I am working on several new projects, that are a little scary and a little exciting. These things have been in the back of my mind for a while. I haven’t really talked about them or thought about them in any kind of practical way until the last week. They are the sort of projects that are in danger of becoming dust-covered clutter in the closet of my mind. The kinds of things you can just put away until later.

 

We took a short (and wonderful) trip to the beach last week. We left on a Thursday night and came back home

Sunday. I took along my iPad and a notebook, thinking the time in the car would be perfect for doing some work. On the way there, I just read and napped. Then, on Friday and Saturday, I swam, ate, played in the sand, read a little more, swam some more, went for a very long walk and napped.

 

Doesn’t sound like much work got done, does it? On the way home, a work-related thought crossed my mind, so I got out my notebook – and ended up with pages and pages of notes. In fact, the skeleton of a plan for a couple of those projects turned up in all those notes. I got further in an hour or two in the car all sun kissed and beach-tired than I had in a month at home.

 

I’ve never been the kind of creative person who is dependent on some mysterious muse to grant me ideas. Writing is work, and like any work, it’s something you just have to sit down and do. If you need to wait until inspiration hits, you should give up any thoughts of making a living writing.  At the same time, in order write well, you do need what I think of as “mental space.” There has to be room in your mind for your thoughts to move around and connect in new and interesting patterns.

 

My guess is that any kind of work requires the same sort of mental dexterity. An unusual marketing scheme will attract attention. A creative combination of flavors will bring customers through the restaurant doors. An unusual grouping of plants can make a display in a retail establishment. Creativity is necessary in every business because you have to be original and give your customers a reason to come to you and not the guy across the street.

 

While a routine is good and fosters creativity in its own way, doing something completely different (and in this case unplanned) can cause those “lightning strike” moments of creativity. I was worried about coming home to a big mess and feeling exhausted and needing a week to recover from a three day vacation. Instead, I came home with a notebook of ideas to implement and a renewed dedication (to make more money so there can be more trips to the beach!).

 

Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a way to predict what will work the best at any particular time. When I’m “stuck” on a garden-variety Tuesday, a hard run or other work out might get the mental wheels turning, but not always. Time outside usually helps, but again, not always. Like last weekend, a short trip can be the key, but other times only lead to exhaustion.

 

Do you have a need to foster creativity in your work? Is there an activity that seems to spur your mental processes, or a time of day that is more conducive to creativity for you? Have you ever been surprised that something did or didn’t help you think creatively? 

 

 

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When I was teaching, we went on professional development retreats each year. These events weren’t lavish or luxurious, but we did go to a hotel in a park in a beautiful setting and have professional speakers come talk to us about various topics. It

meant a weekend away from home, at the very end of summer, and I hated them.

 

I hated leaving my family for a weekend. I hated having to be my professional self (I always called “teacher dava” Mrs. Stewart and thought of her as an entirely different person that “regular dava”) for a whole weekend. I hated the idea of how much such a retreat must have cost, especially when compared to my annual salary.

 

But usually, the reality of the retreat wasn’t so bad. The speakers were always interesting and it was good to get excited about getting back in the classroom. It was useful to learn more about my profession. Getting to know my co-workers a little better created better understanding and made working together a little more comfortable. It wasn’t so bad.

 

The experience of having been a teacher helps me to be a better business owner. Just like I showed up on those retreats even though I didn’t want to, I sit down at my desk everyday and write for my clients, even when I don’t want to. It goes beyond simply having a good work ethic. One of the biggest complaints the teachers made about the retreat was that they felt the time would be better spent creating lesson plans or painting classrooms. Working wasn’t the problem. Showing up to do something we didn’t want to do was the problem.

 

There are parts of every job that are less fun or less interesting, but that still must be done. The odd thing is that we dread some of them so much, but then end up enjoying doing them. One task that writers often feel this way about is invoicing. Personally, I dread it and put it off until we are facing certain financial doom unless I do it, but then feel so happy and efficient when it’s done.

 

Today I am issuing a challenge: choose one task that you have absolutely been dreading – maybe some marketing, making a call you aren’t looking forward to, paying a bill, whatever – and do it. Then notice how you feel about it and let us know in the comments. (I’m going to feel like an idiot if no one does this so please, save me some embarrassment and make something up if you must.)

 

The task I was dreading? It was writing this post. I’ve been putting it off all week because writing here, in a personal way, as dava, is becoming increasingly difficult. Sometimes it feels like the more I write for others, the harder it is to identify my own voice and my own style. Now I feel better, though, just for showing up, even when I didn’t feel like it.

 

 

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For months, I’ve had several items lingering on my to-do list. All are things that I should certainly get around to doing, and all will most likely help me earn some money. None of them are things that I have any real reason to not do.

For instance, this site needs some widgets and plugins and such added. There is no contact form. The About page needs to be tinkered with and updated. There should be a “follow me on Twitter” option somewhere. There’s more, but you get the idea.

I specialize in writing email newsletters, and the newsletters I write get results for my clients. My average open rate is somewhere around 40%, and all of my clients’ subscriber lists are growing in healthy, organic fashion. But I do not have a newsletter for my own business.

It does no good at all to beat myself up for not doing these things (and a million more just as important), and so far, setting deadlines for myself hasn’t worked. Maybe it has to do with fear? Unacknowledged, unadmitted, silent fear. I don’t feel afraid, yet I’m also not getting this stuff done.

Do you put things you know would help your business on the back burner? One of my clients, running a healthy, growing business, had no marketing plan whatsoever. He was relieved to hire me because I talked about doing stuff he had been trying to get to for months. My suspicion is that this sort of thing happens to everyone.

Wouldn’t it be great to be generating enough income to hire someone to do all the little things your business needs but that you can’t seem to face doing? Maybe someday. But for now, I am going to challenge myself to complete at least a few of the niggling little tasks that won’t seem to go away…

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My house is rarely clean. It’s usually cluttered, there is almost always a minimum of one or two dirty dishes, a basket of laundry waiting to be folded and put away (I HATE putting-away), more than a basket waiting to be washed, and a fine coating of dust and dog hair on top of it all.

What can I say? There are two teenage girls living here, one of whom works 25-30 hours a week and goes to school, I work full time and write part time, my husband works full time and we have three dogs…It’s gonna get messy.

So, walking the line between messy and outright nasty is a constant challenge around here. Through the years, I’ve tried just about every strategy imaginable to keep it clean – from chore charts to allowances to a half hour of required cleaning time a week and everything in between. All of it works for a week or two, then we return to our normal state of utter chaos.

Last week I tried something new. Before anyone could go anywhere on Saturday, we all four (plus an unfortunate spend-the-night friend) had to clean for one hour. The three girls put on aprons and ipods and decided to work as a team, tackling first the kitchen, then the bedroom and bathroom. My husband cleaned his “area” next to his chair (yes, it did take the whole hour) and I took on the living room.

Unbelievably, it worked! The house was cleaner than it had been for quite sometime. And, bonus, since it was relatively clean, it was easier to spend a few minutes every evening maintaining the cleanliness and this weekend there are just a few must-be-done chores. Even the plants look happier.

I don’t know how long it will last, but for now, the one hour of cleaning has motivated us all to try and keep the mess under control.

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This morning I made a to-do list.  Then, I sat there with it for a long time.  Just feeling completely overwhelmed.  I made the list fairly short, knowing that it would be impossible to do everything that needs doing today.  So, I made a reasonable list of things that would make life easier in our house during the next week.

Still, the list paralyzed me. It just felt like a terrible way to spend a Sunday; cleaning and working and buying things like trash bags. I would much rather read something by Ursula K. Le Guin and nap.

How many times have you heard someone say something like “I wish I could quit smoking” or “lose weight” or any number of other things people want/need/should do?  My first reaction is thinking, “Well, just do it.  If you want to quit smoking, stop putting cigarettes in your mouth.”

Now, you might be thinking that I’ve never had to quit smoking so don’t know how hard it really is, but I have quit smoking. More than once. Each time I would stay quit for about two years, then take up the habit again always telling myself it was so I would lose weight.  And it worked.  I lost 60 pounds the last time I started smoking.

The last time I quit was four years ago, and this time, I think it will be permanent. I gained 50 pounds, so now have a different goal.  I really wish I could lose some weight.  Somebody (a thin person) at work one day said, “It’s easy to lose weight,” and I thought “Obviously you’ve never had to lose weight.” But that person was right.  If you want to lose weight all you have to do is  eat well and exercise.

Why is it so hard to do the simple things that will help us reach the most important goals?  Why did an easy, useful to-do list paralyze me? How do you overcome that resistance to just jumping in and doing what will help make life better? And, is it possible to be too efficient and organize?  Will you miss out on opportunities for joy and spontaneity by becoming a slave to your list?

One of my favorite posts on zenhabits.com is one titled The Lazy Manifesto: Do Less. Then, Do Even Less.  Maybe the key to reaching all of those goals is to choose to work on only the very most important things.  Make the list as simple as possible, enjoy working on it, then take a nap.

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