Work problem

Virginia Valian has a work problem: she struggles to do the work she wants to do. In this essay from 1977 (PDF), she describes how she identified the problem and the program she used to address it—one that involves very short periods of work alongside a deepening awareness that good work is its own reward. Her program isn’t a means of doing more work for other people, but for herself; and it isn’t a productivity hack so much as a means of becoming attuned with what your work means to you and why it matters. Importantly, what she describes involves being able to do the work that matters to you even when times are difficult—the work becomes a salve, not an obligation. “For me, there are two main rewards for working,” she writes. “One is the continual discovery within myself of new ideas; the other is deeper understanding of a problem.” (Stay for the kicker.)