by Dan Goodwin
How often in your creative life do you go straight into creating without hesitation, without delay or distraction?
How frequently do you create WITHOUT saying “I’ll just check my email, then I’ll get on with creating”, “I’ll just make a snack, then I’ll start my new creative project” or “I’ll just finish watching this last programme, then I’ll get on with creating”..?
If you’re like many of us, these kind of “I’ll just... ...then I’ll create” statements are peppered throughout each and every day of your creative life.
Whichever way you look at them, they’re all ways of avoiding creating. They’re all forms of the dreaded procrastination.
So how can you beat procrastination and create more freely, and in a more focused way?
The usual, logical approach to take – and maybe you’ve tried this yourself a few times – is to look at WHY you procrastinate. The thinking is that once you’ve figured out why you procrastinate, you’ll instantly stop doing it.
Why this approach doesn’t work
What happens is you simply gather evidence – and possible evidence – as to why you procrastinate, and it strengthens your case.
Maybe I procrastinate because I’m scared of messing up? Or maybe it’s because I’m not sure this is the right project for me right now? Or it could be that I don’t feel I deserve to have this much time and fun creating?
The list continues... The more time you spend analysing and looking for reasons, the more your creative mind obliges and comes up with a whole pity party full of these reasons why you procrastinate. How creative your mind can be when you ask it. How ironic it’s coming up with the kind of things that are actually not helping you get down to creating!
However many reasons you come up with for why you procrastinate – and many of them will be perfectly valid and reasonable – at the end of it, you’re still sitting there with a lap full of reasons and excuses. You’re not creating any more than you were before. In fact it’s very likely you’re thinking “With all THESE reasons it’s NO WONDER I procrastinate so much”!
So what’s the alternative? Is there a different approach that does work?
Without taking action, you won’t progress. To make progress and reduce the time you lose procrastinating, instead of analysing WHY you procrastinate, look at WHEN you procrastinate and HOW you procrastinate.
We all have our favourite procrastination techniques, and we all have times and circumstances when we’re far more likely to procrastinate. Your aim is to find yours.
It’s only then, once you begin to learn when and how you procrastinate, that you have the knowledge and understanding to start beating procrastination.
So stop analysing the why, and instead observe yourself – objectively and without judgement – and find when and how you procrastinate. Then you’ll be ready to put procrastination in its place.
How often in your creative life do you go straight into creating without hesitation, without delay or distraction?
How frequently do you create WITHOUT saying “I’ll just check my email, then I’ll get on with creating”, “I’ll just make a snack, then I’ll start my new creative project” or “I’ll just finish watching this last programme, then I’ll get on with creating”..?
If you’re like many of us, these kind of “I’ll just... ...then I’ll create” statements are peppered throughout each and every day of your creative life.
Whichever way you look at them, they’re all ways of avoiding creating. They’re all forms of the dreaded procrastination.
So how can you beat procrastination and create more freely, and in a more focused way?
The usual, logical approach to take – and maybe you’ve tried this yourself a few times – is to look at WHY you procrastinate. The thinking is that once you’ve figured out why you procrastinate, you’ll instantly stop doing it.
Why this approach doesn’t work
What happens is you simply gather evidence – and possible evidence – as to why you procrastinate, and it strengthens your case.
Maybe I procrastinate because I’m scared of messing up? Or maybe it’s because I’m not sure this is the right project for me right now? Or it could be that I don’t feel I deserve to have this much time and fun creating?
The list continues... The more time you spend analysing and looking for reasons, the more your creative mind obliges and comes up with a whole pity party full of these reasons why you procrastinate. How creative your mind can be when you ask it. How ironic it’s coming up with the kind of things that are actually not helping you get down to creating!
However many reasons you come up with for why you procrastinate – and many of them will be perfectly valid and reasonable – at the end of it, you’re still sitting there with a lap full of reasons and excuses. You’re not creating any more than you were before. In fact it’s very likely you’re thinking “With all THESE reasons it’s NO WONDER I procrastinate so much”!
So what’s the alternative? Is there a different approach that does work?
Without taking action, you won’t progress. To make progress and reduce the time you lose procrastinating, instead of analysing WHY you procrastinate, look at WHEN you procrastinate and HOW you procrastinate.
We all have our favourite procrastination techniques, and we all have times and circumstances when we’re far more likely to procrastinate. Your aim is to find yours.
It’s only then, once you begin to learn when and how you procrastinate, that you have the knowledge and understanding to start beating procrastination.
So stop analysing the why, and instead observe yourself – objectively and without judgement – and find when and how you procrastinate. Then you’ll be ready to put procrastination in its place.
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