43 Folders

In the wonderful Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott talks about the incredible, ripping pain she felt after having her tonsils removed. All she wanted to do was chug pain killers and let the stupid thing h...

As I’ve started shooting photos more often, I’ve picked up on some interesting patterns: habits, if you like. And, as I struggle to absorb the insane physics of capturing light with some glass and ...

The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life (Free 1st Chapter)
As long as I’ve outed myself as an obsessive fan of Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit, it seems sensible to point you to this free...

ILIS Interviews Louis C.K. - AST Forums
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In 2006, Louis C.K. didn’t know whether his HBO show would be renewed, but he didn’t want to sit on his hands for months waiting to find out.
Instea...

YouTube - Twyla Tharp on the Subject of Motivation and Creativity
As I get older, I’ve learned to really appreciate people who are smart, opinionated, and ornery — yet still have the plasticity of ...

It’s purely coincidental that today is my 42nd birthday, right? Eh. Maybe.
Still, seems like as good a day as any to tell you what I’ve been thinking about, so, here’s a little present to myself. ...

What Happened to 43Folders.com? | Ask Metafilter
MeFi user, Gerard Sorme, asked a good question over on Ask Metafilter:
Merlin Mann has been a prolific blogger, and one of the better productivity ...

Important
While this article about The Wire deliberately contains as few actual spoilers about the show as possible, it does contain numerous links to pages with information that will tell you cri...

[“what is this?”]
Here’s something I wrote last week for this site’s new “About” page:
43 Folders is Merlin Mann’s website about finding the time and attention to do your best creative work.
Call ...

[“what is this?”]
Four years ago last Monday, I started 43 Folders with a TypePad account and no idea what I was doing.
The obsessions that brought me here struck me as fascinating and under-report...