Reset the Clock
I get in my own way from creating a lot. It’s much easier to think about doing something than to actually do it. It feels productive but it’s too easy to miss the moment when thought should turn into action.
The beginning of my career I spent a lot of time waiting to get better. I stopped making stuff out of fear that I would produce bad work and I didn’t want to be attached to bad work. I wasted a lot of valuable time because my perspective was off. That could have been time to grow by making mistakes and learning from them, but instead I was stuck on pause.
Now I see time as positive pressure and I put it to work for me. Time is the motivator. The longer we are here the shorter our time gets. We can’t wait to start creating, we have to pursue creating and we have to take the time to make mistakes so we can improve. There’s no shortcut were the passing of time without action results in experience.
Deadlines create positive pressure, even if it’s a self-imposed deadline it pushes you. It’s discipline over inspiration. So if you want to be constantly creating make sure you are constantly on a deadline. A recurring deadline resets the clock. Once you hit the first deadline the clock starts ticking to hit the next deadline. The scope of what you want to do will determine the length of the deadline. You can do something daily for 90 days, or weekly for 6 months, or monthly for a year; whatever works for you. For one year I shot a black and white photo everyday, but this year I’m writing monthly.
These deadline cycles are pass fail, either you did the thing or you didn’t. And if you did the thing but it didn’t turn out how you hoped it’s okay because the clock resets and you have another chance to do better tomorrow. Short cycles have incredibly low stakes, because there’s always the next day to do better, but today you are still doing something. You aren’t waiting to get better, you are getting better. Maybe some days are worse than others but hopefully you can track improvement week over week or month over month.
The more you hit your deadlines the less you want to break them. If you have a daily deadline and are 100 days into it there is pressure to not break the streak. Again, time is applying positive pressure but this time on the back end of what you are doing.
For short cycles like a day the beginning is normally the hardest. I found having a to do list app is helpful. I pick my goal and just have it automatically generate the task everyday (or however long your deadline is). Now whenever I check my list throughout the day it’s front of mind and I look for opportunities to accomplish it.
Instead of passively waiting to get better this creates circumstances for you to actively pursue your goals and gain experience.
