Hi friends,
Yesterday, I had the house to myself all day to work on my goals program after finishing a beautiful training session with (Arab Women Today) at 1 pm.
I usually prefer to work on my training programs in a cafe because this previously proved its success. However, the kids were staying at my parents’ house this time, so I chose to stay home to work until the late evening hours.
It was funny to notice the suddenly-urgent matters I wanted to accomplish as I sat down to work:
- Order the matching family Christmas PJs as per the annual ritual.
- Create a quick podcast episode.
- Check my podcast statistics (which I did because it took a second, and they were awesome).
- Fold laundry the minute it gets ready.
- Renew my Zoom Pro subscription.
- Log my weekend expenses.
- Check laptop deals to replace my windows eight laptop.
Don’t get me wrong, all of these are tasks I need to get done.
Strangely, their urgency spiked as I was about to start working on a creative task that required time, effort and focus.
Does this happen to you, too?
Just when you are about to start working on your project, do you feel the need to organize your desk? Although you don’t particularly enjoy this task, it suddenly sounded attractive to you! Because the project is uncomfortable, and you don’t know all the steps, but you know how to organize your desk.
What you feel is natural when working on a creative endeavor. Steven Pressfield calls it resistance.
Notice it.
If you act on it, it will lead to procrastination. Procrastination is the “voluntary delay of an intended action” while knowing it will make you feel worse.
What to do?
Like me, turn them into a story to share with your readers 😄 and do the following:
- Decide the first step you need to do in your project.
- Set a timer to work that step or the first few, with a promise of a nice break after.
- Write the list of distractions as they come up in an open text file on your computer or a piece of paper. This way, you acknowledge their existence, and your mind will quiet down.
- Done. Time for a break. You deserve it.
