Within two days, two different, entirely unrelated content creators I follow used this term: composting.
In both cases, it described that near-subconscious processing of our knowledge, thoughts, and experiences to come up with new ideas, stronger connections, or just plain crack a tough problem.
One of the content creators I heard this from referenced the book that introduced the term to them: Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg. The book is intended for writers, but I think people of any trade or craft can relate to what it describes. Here’s a snippet that describes this feeling well (the podcast notes feature the full chapter if you’re interested):
“Our senses by themselves are dumb. They take in experience, but they need the richness of sifting for a while through our consciousness and through our whole bodies. I call this ‘composting.’ Our bodies are garbage heaps: we collect experience, and from the decomposition of the thrown-out eggshells, spinach leaves, coffee grinds, and old steak bones of our minds come nitrogen, heat, and very fertile soil. Out of this fertile soil bloom our poems and stories. But this does not come all at once. It takes time. Continue to turn over and over the organic details of your life until some of them fall through the garbage of discursive thoughts to the solid ground of black soil…
“Understanding this process cultivates patience and produces less anxiety. We aren’t running everything, not even the writing we do…. This understanding also helps us to accept someone else’s success and not to be too greedy. It is simply that person’s time. Ours will come in this lifetime or the next. No matter. Continue to practice.”
In the flurry of activity the start of the year provokes, I think this can be a good reminder.
Not everything has to be a sprint. Sometimes you need to let a problem sit alongside the facts you know and the fixes you’ve tried. And at some point, there’ll be that last little strawberry top of a thought and suddenly you have the rich mulch of a solution.
Or you’ve been hearing words of advice from different people with different viewpoints, and you’ve resisted what they’ve been saying…until one day all that advice has finally broken down into the nutrient-rich soil you need for your next step of growth, and you know exactly what you’re planting.
Metaphors aside—whatever you’re working on, give yourself the time you need for your brain to process and make connections. Maybe that’s the length of a lunch break in a place that’s not routine. Maybe it’s a couple months to really internalize what you’re hearing and feeling (that’s where I’m at).
Deep work can require deep subconscious work, too.
Nice Games Club episode notes, with Writing Down the Bones chapter: click here