All right. We now have a question from Laya. So Laya's going all the way back here into the deep cuts of the Deep Questions podcast archives here and asks about episode number 37. In episode 37, she asks, you talked about friction flow finalization stages of project execution and different rituals to use at those stages.

Could you please elaborate on how this approach to project execution-- on this approach to project execution and give examples of rituals? Well, I like this question because it reminds me of a good idea I had that I forgot about. So I'm basically impressed with myself as I now remember what it was I was talking about.

This would probably been the summer of 2020. So as a reminder for those who are newer listeners to the podcast, the friction flow finalization stages-- I was trying to break down. When you're working on a big project, an important project, there really are three stages you go through. So the friction stage comes up first.

It's where you're trying to get things rolling. I call it friction because this is hard. You have to figure out what's needed for the project. You have to gather resources. You have to get people on board. You have to stare at the metaphorical blank page and write those first words.

It is pretty hard to get past that initial friction. It's not a fun part of most projects. Ask any book author about what that first week of working on a new book is like. But then you get to stage two, which is flow. Now you're rolling. You know what the project is about.

You have the resources. The first steps have been made. You've got those first indicators of progress. And now you can lock in and move that ball forward pretty fast. This is the stage that most people like with projects. It's where the writer now is at their lake house and doing 3,000 words a day.

The muse is there. The words are flowing all as well in the world. Then finally, you get to this finalization stage. At some point, as you get towards the end of a project, there's a lot involved in bringing this in for a landing. I think my count now is four metaphors so far in talking about projects.

So this is good. I'm going to see if I can figure out some more. But the final stage is, OK, I got to get the manuscript polished. We have to copy edit it. I have to go back and fill in these details. There's fact-checking notes I need to get in there.

It can be technical. It can be annoying. But sometimes finalization can be one of the most important stages because it's where you take all this work and you tie the ribbon around that package-- metaphor five-- you tie the ribbon around that package really nicely. And it makes all the difference about how it's received, regardless of what's inside.

So that's also an annoying stage. So what I was arguing in episode 37 is that you approach each of these stages separately. So when you're in the friction stage, the key thing is you actually have to just put in that brain power. Because it's a difficult stage, you probably want to break that up into smaller bursts that you do regularly.

So when you're really trying to get through that friction stage, it's every day this week, one hour. It's just one hour. So painful or not, I know it'll be over in an hour. But every morning, 8 to 9 before I go to work, I'm spending an hour working on this particular project.

So that's probably how you want to think about that. Timing matters. Location matters. Here's my cup of coffee. This is all about tricking the brain into actually doing the work. So that's the type of ritual you want to care about. This is a different ballgame. Now you're enjoying what's going on.

Now what you probably want with flow is big sessions. Big sessions that are scheduled for you to really get lost in the project and make the really cognitively demanding high-quality contributions. So now what I want is Friday afternoons for the next month, I'm doing these four-hour sessions where I leave work early.

And I'm going to whatever, the little cabin I have on this property by the lake. And I just get lost in it. So now you're really trying to extract the very highest quality thought from your mind. This is different than the friction stage. The friction stage is there's a lot of annoying stuff I have to do before I get started.

So I just need to make sure that I put in those cycles. The flow stage is like now I need to get lost in the thought and produce the best stuff possible. It has to be enjoyable. It has to be long enough sessions that I can extract real value.

So probably there you want rituals built around making this into an almost romantic setup. You're going to a cool place. You're spending a long amount of time. You have the really nice coffee. You end the day with a bourbon. Now it's really about extracting what you can from your brain.

Finalization, we're back to friction. All right, man, what a pain. So shorter sessions, same time, same place, again and again and again. It's about getting back to the cycles, getting those things done. I don't want the dragging out of finalization to drag out this project much farther than it needs to go.

So you're back more towards how do I trick my brain into just do work, just do work. It's only an hour. We do it every day. Don't even think about it. We have no choices. What we do from 8 to 9. You're back to that type of mindset. So Laya, I like this question because there's a more general point that's being made here, which is how you approach work should depend on what exactly that type of work is.

And you should be suiting your habits to what you're trying to do. So thank you for reminding me about my own genius here. Friction, flow, finalization, treat those stages differently.