsletter. As I write this sentence, I know I will need to edit this piece to fit it within the 5 minute time constraint.
Is that frustrating? Hell yes! BUT it forces me to distill my thinking, adjust my sentence structure, and find new ways to communicate my ideas. We can use this method in other parts of our lives as well…
Cooking dinner? Set a budget ($50) and a cuisine type (Vietnamese)
Working out? Set the equipment (kettlebell) and a muscle group (legs)
Going on a date? Set an activity (bike riding) and a location (lakefront trail)
The constraints focus our minds and creative abilities.
When the possibilities are endless, it can feel impossible to get started. But some infinite games are too important to ignore (like relationships). By establishing some rules we become more creative and improve the end result.
5 Great Resources
A curated list of content to help you explore your curiosity.
Want to be more courageous? Here’s how.
Learn why you should invest using DeFi (written by Luke!)
Our relationship with money is messed up, here’s how to fix it.
The coolest graphic I’ve (Paul) seen in the last 3 years…y’all are going to be geek’d!
Need a new book? Here are a few hand-picked by Bill Gates.
Meme of the Week
See y’all next Sunday. Julia Child said the best ingredient she ever used was bread. Get yo carbs up, not yo funny up!
- Paul & Luke
Can’t get enough & want to read more? Check out our previous newsletters!
Would be good if you guys put in parenthesis () which section is written by who -- sometimes I struggle differentiating which voice is speaking & I think it would help associate characters and stories with each of the brothers easier in the reader’s head.