Workflow blocking: regularity and procrastination

Community Inspiration
#1

Hi,
I’m not sure if this will be inspirational to anyone and I hope it’s the right category.

Is anyone else struggling with regularity of their output and procrastination? How do you deal with it? What are personal techniques that help you towards discipline to publish your work or updates regularly and on time?

It seems that regularity is crucual part of any successful Patreon campaign, but personally it is a huge struggle.

I would love to hear from others how you deal with it - time management techniques are welcome but I think even more importantly how to meet the personal emotional challenges of lack of motivation and dealing with the habit of delaying (aka procrastination).

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#2

HI Novadeivator,

I wrestle with this often and one thing I have to remind myself is that what I may feel is procrastination is sometimes self-preservation–the thing just isn’t ready yet. Like a pie that is still runny…(gooey brownies are another matter entirely–they are perfect!) . When this is the case, I work on talking myself off the ledge and relax…often the energy to move forward, or complete shows up as if by magic.

I also find the motivation of sharing with my patrons has helped me keep my focus on creativity, rather than only on the “billable, items-that-need-to-be-checked-off-on-lists” that dance for my attention.

Also, giving myself permission to share the slowness of the process, or the reality of this ongoing struggle WITH my patrons, I am amazed at their supportive responses.

Wishing you the best in your creative dance!

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#3

I set daily goals like ‘‘this day i finish 1 pic’’ or ‘‘this day i finish 4 sketches’’. After finishing them I self-reward myself with playing some videogames.

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#4

I don’t have much to add to this other than “holy crap do I struggle with this too!”

I have been stepping it up this last couple of weeks in terms of my workflow with getting my podcasts released regularly, but it dawned on me last night I still need to carve out some time with fun experimentation with music. . .

The thing that I really get bogged down with is forgetting that I LIKE making music and experimenting with it on my computer. Like, I LOVE it honestly.

Still, I find myself dreading making myself get to work and procrastinating. I really want to start shifting that process too. When I start doing music I am always glad I did and more often than not, I get lost in the process and have a wonderful time. I need to get myself more engaged with the fact that I love this stuff.

With other areas of my life, I am starting to realize that I self-sabatoge because I am used to having a feeling of chaos, or a feeling of disappointment in myself. I think that fits here.

Lordy, not sure if any of this fits for you, but your post helped me realize some things. I think this conversation is so important for us all to be having with each other as independent creators. When I don’t produce what I wanted to, it really weighs on me but because I am a one person team most of the time, nobody really knows what I’m not doing. It helps to hear that other artists have this challenge too!

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#5

I feel super guilty about this all the time. Granted I am a small business owner and that takes a lot of my time, but there are large gaps in there when I could be creating. I have to cut myself some slack since I do work pretty much 7 days a week and if I have a piece of time that could be spent creating and I spend it just staring into space, maybe I just needed the downtime more. I’ve also found that if I have a specific themed project I am better about moving onto the next piece as it’s an individual part of the whole. My procrastination comes between projects.

But my two biggest issues are consistency and completion.

I noticed the first couple of years on Patreon I would get bits and pieces of lots of projects done each month, but wasn’t actually completing much. My resolution this year was to create a simple project for myself that I could easily complete each month and have at least one completed piece per month. I made it so small and such an easy thing just so I could build up the habit of consistency and a steady stream of completed pieces to boost my motivation. Sometimes that’s the only thing I accomplish each month, but it has been very effective for me this year. I have built a good habit and I have a solid foundation for next year (and I can always fall back on this easy project if I’m having a rough month).

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#6

Hey there. So i have a couple thoughts. one, i think it’s crucial to respect downtime and sleep. i often find myself wanting to work all the time. i have a lot of energy and i really enjoy what i do, mix that with a constant feeling like I’m falling behind and you have a recipe for someone working 7-days a week for months on end. eventually, though, i crash and end up procrastinating. im trying to be better at respecting the other aspects of my life other than work as a way to avoid situations like this. i find that the more rested and rejuvenated i feel, the more i can actually get done. “it’s a marathon, not a sprint.” i also find that keeping my mind clear and fresh as much as possible helps. so that means, cutting out things like coffee, sugar, and alcohol; taking lots of breaks and spending a lot of time planning my time and projects. lastly, i think it’s also important to go easy on yourself. most of us have full time jobs and that’s a tough combo considering all the other things going on in our lives.

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#7

I edit a lot of video, which can be daunting when you have a mountain of footage to go through. To get around this, I use a little timer on my phone called Focus Keeper which uses the Pomodoro Technique to segment your day into smaller chunks. It goes like this:

  • Work - 25 minutes
  • Rest - 5 minutes
  • Work - 25 minutes
  • Rest - 5 minutes
  • Work - 25 minutes
  • Rest - 5 minutes
  • Work - 25 minutes
  • Rest - 25 minutes
    [Repeat]

This way, I only have to commit to working for 25 minutes before I get a little break to play a game on my phone or whatever, rather than looking down the barrel of multiple hours of editing. The trick is to FORCE yourself to take the breaks, even when you’re “on a roll.”

Hope that helps!

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#8

My main medicine (no surprise ie my Patreon account) is to take creative walking breaks.

I’m not sure what your environment is like right outside your front door, but every time I feel stuck or caught, a good (20-30 minute at least) walk will completely rearrange my productivity/focus algorithm. I always take a small notebook with me to jot down ideas as they come as well.

If you dig this, then consider a variety of routes and nearby destinations (parks, cafes, main streets). I would be happy to offer up a few tangible walking routes near where you live. Reach out if that’s interesting to ya.

Sending peace ~

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#9

Hi, thanks for the great thread. I enjoyed reading everyone’s responses so far.

I have a regularly scheduled writing day once a week, and it’s great for me to have a guaranteed time I can count on myself to sit down and work for a few hours. Once I get started, like Michael said, I get absorbed and enjoy myself!

I also have natural deadlines because I am often producing for an online class. So I have to get the new lessons written before the next scheduled webinar. I wonder if some patrons would dig getting to have a “behind the scenes” chat with you on Zoom or some other conversational platform, and could act as accountability support for your process?

I also have my Patreon payments tied to Things. So if I don’t publish, I don’t get paid. I am TOTALLY motivated by money, so this works very well for me.

I really liked Lochy’s suggestion to create a small project that is easy to complete as the minimum baseline for productivity. Graham Greene used to do this in his daily writing practice - he would write 500 words a day and erase if he overwrote. Keeping the goals small can really help with productivity and satisfaction. He wrote over 30 novels, so it worked!

I hope you are able to find ways to keep yourself engaged! Best of luck!

Cheers,
Nancy

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