How Creatives Can Beat Procrastination
What do we do when we face the tendency for inactiveness in our work life? I know I’m really guilty of this and battle this quite often so I wanted to address it a little bit here. Inactiveness in work is a major source of stress and really anxiety in my life. I also know that anxiety can be a cause of some procrastination as well. The topic of anxiety induced procrastination is something I plan on looking at in another post later. For now I’m simply looking at what things we can do when we have so much going on and so many different ideas that we end up letting them ALL fall to the ground and fail to pursue any of them. This for me is SO frustrating!
I have a day job…
Yup, that’s right, like many of you, I have an employer who pays me a curtain sum of money to do a certain task…all to pay my bills and support my wife and three kids to the best I can with that paycheck. But that’s not all I am and I’m suspecting the same can be said for you. Maybe not, but given recent numbers of job satisfaction, a large number of people are dreaming of doing something else with your life. Or something that fulfills you in a way your day job just doesn’t. It’s not that it’s a bad job, well some are. You’re just human and have many different interest you want to explore. And, you probably want to be bringing in more money for whatever reason and it would be nice to do so through avenues that fill your bucket so to speak.
Even as I’m writing this…I need to put that drink in the freezer to chill it faster, I wander if any of my photography clients reposted their pictures or even like them, three sets of kettlebell shrugs DONE, practice my gun draw…once then re-holster and stick that drink in the freezer, that new avocado colored Moleskin is call my name…what should I make that journal be about, etc., etc., etc…The list goes on. So a lot of what I talk about and what I want to talk about are things that I wrestle with and have some experience overcoming. I’m not perfect and my wife would back me up of that! I’m a work in progress and if I’m a little further along that process than you then hopefully you can gain some insight!
Ok back to the topic at hand. And, in the interest of simplicity (which I love) Let’s just break down the things I do when I feel myself wandering around each day, moving a lot but not really moving any meaningful needle forward.
Oh, one more thing. If you are currently being supported by an employer, and it’s time to work, turn your brain off and simply do the work. This is easier said than done for me but one thing that helps is getting creative with how I do my work. Is there a way to make what I do more efficient and more impactful? That’s what I’m going to do so I can get it done! And again, I’m a work in progress and don’t always get that right! BUT THATS MY INTENTION. Okay, moving on.
LIFE VISION & PURPOSE: First things first. I get clear on my life vision and purpose. If you haven’t written out your life vision or purpose statement I highly recommend doing so as it will serve as a north start to orient yourself to. Revisiting my purpose statement narrow my ADHD equipped brain in a singular direction.
BRAIN DUMP ALL GOALS: Next I like to brain dump ALL the goals I can think of. Don’t worry about if they align with your life vision and purpose statement just yet. Write them all out but only spend 10 minutes max on this. 10 minutes is an arbitrary number that means don’t spend all day because you’ll end with goals like “learn how to make Butterfly Balloon Art.” not that that’s particularly bad if that’s your jam but you get the idea.
ANALYZE YOUR GOAL LIST: Now that you have your list, whether it took 5 minutes or 30 minutes to put together, it’s time to look at each goal through the lens of your LIFE VISION & PURPOSE statement and just rank them according to importance. I recommend picking 2 or 3 goals from your list. Now, before you have a panic attack, those other goals will still be there for later. Let’s face it that list will probably keep growing as you move forward inlife and some may fall off. Also, you can’t do everything at once. Life balance is a moving target that’s fluid and ever changing. More on that in a later post.
BREAK DOWN EACH GOAL: Now that you have your 2 or 3 goals. We’re going to break each goal down into actionable steps. Clarification, DAILY ACTIONABLE STEPS for each milestone to reach your goal.
SO DAILY TASK DO I TACKLE FIRST?
An example from my life currently. Right now at the time I’m writing this, I’m 211 pounds and my BF% is in the 20’s. I have a very important goal of body recomposition. not just lose weight but rather keep/add lean muscle and lose fat. My goal is 12% BF right now. I could look at my day and think, “man I have a day job and earning that paycheck is so important. I need to prioritize my work before my workout so I can make sure I get that done.” What I’ve found is just the opposite. While hitting 12% BF is going to directly put money in the bank, but what it does is set my mind and body in the right state to then have the energy to tackle my daily goals. To Smash a workout and keep my eating on point feeds my energy and keeps my mood in a healthier place. From there, in my life, I have to prioritize my day job next. I do this to one, keep it and two, if I’m trying to work on something a little more creative or one of my other goals, my work commitments start to way on me and I end up accomplishing nothing. That’s why I knock out my employee requirements AFTER taking care of my workout. Then I move on to the other daily tasks.
NOW YOU HAVE YOUR DAY PLANNED WITH JUST THE ABSOLUTE IMPORTANT TASKS. NOW GET TO WORK!
