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This is part of a series of entries on Making Ideas Happen.

From MIH: “A surplus of ideas is as dangerous as a drought. Without some structure, you can become an addict of the brain-spinning indulgence of idea generation.”

If you’ve sensed this to be true for you, it may help to shift some energy towards “project management.” So says MIH, but … yikes! I remember being introduced to project management in my first office jobs via complicated charts and convoluted software that later became Microsoft Project. That approach seems pretty craptacular still, and I don’t think that’s what MIH is advocating (though smart use of technology is encouraged).

What MIH recommends is the Action Method. It can be implemented in different ways (paper, computer, what-not), but it comes down to a few principles:

1. A relentless bias toward action pushes ideas forward.
2. Stuff that is actionable must be made personal.
3. Taking and organizing extensive notes aren’t worth the effort.
4. Use design-centric systems to stay organized.
5. Organize in the context of projects, not location.

I find the 2nd point a non-issue, as I’m a team of one and I care about my life. I find the 3rd and 5th points freeing. So many notes I’ve taken, then organized, then never looked at. So many times I’ve tried to separate “at work” from “at home.” I find the 4th point a vindication of the priority I’ve placed on aesthetics over the years. All of this is meaningless or crippling if you don’t like doing it, on some level. Beauty is a key component to me liking something.

That leaves mostly the 1st point to work on: A relentless bias towards action. Paraphrasing from MIH, the Action Method begins with a simple premise: everything is a project. Every project in life can be reduced into these three primary components. Action Steps are the specific, concrete tasks that inch you forward. References are sketches, websites, handouts you may want to refer back to.¹ Backburner Items are things that are not now actionable but may be someday.

As you go about your day, you’re generating Action Steps, References and Backburner Items at a fast clip, aren’t you? I know I am. Ideas in the shower, in the car, wherever. Much of this will be lost if not captured. When captured properly, I think it’s freeing, not burdensome, because the bigger burden comes from a sense of, “What was I supposed to be doing?” or, “What was that great idea I had yesterday morning?”

MIH advocates their own software to capture information and keep track of Action Steps, but I am using Things. I’ll confess that the jury is still out on how well this works, but so far I think this is my experience: Using Things well helps me. Using Things poorly makes life miserabler (if that’s a word).

Things uses different terms, but I found some keys to using it well on their forums.² Here’s my current approach, with the Action Method on the left, and the corresponding Things functionality on the right.

Action Steps: Next
Focus Items: Today
Backburner Items: Someday
Projects: Projects
Stuff I can’t figure out right this second: Inbox and/or Areas

I’d be curious to hear from you. What software are you using? If not, what lovely paper-based method are you using? (See point 4 above regarding my opinion that your method is best if it’s “lovely.”)

Up next, more details on Action Steps.

This is part of a series of entries inspired by Making Ideas Happen.

Organization and execution. “Organization? But I’m an artist. Get thee hence!” The creative mind is rebellious to restrictions and procedures, to anything corporate. Trust me, I know! But consider the value of organization and execution. I believe that I can be intellectual and a successful actor, that left-brain and right-brain are not mutually exclusive, that a lack of business savvy is one of the biggest problems in this town.¹ More and more of us in all fields in this country are freelancers, so we will increasingly benefit from embracing the value of organization to make ideas happen.

As a writer, I have great ideas. Yes, I switched there, but stay with me. As a writer, I have lots of great ideas for some seriously awesome web series.² I’ve created in my mind Vulvacious, Fur Elise and several other gems. The reason you don’t know me as a writer of amazing web serieses is simple: I’m all creativity, zero organization, zero execution. The creativity is high enough, but that alone means squat.

So, back to organization and execution. Disappointinlgly, MIH tells us that Thomas Kinkade, “Painter of Light,” excels in this area. I can think of some political people who excel at this, too, though their politics are even more hideous than a Kinkade painting. The quality of the idea is not necessarily what makes or breaks its success. More important is what MIH calls “The Action Method, work and life with a bias toward action.”

The word action jumps off the page for an actor. Hence my continued perusal³ of this book.

Relatedly, the best approach to acting, as I’ve come to learn via Stephen Book, is this: Acting is doing, and there’s always more to do. As taught to me, this mainly applies to the craft, that is, the moments on stage or on a set, but it’s also true of pursuing the acting work in the first place — or pursuing anything that’s hard to get.

Stay tuned for more on action and the Action Method.

This is my first entry inspired by Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision & Reality, a book by Scott Belsky that I’ve been reading recently. Don’t remember exactly how I stumbled on this book (pretty sure it was via some sort of bloggish something), but it comes at a good time for me, when the ways I’m using to get things done need rethinking, so I’m grateful for it. Since I see lots of good stuff in this book that applies to working as an actor, to working in the other jobs I’ve had and will have, and to personal tasks, I want to share a few passages that have jumped off the page at me.

To begin, whatever your idea is, Mr Belsky’s six years’ of research resulted in a good formula for making it happen:

MAKING IDEAS HAPPEN = (THE IDEA) + ORGANIZATION AND EXECUTION + FORCES OF COMMUNITY + LEADERSHIP CAPABILITY

That’s it. That’s what the book is about it. And regarding the first component, “The way you organize projects, prioritize, and manage your energy is arguably more important than the quality of the ideas you wish to pursue.” That alone is a lot to chew on, so we’ll end today’s blog there.

Meanwhile, if any of this resonates with you, the internet will quickly lead you to much more on Making Ideas Happen, the Action Method, the 99 Percent, Behance, etc.

In the latest issue of Screen Actor magazine, there’s a lot of talk about the union merger from our leaders. A lot. To the point of obscuring other important topics, which is one of my main concerns with the merger. I’m generally in favor of all performer unions merging, but I worry that too many people are concentrating on it as the only problem and/or as the only solution.

There are six leadership positions that always write letters for Screen Actor. Consider the six letters in this edition. What do they talk about besides merger?

Ken Howard: zip.
Amy Aquino: processing small residuals checks.
David White: the new Production Center and digital theft.
Ned Vaughn: zip.
Mike Hodge: zip.
David Hartley-Margolin: vote.

I think the non-merger topics above are important, so I’m glad to hear about them. But there are a ton of other important problems that we need to be working on, too. So a plea to all: don’t spend all your energy on merger. It might fail, and even if it goes through it cannot be a panacea to solve everything, and we do have other problems here and now.

My car was filthy. Dangerously dirty when you consider the summer driving phenomenon in LA that involves lots of evening sun hitting your windshield. As is my wont, I washed my car today to celebrate an acting victory from last week, and as I was washing, got the phone call for an acting victory for next week. My car is clean again!

Warren Buffet says we need to stop coddling the super-rich. This dude is as rich as they get, and we should pay close attention when he says — stating the obvious — that “My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It’s time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice.”

Wurd.

Allow me to recommend a very fun article by French Stewart over at LA Stage Times about theater. About small theater, mostly. Part seriousosity, part tongue-in-cheek.

So why small theater? A couple of years ago I told a friend I was doing another play and she seemed really perplexed. “Why are you still doing this, French? It’s an irrelevant art form. You might as well concentrate on CAVE PAINTING!”

Indeed. For me it’s really simple. It’s a small group of people making something for another small group of people. It’s the same feeling you get when someone sends you an actual letter, prepares a meal for you, or helps you move furniture. It’s personal. Time has been taken, effort expressed. It connects both parties in a very direct way. Plus, you’ve  had an experience that isn’t held hostage on hard drive or film. It’s the sole property of memory. Lovely.

Yup, lovely. This is true and wholesome. But the other side of theater is fun stuff like, “Backstage, we do a pedophile-themed vocal warm up (‘get in the van, I’m a family friend, get in the van, I’m a family friend…’).”

I recommend his current production very much. What’s not covered in this article is that Watson is very inventive in its stagecraft!

For some reason, the song I Try by Macy Gray has popped up my on radar recently, including a very fun closing bit in an episode of The Office from last season that I just recently saw, the one where Andy appears in a community theater presentation of Sweeney Todd. Great episode! But anyway, back to the song:

Macy Gray sings, “I may appear to be free, but I’m just a prisoner ….” And I think that lyric shows the problem and the wonder of this song. It’s a song that is strong and free, an uninhibited performance by a woman with a solid grasp of her talent. And yet it’s a song about the way in which she’s weak. This strong-weak dichotomy is kind of awesome. It leads me to think the song makes no sense, yet the song keeps pulling me in. Feel me?

Forensics update: Saliva analysis can now be used to estimate the age of the saliva contributor to within five years. At least, this is what I heard on Scientific American’s podcast 60-Second Science on June 22.

I wonder how long it will take from the time of hearing the news that saliva analysis is a possible CSI tool till it shows up on an episode of a certain forensics-heavy TV show? Let me know if you see age-by-spit in a plot.

I’m an uncle again. My sister Emily had her fourth baby on Thursday, and it’s their first boy so Reid finally has a dude to raise. I’m more than happy to add James or Harrison (or some other name because they can’t make up their minds) to the lovely band of now nine nieces and nephews that I have. Welcome to the world, unnamed boy. Welcome!