(*whereby “work” I mean creative work)
It’s January (surprise!) and new year’s resolutions are everywhere. But I’m also seeing a lot of discussion about how it’s okay not to stress about resolutions; we shouldn’t feel pressure to change ourselves or work harder; etc. And all of that is true. But if you’re a creative type and you want to make progress but you struggle because of a perceived “lack of motivation,” shake off that feeling! It’s probably not a lack of motivation – it’s probably because you’re tired and busy, and you need to make things easier for yourself rather than working more. It might just be that your office is cold. Read on – this discussion is for you 😊
I posted briefly about HON3YPOT on instagram last year, and a friend messaged me to ask HOW(?!?!) I found any time to work on things like this. If you search the HON3YPOT tag, you’ll find that I don’t really make much progress – but I do make some, and I’ve been figuring out how only recently.
I find a lot of productivity advice is annoying and unhelpful – examples below – but I want to share what’s been working for me, because rather than working harder, it’s about making the work easier: I’ve been eliminating barriers and finding effective workflows.
On “making” time: A lot of productivity advice tells us to find or make time. Get up early in the morning; use your lunch break; get something done on your commute; squeeze in a few hours before bed. I always bounced off this kind of advice for two reasons: (a) it made me feel guilty – like maybe I didn’t want this badly enough to fill every spare moment with it – and (b) because finding/making time is rarely a sustainable practice, and it’s even less sustainable the busier we are (or, the more people who depend on us).
When I was single and childless, maybe I could have got up at 05:00 to write, but now?? By 05:00 most mornings, I’m getting ready to take a toddler to the park so he can exorcise exercise his demon energy. By 20:00 – the start of my “free time” – I’m cooked, and any fun stuff I might want to do has to compete with chores, working out and other things I need to do in order to function under capitalism.
And then the toddler wakes up randomly an hour later. “Making time” simply isn’t realistic.
On task breakdown: Other productivity advice tells us to break down big tasks into manageable chunks. This is so obvious that it’s useless – no one is expecting to write a novel in one sitting – but what’s the best way to break it down? Maybe I decide to write for 30 minutes each day – great! – but then I get stuck because I need to look up how to treat a gunshot wound; or, maybe I need to go back and edit a section before I can continue with my next chapter – or maybe I’ve just been sitting at a desk all day for work, and I just don’t feel like using the keyboard anymore. I end up writing nothing because I can’t get past these barriers, and because I’ve broken the task down wrong – my workflow is wrong.
So, instead of breaking my work into chunks of time, I’ve been categorizing it by type and slotting in different types of work where I have capacity (read: energy, time, resources, tools, etc). This saves me energy (or motivation, or spoons) to accomplish tasks that are more difficult or that require specific resources or tools later.
For example, writing a novel isn’t just about writing – I might also need to research, edit/revise, manage a story bible, create a timeline, plot/plan, AND actually sit down to do the clickety-clacks. But maybe I could plan in a notebook on my lunch break, no computer necessary? Maybe I could research on my phone during my commute? Then, with my planning and research done, I could sit down to type later, and actually get something written.
So… if you’re like me and you struggle to “find time”, try these two things:
1. Remove barriers: if there’s something stopping you from working on your project, think about how you can make progress without having to overcome that barrier. For example, I often don’t want to sit at my computer in the evening – my shoulder hurts, my eyes hurt, the office is cold – so on those nights, I sketch on paper. This adds a step when I eventually need to scan and move to digital, but the digital work goes so much faster, and I can choose a better time to do it. All the faces in my “True Self” gif from last year were sketched on paper, first. I can sketch on paper in front of the TV or even outside, which means I can get some mental rest, sit somewhere comfy, and still get something “done”.
“Removing barriers” can also mean investing in the right tools or changing your work space/time so it’s more inviting. When I do work at my desk, I turn on the heat and wear slippers. The idea is to make your creative pursuit as easy and inviting as whatever else you’d be doing to relax.
2. Create an effective workflow (or, break big tasks down into types of work): per the above, there are some tasks I can get done on paper – like sketching. There are lots of others I can get done on my phone – I take notes, I write, I read/watch tutorials, collect drawing references and even edit images. I can do that anywhere! It may not be as efficient, but it’s effective: minute-for-minute, I can edit images or type faster on a computer, but if I don’t get a chance to sit at my desk (or, if I can’t convince myself to do it), I’ll make more progress overall if I use my phone.
Let me know if this helps you, and until the next time, stay cool! ⛄