   #[1]Steph Ango [2]Steph Ango

   [3]Steph Ango / [4]Writing [5]About [6]Now

                         Style is consistent constraint

   September 3, 2023 •2 minute read

   Oscar Wilde once said:

     “Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.”

   When it comes to ideas, I agree — allow your mind to be changed. When
   it comes to process, I disagree. Style emerges from consistency, and
   having a style opens your imagination. Your mind should be flexible,
   but your process should be repeatable.

   Style is a set of constraints that you stick to.

   You can explore many types of constraints: colors, shapes, materials,
   textures, fonts, language, clothing, decor, beliefs, flavors, sounds,
   scents, rituals. Your style doesn’t have to please anyone else. Play by
   your own rules. Everything you do is open to stylistic interpretation.

   A style can be a system, a pattern, a set of personal guidelines. Here
   are a few of mine:
     * I wear monochromatic clothing without logos
     * I use YYYY-MM-DD dates everywhere
     * I pluralize tag and folder names (e.g. #people not #person)
     * I use [7]plain text files for all my writing
     * I ask myself [8]40 questions every year
     * I meal prep lunches every week, shave my head twice a week
     * I write [9]concise essays, less than 500 words

   Collect constraints you enjoy. Unusual constraints make things more
   fun. You can always change them later. This is your style, after all.
   It’s not a life commitment, it’s just the way you do things. For now.

   Having a style collapses hundreds of future decisions into one, and
   gives you focus. I always pluralize tags so I never have to wonder what
   to name new tags.

   Style gives you leverage. Every time you reuse your style you save
   time. A durable style is a great investment.

   Style helps you know when you’re breaking your constraints. Sometimes
   you have to. And if you want to edit your constraints, you can. It will
   be easier to adopt the new constraints if you already had some clearly
   defined.

   You don’t need a style for everything. Make a deliberate choice about
   what needs consistency and what doesn’t.

   If you stick with your constraints long enough, your style becomes a
   cohesive and recognizable [10]point of view.
     __________________________________________________________________

Appendix

   I am starting a collection of interesting personal style choices.
   Please [11]send me examples and I’ll add them to the list.
     * [12]Scott Yu-Jan [13]paints all his tools white.
     * [14]2ynthetic uses a [15]limited palette for outfits and [16]office
       decor.
     * [17]Johnny Decimal is a system to organize digital data.
     * [18]Casey Neistat labels everything [19]in his studio with paint
       markers.
     * Ryan Hoover [20]never changes his profile picture.
     * Wes Anderson uses [21]the typeface Futura in many of his films.
     * [22]Steve Jobs wore the same Issey Miyake black turtleneck and New
       Balance 991 shoes every day.
     * George R.R. Martin writes his novels on the 40 year old DOS
       operating system
     * Beethoven always counted exactly 60 coffee beans to make coffee,
       especially for visitors.
     * Jesper Kouthoofd of [23]Teenage Engineering [24]only uses lowercase
       because uppercase communicates too much authority
     * Osvaldo Cavandoli created the cartoon [25]La Linea using an
       animated white line, colored backgrounds, and unintelligible
       vocalizations

   Linked mentions
   [26]Don't specialize, hybridize
   Specialization is too heavily encouraged as a career path. Becoming a
   generalist is one alternative, but there is...
   [27]Buy wisely
   Whenever I buy things I try to prioritize cost per use. Sometimes I
   consider other priorities such as...
   [28]Obsidian Vault Template
   I use Obsidian to write and take notes. This is my bottom-up approach
   to note-taking and organizing things...
   [29]Flexoki
   Flexoki is an inky color scheme for prose and code. Flexoki is designed
   for reading and writing on...

   You might also enjoy
     * [30]Buy wisely
     * [31]Concise explanations accelerate progress
     * [32]Scars are beautiful
     * [33]Don't delegate understanding
     * [34]Nibble and your appetite will grow
     * [35]How I do my to-dos
     * [36]Calmness is a superpower
     * [37]Design is compromise
     * [38]A little bit every day

   [39]Receive my updates

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   [43]Mastodon

References

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   4. file:///
   5. file:///about
   6. file:///now
   7. file:///file-over-app
   8. file:///40-questions
   9. file:///concise
  10. file:///in-good-hands
  11. file:///about
  12. https://www.youtube.com/@ScottYuJan
  13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GBPYRG9jM0
  14. https://www.youtube.com/@2ynthetic
  15. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xMo2PsLi3c
  16. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RqBrl0-qOA
  17. https://johnnydecimal.com/
  18. https://www.youtube.com/@casey
  19. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb60rrtTddQ
  20. https://www.ryanhoover.me/post/why-i-never-change-my-profile-pic
  21. https://www.marksimonson.com/notebook/view/RoyalTenenbaumsWorldofFutura
  22. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs
  23. https://teenage.engineering/
  24. https://scandinavianmind.com/feature/human-touch-interview-jesper-kouthoofd-teenage-engineering
  25. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Linea_(TV_series)
  26. file:///hybridize
  27. file:///buy-wisely
  28. file:///vault
  29. file:///flexoki
  30. file:///buy-wisely
  31. file:///concise
  32. file:///scars
  33. file:///understand
  34. file:///nibble
  35. file:///todos
  36. file:///calmness
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