3 Tips for Beating Procrastination with the Heart
In Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles, the famed author describes the battle to create as a fight that starts fresh everyday and never gets easier. How after managing to push through and get a day’s worth of writing done, Pressfield goes to bed content and complete — vs. feeling restless and irritable on the days he leans into procrastination.
But while the famed author lays in bed at night ruminating over his small victory that day, there is a knowing in the back of his mind. He must remain vigilant, the fight continues tomorrow.
Pressfield’s best-selling book on battling creative resistance and overcoming procrastination has been read the world over because he writes the cold, hard truth plainly. While God-given, creativity is a muscle, not a right — with your best art waiting for you on the other side of showing up to slay the three-headed dragon every single day.
Gentle, yet effective — below are three techniques for conquering creative resistance that honor your journey, while keeping burn-out at bay.
Set Goal-Related Affirmations: In order to chase after your goals with 100% sincerity and focus, you must first fully believe you are worthy of your dream. This may feel obvious to you, but trust me, it isn’t to your subconscious. There is a reason why you find yourself procrastinating day after day, why your start date keeps getting pushed to next week, why you end up convincing yourself out of creating this-or-that. For so many of us, it comes down to low self-worth and fear of failure. While these are very real forces doing their best to convince you to stay small and play it safe, we can overcome these voices — if just for the day, with daily affirmations.
Starting your day singing your praises is a radical act of self-love, and step one to believing you are worthy of your achieving your goals. By taking the time to acknowledge your own gifts and abilities that uniquely situate you for success, you begin your day from a place of positivity and deserving.
It may feel odd to lavish praise on yourself, but recognize just how often you do the opposite and tear yourself down without a second thought. Feeling shaky about an upcoming job interview? Jot down a sentence or two that affirms your ability to think on your feet in any situation, while thanking yourself for all the hard work you’ve done that has culminated with you landing the interview in the first place.
Fully owning your dreams and desires is a daily practice. Begin with a couple affirmations in the areas you need a pick-me-up in the most, and watch your confidence blossom.
Building Momentum Through Routine: Ever notice how much better you feel on the days you manage to follow your morning routine? There’s something so simple, yet sacred about starting off our day with a familiar routine that leaves you feeling more steady and energized with each step.
If you are carving out a routine from scratch, be gentle with yourself. Start simple, adding in more layers like building blocks with time. Be mindful that the transition between each piece of your routine exudes ease, as to not overwhelm or discourage you when first starting.
Ask yourself, does your routine culminate with you set up for success and ready to create? Don’t be afraid to take this literally. An ideal last step in a morning routine could be meditating in your writing chair before opening up your laptop. Starting off your day with a routine designed to align you toward accomplishing your goals is the ultimate tone-setter.
Micro-Publishing: The number one way to slay the dragon and settle creative unrest is hitting publish. But how do I publish something I can’t even find the will to get started on? The word “publish” probably conjures up daunting visions of finishing your manuscript, starting that podcast, or marketing your course from scratch… And you’re not wrong to be a bit afraid, those are the giants.
Instead, start small and publish often. Maybe it’s a TikTok, an Instagram post, a blog, or even just a tweet. Whatever it is, you have to get into the practice of trusting your art and hitting publish. These smaller acts of creative vulnerability snowball over time — leading to less overthinking, more familiarity with the mechanics of sharing with the world, and most importantly, more art.
Connector of dots and people, Cassy Martinez is the Latinx founder behind @weareLadyLab, host of @TheLoverinTravelLover pod, and proud favorite child. Keep up with her CBD-fueled musings at @cassyymartinez.
