2022-12-21 Wed 12:41 PM ![[Pasted image 20221221131753.png]] In a context like public speaking or interviewing for a job, it's clear to me that my *mood* has a huge influence on my performance and on the quality of the result. In those contexts I have well-established habits designed to cultivate an appropriate mood in the moments leading up to the performance. In other contexts, like writing an essay, it hasn't been as obvious to my system that my mood has a major influence on the outcome. And, unsurprisingly, I don't have well-established habits for cultivating an appropriate mood. But I think that mood has a massive influence on the writing process. Might be the critical bit. If [[Valence_qri|Valence]] is low, [[Performance]] is likely gonna be poor, and the product will be poor. So probably I should develop habits and strategies for cultivating a mood appropriate for writing. ([[Good leaders cultivate an appropriate mood]]). This is central to the [[Yvonne writing method]]. Everything that you do, you do from a mood. In which contexts does your mood really make a difference on performance? How can you cultivate an appropriate mood in those? # [[Journal section]] ### 2022-12-21 Wed 12:49 PM As of right now, 2022-12-21 Wed 12:49 PM, this claim has the status of hypothesis: mood is critical for writing. If I am in a mood that has notes of calmness, curiosity, interest, humor, and mischief, then the writing process will probably be enjoyable, and the writing output will probably be good. If I am in a mood characterized by notes of stress, worry, fear, dread, self-criticism, and grasping, then the writing process will probably not be enjoyable, and the output will probably not be very good or will not materialize at all. So I want to experiment by bringing more attention and intention to the cultivation of appropriate moods while writing. Today I am writing [[CP 501 final paper 2022-11-09 Wed]]. While working today, what are some techniques and practices I can use to cultivate and sustain positive mood? - [[Find the easy next step]] - [[Find the fun]] - [[Harvest]] - [[Reversal of desire]] - Check in frequently; notice the current mood and current activation - Focus on minimizing [[Time to sanity]] - When activated, take deep breaths, do timed meditations - Take regular breaks and do fun things - Exercise; move the body - Notice aversive & compulsive distraction (eg chess.com) and reduce this by increasing friction to access those distractions and directing attention to healthier alternatives like deep breathing, checking in. cf: [[Hub. Experimental writing process techniques (list)]]