Peter Fischli and David Weiss, How to Work Better, 1991

There’s no one way to get through the day, of course, and there’s no one way to be an artist. But there is advice that works in many situations – often based on good old common sense – and the ten point list that is Peter Fischli and David Weiss’s How to Work Better is just that. It’s simple, it’s straight-forward and it’s something most of us would do well to follow.

Sadly, I’ve only ever seen How to Work Better in an exhibition context but I really like the idea of it as a public artwork providing a daily reminder of, well, how to work better.

Peter Fischli and David Weiss’s book Will Happiness Find Me? – which I’d be going on about here if only I had it to hand – offers lots of questions that somehow manage to resonate despite often being, well, a bit strange (I’m thinking Is my soul the ghost that drives my car around at night? rather than Could we complain about most things?). Now I am wondering where my copy has got to. Should I launch an investigation?

I could, of course. Instead I think I’ll ponder other sources of advice. I’m sure I could use a bit, but then couldn’t we all?