Minimize the friction

Creative friction is the barrier between you and your practice—forms of resistance that morph depending on your specific practice or craft.

I've found that to reduce friction and create a smooth experience, one must identify the shapes those barriers take and develop strategies to minimize their effect.

One of my practices is daily sketching.

I can't sketch without my tools. Having a sketchbook, pens, and watercolors always at hand reduces friction. I keep medium and large sketchbooks by my desk and in the living room, then bring a small sketching kit when I travel.

Time is often tight, and complex scenes can be daunting. Picking easy subjects to sketch quickly reduces friction. I can rejoice in drawing multiple subjects and more challenging scenes when I have time to spare.

We lean into what's easy and are great at making excuses to skip our practice. The answer is making our lives easier, even if it means duplicating your tool set to increase availability or lowering your standards to ensure daily practice.

Create a minimal-friction system, start doing without overthinking, and focus on doing, even if only for a few minutes daily, rather than making a considerable effort once a week, for example. Long dedicated sessions can come later.

Just as skipping once makes it easier to skip twice, engaging in your craft once makes you more likely to start a habit.

Play and don't get serious until you find yourself spending serious amounts of time on your craft.

Beat the resistance. Minimize creative friction.