The Creative Procrastinator
I just had a high-performing entrepreneur ask me if there were any tips I could offer to help him get things done along a timeline rather than wait till the last minute. “How can I create artificial pressure that I seem to respond to for a real looming deadline?”
He’s worried about being a procrastinator even though when he’s against the deadline, everything is produced on time.
You either are like this or you know someone like this. So, this blog’s for you!
Here ya go –
You’re not doing nothing.
That double negative is to say, you ARE doing something, even if it’s not fully expressed outwardly. Give yourself the gift of lightening up. Personally, I always failed the part of school assignments that required me to turn in an outline. Yes, I have five books out there and two more in the mix. And yes, each book is divided into chapters (like an outline). And NO, I didn’t start there. I started with concepts I wanted to convey. As with any of the speeches I give, my question to myself is “what do I want my audience to come away with?”
These blogs, they’re freeform, like you’re sitting across the table from me, sipping coffee, and I’m just explaining a concept. My fingers are flying across the keyboard instead of speaking aloud.
Back to UN-flogging yourself for procrastinating. The reality is that THE MOMENT YOU ACCEPT the new task, your mind is already at work creating it. I do two things when I’m writing a book: 1) I’ll set five-to-ten-minute blocks of time for just thinking about the concepts. That’s it. Just think about the outcome and the ideas for the outcome.
And 2) I’ll set blocks of time for writing (usually two hours at a time that I break into smaller, 20-minute chunks).
Specifically, I allow myself the “think about it” space. And I give myself the “work on it” space. Even if I just sit at my computer with a blank screen, I’m giving myself the gift of space. Because my subconscious is creating. Opening to blank space allows what’s inside of me to simply pour out. The creative process happens internally having been sparked by something externally. The space to let it percolate or pour out is granted.
And, as the deadline nears, the inner work is complete.
Let it pour.
Keep making your magic.
See you here next week.
= Wayne =
GET THIS: Small-group. Exceptional clarity. Confidence to move forward.