My biggest tip is not about keeping a to-do list or being super organized – though that is important. But what has helped me is to not force it. This is especially true for when you need to be in your most creative state.
Have you ever tried to force yourself to do something and the creative juices don’t start flowing? You make yourself sit there, end up scrolling Facebook, and are pretty much the definition of inefficiency, when you “finish” your task hours later? Only to know that you’ll need to do a real good edit tomorrow because the quality is meh?
I’ve done this countless times. There’s a deadline and so I feel the pressure to be productive at this exact moment in time. I don’t have time later and so the pressure builds. I don’t leave my desk because that would mean being inefficient, right? That would mean I’m not doing what I’m “supposed” to be doing. So, I either scroll relentlessly or read my words over and over again with nothing sticking or I end up writing something and its dry. It ends up needing a lot of revamping. Or often a total re-do.
Hold the phones, please! Luckily, you have the answer to all this. It’s within your body.
So, you’re feel bleh and the juices just aren’t flowing. You’re staring at your laptop and feel heavy. So, instead of wasting time by continuing to sit there, ask yourself, what do I need to do today to get into feel-good vibes? And then do it. Don’t question it and do the first thing that pops into your mind. Go for a walk. Dance. Jump up and down. Sing. Anything. Literally anything to get you smiling and for the energy to move in your body!
You might think that it’s counter-productive, but rather than forcing yourself to sit there and produce inefficiently, 5 minutes of dancing is so worth it because it saves you 20 minutes (or much more) of being unproductive. It’s really a time saver and a big win win, if you ask me!
My creative juices don’t flow when I force myself to sit and write. To create. They flow when I’m rested. They flow when I’ve danced and laughed. They don’t flow just because I tell myself they must.
So, instead of forcing yourself to do something that your body is resisting, can you take a break to reignite your energy and honor you?
X Felice