Creativity Rocks! Happy New Year!
By worldpoetry on January 14, 2005 - 11:58pm
Creativity Consultant Ariadne Sawyer answers questions on creativity from people around the world on The World Poetry Café Radio Show every Tuesday from 9-10 PM on CFRO 102.7 F
Creativity Rocks # 39.
Anna from Houston, Texas writes:
I find that I am in the habit of procrastinating whenever I want to write.
Do you have any suggestions for the New Year?
Happy New Year Anna!
Procrastination is one of the biggest challenges that many creative people face.
It is often thought that it is like a negative commercial, playing too fast to actually see the content. You may only get a feeling to put off or do something else instead.
Here are some suggestions:
• The best antidote to procrastination is to take action. Break tasks down into manageable chunks and do one at a time.
• If you tend to eat, watch TV, clean, or other avoidance tasks, make up some labels marked procrastinators and stick them on the offending items. This will give you a visual reminder.
• NASA Astronauts came up with a technique called Fast Forward which I find very useful. Pick a task that you are procrastinating and imagine going to the end of the task, feeling great that you have done it easily and well. Practice doing this at least three times until you are motivated to start.
• If the above do not work, ask yourself why you are procrastinating, write down your answers and look for solutions.
• It takes at least 47 days to create a habit, so be patient. This is one of the reasons that New Years Resolutions often fail.
Good luck! Let me know which of these work best for you!
This is Ariadne for Creativity Rocks!
