Storybridge

I was watching an episode of ‘Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip‘ last night which was entitled the 4am miracle, and ostensibly about Mathew Perry’s character searching for that inspiration at 4am that would break the hiatus reached in their creative comedy writing, with only a couple of days to go before the next show.

This reminded me so much of the times we in the web world have been working late and stuck on a coding or design issue with the clock ticking rapidly before launch hour. You’ve all been there, the site is broken and nobody knows how to fix it and you only have 4 hours until it is supposed to be live to the world.

Then your developer goes outside for a cigarette or a bit of a walk and all of a sudden inspiration hits and we are back fixing and rolling again. Usually at 4am.

So I like the terming of such breaks for inspiration as the 4am Miracle, whether at 4am or not. A fine tip for new Producers, Project Managers and Account people to ease off of your dev and design people when it all looks like everything has gone up the swanny. Encourage them to destroy their lungs via a cig break or make them a cup of tea, tell them to sit down and switch off (or take them for a coffee / beer outside) and you will find that inspiration will hit sure enough.

There’s no point getting too stressed and het up as this just carries on the cycle of panic thinking. Take a break, a deep breath and await that wonderful 4am Miracle!

(By the way, why they cancelled Studio 60 I don’t know. It’s witty and engaging and makes you forget that Mat Perry was ever Chandler!)

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