Photo by ian dooley on Unsplash
If you’re planning to work on a creative project, whether it is writing your next novel, composing a musical masterpiece, building an amazing app or a complex website, you’ll need all the productivity tools you can get in order to bring this project to completion. But, as the saying goes, “life” often stands in the way: it can be challenging to maintain focus and momentum in the long term, especially in the face of professional and social duties, chores, and distractions, ubiquitous in today’s world.
So how do I manage life’s responsibilities without giving up on my dreams? Well, there are certain habits you can develop which will boost your productivity significantly, and help you get a lot more done in your personal projects. Here are five of them:
1. Wake up 1 hour earlier to work on your craft
First thing you will need are big chunks of time exclusively dedicated to your project; it needs to be quality time, where you’re “in the zone”, fully concentrated on your task. Where can you find such a time? Well, the first few hours of every day can potentially be THE most productive time you can ever find, and that is for two reasons: first, your mind is still fresh from a good night’s sleep (unless you suffer from insomnia, but that’s a different matter…). Second, and most importantly, this is really your “me” time; there are no distractions likely to happen at 5 AM. No one's gonna call you on the phone at this hour to catch up; you won't get any "urgent" emails, and no one is posting feeds on their social media stream yet. Everyone's asleep, except you; you're working on your goals.
And even if you can only find one hour per day, you would still get 7 hours per week of uninterrupted time dedicated to your personal project, which is great…
2. Take notes on the go
Our minds are constantly brooding and reflecting on our long term goals, and the world around us is so full of inspiration and beauty. Thus, chances are we might experience "eurêka" moments when we least expect them, and it can be easy to forget those ideas that come to us in the moment. Therefore keeping a notepad, or a note-taking app, with you at all times is an excellent idea: this way you can jot down your thoughts quickly, before they slip away. Once you have captured those furtive ideas, you can revisit and develop them later, in the comfort of your workspace, when you're ready to tackle them.
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
3. Get inspiration from different material
Sometimes, we get stuck in a creative rut, and it's hard to come up with new ideas. When this happens, one of the best ways to break free from this state is to take a look at work made by other authors. It could be something similar to what you're working on, and even better, it can be something completely different! Let’s say you’re writing a science-fiction story, and you seek inspiration from let’s say a western, you’ll get a completely original material, some kind of hybrid between the two genres (this probably happened to the writers of the movie “Cowboys and Aliens” or the TV series “Firefly”). Also this way, you’ll avoid the trap of plagiarism, since the result is something completely unique.
4. Don't seek perfection
Don’t get me wrong: every author should bring his creation to the highest standard possible. However, perfectionism, which is the obsession of creating something perfect right from the start, is one of the biggest productivity killers. When you strive for perfection at the early stages of the creative process, you become bogged down in details and lose sight of the bigger picture; then you’ll most likely discourage yourself, and give up. Don’t make that mistake; don’t let your inner critic smother the creative in you.
Instead of trying to make everything perfect from the start, focus on making progress. Be willing to make mistakes and to adjust them later. Done is better than perfect, so don't let the fear of not doing something perfectly hold you back. Remember: it’s easier to edit something than to create it out of nothing. The hardest thing for an author to confront is a blank page.
5. Set deadlines
Deadlines are a powerful tool for boosting productivity because they create a sense of urgency. When you set a deadline for yourself, you are more likely to focus on the task at hand and make progress. It’s also a remedy against perfectionism (detailed in the previous paragraph), because you have to get the job done before the timer goes off. Feel the adrenaline rush! This is what we call “timeboxing” in management, and it’s one of the principles of Agile methodologies, and probably one of the reasons they are so efficient.
And finally, when you meet your deadlines, it gives you a sense of accomplishment, so there’s a motivational aspect to it. However, make sure to set realistic deadlines, otherwise you’ll get the opposite effect; you’d most certainly miss your deadlines, then discourage and hate yourself. Don’t do that.
Photo by cottonbro studio
By incorporating these five habits into your daily routine, you'll be able to boost your productivity and advance in your creative projects. Remember: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”, so be patient with yourself and keep at it until you succeed.
No comments:
Post a Comment