Nothing is 100%
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
This past Saturday I was going to take all day to work on my book. I woke up early, did some Yoga and was all set to go. I sat down in my office chair, opened the document up and stretched my neck a little, then jotted down a quick note into my calendar,
then made myself a quick cup of tea,
then heard my wife and son wake up and checked on them,
then watched a quick Neil Young interview for a little inspiration,
then laughed at myself for procrastinating,
then got angry at myself for procrastinating,
then (in my head) listed ways that the book will help my career,
then finally got down to writing.
This writing only lasted for 15 minutes before I decided to put some Mozart on.
I was about to get upset at myself again, but then I realized that I was just being a big bully to myself. I know that I talk about being kind to yourself and listening to your needs, but I’m not perfect either.
I was hating on myself.
I wanted to be 100% productive. Just knock out a whole bunch of writing on a Saturday so I could relax on Sunday.
Life doesn’t work that way. The writing muse doesn’t just click on when the alarm clock sounds off. I know this, but yet there are days when I still try to force the issue.
Have you noticed that you try to get way too much done in a short amount of time?
Do you need to be a little easier on yourself too?
What do you expect to be perfect in?
How do you handle days when creativity or motivation is off?
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Leo of Zenhabits put out a great post called, “The Little Rules of Action.” It’s a must read for procrastinators.
If you enjoyed this post then try this one out:
Image courtesy of Djenan
I find that if I don’t “see how much I can do in an hour” (or some other timebox), it’s all too easy to get distracted. The timebox helps me make it a game and focus for a chunk of time.
If I just say, I’ll work on it today, that’s unbounded, and I end up distracting myself.
If I’m distracted because there’s something else I’d rather do, then I do a quick sanity check on “why.”
I stay flexible and I balance with my trade-offs. I know sometimes paying the piper is what it takes, and other times it’s about not robbing Peter to pay Paul. Time can be a bandit in more ways than one, and it’s our most unique resource, so I value it.
Hi Karl – Forcing the muse has yet to work for me, yet I kept trying it! LOL Finally, after way too long, I’ve given myself permission to do other things, and there are plenty of those. The muse has always returned. So far. One of my resolutions was to be mindful of the present moment. That’s helped with the concept of distraction very much. Thanks.
Focus Karl…Focus! Haven’t we all been in this position. I do agree with what J.D. says, see how much you can do in an hour.
Hi Karl!
Always glad to hear about other people wrestling to focus – it’s so comforting in a weird way! I thought once the kids left home and I had all this glorious solitude during the day I’d be an unstoppable work horse. HA! Yes, some days I can be – most of the time though I’m the Queen of Distractions – the really stupid part is I cannot blame it on anyone else but my Monkey Mind cuz nobody else is here!
Focus is always invited to the party! Sometimes I have to take a walk outside to find it, or sit in meditation.
Hi Karl
This was so good for me to read. Yeah, I totally know those days. We are all set to go, a perfect day of what we are going to do lined up and then…and then your being says no.
I sometimes too get frustrated and think why am I procrastinating or why can’t I just get this done (so tomorrow I can relax, or whatever the case may be) – but then I bring myself back to “reality” and know that our being does not work like that.
We are meant to be free, creative when creativity calls, and life should be lived. Our natural state is to “be” not to “do” – and when we are not “being happy” because we are trying to do something, nothing seems to flow.
That is why now more and more, I try to pay attention to my emotions, am I happy at this moment, or would my being rather be doing something else – something I had not planned for or expected. And now I don’t push anymore, because I know how that goes, the day goes by and yes, eventually I get a, b or c done, but I don’t feel good at the end of the day, like I suppressed my natural state – and to me that just isn’t worth it anymore. (It doesn’t always work out this way yet tough, sometimes I still push myself to do things, but less and less)
Hi, Karl!
Like you, I need to let creativity flow when it wants to flow. Sometimes it surprises me. I’ve learned to surrender to the process of writing. There are days when I think I can sit and write for three hours, but I’m lucky to get through one. Other days I think, “I’ll just write for 20 minutes,” and four hours go by and I wow myself. I had a goal of writing my first book in three months, and finishing before summer kicked in. I did not meet that goal, but by trusting it was all right, finished the book in a way I couldn’t have otherwise. The end result allowed me to rewrite it halfway through (that shocked me), and what I ended up with was so much better than how the whole thing started. If I’d forced myself to stay true to the three-month schedule, it couldn’t have happened.
Trust Universal timing. You’re being led, and yes, sometimes even to procrastinate!
Your book will be a HUGE seller, so give it the time and space it deserves.
Great post!!!
I know that feeling well. Like right now, I’m working on an ebook, but then said, “I’ll check blogs.”
I see it as a sign to take a break, clear the mind.
Even if it’s only been 15 minutes.
I’ll never forget one of the most productive feeling days I ever had. And I didn’t do any work related activities. A Sunday – I cleaned the house, went for a walk with my husband, stopped off after said walk to our favorite pub for a drink and a snack, came home and turned on the football game while I worked on my jigsaw puzzle.
That day was a matter of listening to my inner self and doing what I wanted to do rather than what I thought I should do (ie, work).
Hey Karl,
I’ve got that procrastination thing down! Still, sometimes I just tell myself that’s okay…and enjoy the moment – which can easily be a moment of “not doing much at all”. And I’m okay with that, especially if it happens to help me re-focus. And then sometimes it’s in really realizing what the true priorities are…
I get distracted way too easily. If I don’t make a list of things I want to accomplish for the day I’ll often find myself at the end of it with none of them done. Lists also work for me in the reverse. When I’m feeling overwhelmed by distractions it helps me to write them down rather than doing them, so I can go through the list later and do them if they were really all that pressing.
Thanks for the post
The more I try to force productivity, the less productive I am. I’ve learned that I have to allow myself to get into the flow of getting stuff done, especially on big projects!
Karl — I hate those days when you think you’re ready to just pour it out and then you sit down at the computer and stare at the blank white page…and there’s nothing:~(
But these type of days do happen. This post is good reminder to take it easy on ourselves when they do happen. If we can’t write, we do something else for awhile.
For example, I like to watch funny videos…laughter has a way of loosening me up and sometimes it’s makes Izzy, my muse, more willing to work…she’s not so fond of my laugh:~)
Thanks for this post:~)
Hi Karl,
I learned the hard way that the best thing to do is to have no plans and just go with the flow. Sometimes when we have certain expectations of what we want to accomplish, we may stress ourselves out if it just is not working or happening on that day.
So my advice is to just go with the flow. Things that need to be done will somehow get done in a much more enjoyable manner than if we are wasting time by stressing about what is not working. Just my two cents. Hope all is awesome!
Hi J.D., I love using timeboxes to help me stay focused. It’s the best way for me to get the hard stuff done.
Hi Betsy, We can’t bully the muse. It only gets more scared to stop by and hang out for awhile.
Hi Tess, It’s a great technique.
Hi Suzen, Distractions can be good if we use them for creativity. We just need to have a good balance of focus and play time.
Hi Evita, By not pushing you are letting the moment be more natural and enjoyable.
Hi Megan, It’s funny how that works. When we don’t expect to get much work done we hit the sweet zone and time ceases to exist.
Hi Positively Present, Thanks.
Hi Stacey, Listening to what we really need is important. We then start to find those moments that make us maximize our creativity.
Hi Lance, We all need some good procrastination in our life. If we have time for it.
Hi Wendy, I love lists. When I write something down it frees me up to focus on the most important things first. After I’m done a task I can go back to my list and do the next important thing.
Hi Hayden, The flow is vital to getting great work done.
Hi Sara, I hate those days too. We all need a take breaks to pull ourselves away and when we come back we have a fresh perspective.
Hi Nadia, When we try to bully ourselves we stress and lose our creativity. Our best stuff hides from us.
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