Yes, this is an article to help you start, when everything in you is screaming at you, but the procrastinator in you is winning. The truth is, being a creative is a hella lot of work. I mean it in the most serene sense, it means that your mind constantly has so many tabs open you cannot shut it off. The worst part is that you cannot grasp the thoughts long enough to be able to put it into a coherent thought, without the thought being overtaken by at least 6 other thoughts. Trying to get the thoughts into a coherent pattern to begin to put into “brain folders” is such a task on it’s own that by the time you are done thinking and sorting, you are too tired to execute.
Just the above paragraph alone has your mind going 100 miles per hour, it is exhausting. I know, because I live that. It is my reality every single day. So, the question is and remains, how do I get myself to step out my creative boots and execute? How do I stop dreaming, get to planning and start executing?
The truth is, the answer lies within you. Many times we know what we need to do and simply need someone to echo our thoughts back to us, or give us a starting point. This is because starting is always the hardest part when it comes to getting anything done. If you are a creative like myself, here are 3 things you can do to always pull yourself away from the frenzy in your mind and get you on the journey of execution.
Step 1: Start
I know it sounds simple, because obviously if you are to get yourself from point A to B, you need to start. Yeah, simply said is not always simply done. Starting is the hardest part of any task, be it getting that presentation done, that proposal written or starting that business. The bad news is, starting is the hardest. The good news is, once started it increases your chance of completing the task by 89% (yes, I just made that figure up, but you must admit, it feels good to know that after starting, it is easier to finish).
Step 2: Continue
At this point you are like, seriously? Yes, seriously. Many times we start tasks and never complete them. We have proposals half finished, vision boards half completed and amazing ideas half thought through. When I say continue, I mean that starting is the hardest part, but so is seeing through what you started. The thing is about starting anything is that the starting is hard, and once you get into it, your creative juices flow and you cannot believe just how much work you are getting into it. Then the excitement fizzles and you simply cannot get the same excitement going to boost you to continue what you started. For a second, pause. Think about all the things you started and never finished? Going to the gym, sign up and after 3 months they gym never sees you again. Business adventure, set up the business, register it and get your first paying client, and months later you lack consistency. Starting is hard, but so is consistency. Master consistency and you are well on your way to the finish line.
Step 3: Finish
I have this idea that if I was ever to quit something, I would breed an environment of quitting. I know it sounds crazy, but my biggest fear is becoming a quitter. I do not believe in quitting and I strongly believe in finishing what I started, else do not start in the first place. The finish line is a bitter sweet victory lap at the end of something. Not many of us finish what we started and it reflects badly on one’s character. Ensure that when you find yourself square in the middle of something and there’s that inclination to quit, shake it off and remember you are not a quitter. Regardless of how hard it gets, regardless how tough the journey gets, finish what you started.
Sounds simple enough. Start, continue and finish. The next time you find yourself afraid to start, procrastinating or simply engulfed in “what if I fail?”. Remember there are three simple steps. Say it after me, “Start, Continue and Finish”. It does not matter where you find yourself, start, continue and finish.
From One Fearless Queen to another,
Love Mavis
