Morgan Evans

ED-199
Professor Knipstein-Meyer “Show Your Work” Chapter 10

Kleon starts off chapter 10 reminding us that every career has its ups and downs, and
not to quit on what we’re doing because it isn’t working out. He gave us a quote by the actor
Orson Welles, “If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you end your
story.” By this, Welles means that if we want our story to end with a happy ending, we can’t
quit when it gets difficult. Kleon tells us that it’s the people who stick around and don’t quit
who end up getting what they set out to get. He also told a story about how he and his
coworker were on their way back from their lunch break, and pulled into the full parking lot at
their job. They circled the lot for a long time, and then right before they were going to give up,
a spot opened. Kleon’s colleague told him “You have to play until the ninth inning.” I think this
is all helpful advice, because sometimes when things get difficult, we my just want to give up.
However, if we give up, our story doesn’t have a happy ending, and we won’t get what we
want. One thing is for sure, you may or may not achieve your goal with what you try, but you
DEFINITELY won’t reach your goal if you quit trying. As for the ninth inning comment, that is
good advice because Kleon’s coworker meant to play until the end of the game. Exhaust all
ideas before giving up. Of course, some of our goals, or the things we try to get there, just
won’t work. But we cannot walk away from the things we are trying to achieve until we have
used up every single idea we have to get to our goal.
The next thing Kleon encouraged us to do was engage in a method of working he likes to
call “chain-smoking” your work. While the name may be a bit shocking or questionable, it
seems like a method that could be good. This method is one where you never stop in between
projects. Don’t sit around and wait for feedback before you start the next thing. Use the ending
of the previous project to get the gears turning for the next project. If you get feedback during
that project, you can apply it, but let it come when it comes instead of waiting for it. This helps
you not lose momentum and keep doing you work so you don’t stall out. This can be helpful
because I know sometimes if I am working on something, and I am on a roll and getting things
done, and then I stop working, I can struggle sometimes to get back into the groove of what I’m
doing. This then can cause me to just not get back to work.
However, Kleon does not think we should chain-smoke our work indefinitely.
Occasionally, we DO need a break. This is when Kleon encourages taking a sabbatical, or a
break. This way, the brain can recharge, and we don’t burn out. I think this one is ESPECIALLY
important for us as educators. We have had multiple speakers tell us that if we never give
ourselves a break, we will burn out, and we will never make it in this career if we burn out and
don’t take care of ourselves. However, sabbaticals require planning and budgeting (after all,
you’re not working for an entire year!), so that may not always be attainable for us, or we may
be seeing ourselves start to experience burnout before we reach our sabbatical. So what do we
do then? Kleon gave us three solutions from writer Gina Trapani. The first is doing our
commute. If we don’t drive during out commute, we have time to do something like read or
draw. If we are the driver, we can use audiobooks to safely “tune-out.” The second is exercise.
Morgan Evans
ED-199
Professor Knipstein-Meyer “Show Your Work” Chapter 10

Exercise is not only good for our bodies, but for our minds. We can also go and be out in nature.
Take a walk in the woods, do some gardening, or just sit outside. This reminded me of the 4
circles we talked about in class a lot.