Are you an Experimenter or a Finisher?

I'm currently reading Rick Rubin's Book – 'The Creative Act – A Way of Being'

Rick is a music industry legend – the co-founder of record label Def Jam and producer of many hit records for artists such as the Beastie Boys and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Something that interested me while reading the other day, was his chapter on the Experimenter and the Finisher.

Rick says that many artists lean towards one of these two categories. Experimenters are partial to dreaming and play. Finding it more difficult to complete and release their work.

Finishers move quickly to the end point with immediate clarity. They are less interested in exploring the possibilities and alternatives that the Experimentation and Craft phases can suggest.

For myself, I think I'd probably put myself in the Experimenter category. In my journey as a maker/woodworker, I've come up with many creative ideas that have either not panned out or I've failed to finish. Also, a lot of my projects have taken months to a year to finally reach completion.

When you're making something to sell, it can be a bit soul destroying to think about the amount of time you put in to a piece and find that no one wants to buy it, or you end up selling it for a giveaway price. When it comes to woodworking, it's never a good idea to consider your hourly rate.

As a result, I have then gone back to trying to come up with new ideas and going through a long experimental phase with the hope that, this time, I will come up with something people will want.

While this helped improve and challenge my skills; I also felt in a rut and that I was making little progress towards creating a viable business model.

Until recently, when I began the Year of the Chopping Board Challenge. Chopping boards are wooden product people seem to value and want to buy – so that gives me an item I can readily sell at a reasonable price point. But more importantly for me, is a regular sense of completion.

Instead of tinkering away with experimental pieces, flip flopping between projects and feeling like I haven't got any clear direction towards my goals. I can now finish a chopping board in a matter of days rather than months and then it's on to the next board.

While it probably won't beat the Experimenter out of me. I think it is going to help train me to not put off the finishing part. And as a result I feel like I've become more productive.