It’s that time of year again– Hobonichi Preview Month!
Both my favorite and least favorite time of the year. After all, it’s the time of year when I want everything!
But this first day isn’t about the products themselves. It’s an interview with Itoi, the man who crafted Hobonichi Techo. He said so many things that spoke to me that I felt like I had to do a blog post about it.
For the full article, read here. For more information on what a Hobonichi Techo is, read here.
The Meaning of Productivity
We’ve always had the word “Productivity.” It originally meant “the power to produce something,” but now it just means “don’t mess around,” or “whatever, just do your best to get more done.” Without that original nuance it’s lost any positive connotation.
Shigesato Itoi, [Techo Preview 2023]
Nowadays, the place someone hears productivity is probably at their workplace. It’s a loaded word that holds judgment and negative connotations. Not only that, often times our evaluations and raises are tied to productivity. It’s a word that creates stress.
Productivity is also synonymous with “hustle culture”. If you’re not familiar with hustle culture, it’s the idea that everything you do can be monetized. As writers, most often, we have a goal of being published. Being published is synonymous with making a living off writing. Being unproductive means you’ve wasted valuable time. Often times, writing is not the full-time job of a writer. We squeeze out every spare moment we can get to create. For those who have many obligations in their lives, the scant moments to write are precious. If one is unproductive during those times due to creative blocks, it can invoke a sense of failure. After all, how many of us have told family and friends about our books and heard the dreaded “Aren’t you finished yet?”
I adore the way Itoi phrased it– “Power to produce”.
What a beautiful thing to think about.
We have the power to create.
It’s not a standard we live up to. It’s not a scale that must be achieved.
It’s more than that.
Something wielded. Something to be proud of.
Let’s try to think of productivity as one of our special gifts next time we write. We have the ability and the drive to be creative. Call being productive our power. Internalize the wonderful ability you have inside. You have the power to produce a story.
Productivity is the power to create, not a meter to be judged by.
Everything is about moving things from the right side to the left, and from the left side to the right, and making sure that process runs as smoothly as possible. Everything’s been polished and developed to a remarkable degree, and yet I can’t help but feel it as a decline. It’s because we’ve stopped creating things.
Shigesato Itoi [Techo Preview 2023]
Safety and Overcoming the Fear of “Novel”
If you focus on safety, you won’t be able to go out on great adventures. We talked together, we identified the worst things that could possibly happen, and we moved forward. The important thing when embarking on an adventure is that eagerness to find things that are amazing, that make everyone cheer, that delight all the people who have been a fan for so long.
Shigesato Itoi [Techo Preview 2023]
Itoi is speaking of his company here, but I think it also applies to creatives. It’s easy to fall into habits we know best. It’s also easy to second guess opportunities that may lead us to more prosperous fields. By prosperous, I’m not speaking of money. I’m speaking of creative enrichment and fulfillment.
Part of the hustle culture can lessen enjoyment of little things. It’s okay to write for the sake of writing. Many people do that. A lot of great writers will only ever write fanfiction. Some are D&D DMs. That is their creative journey. Just because there is no monetary exchange involved does not make it any less valid.
Let’s create for the sake of creation. That is our power of productivity.