guy trouble choosing

I’d like to Get That Done, But I’m Stuck

guy trouble choosingAs I write this, there are lots of other things to do yet today. You see, I leave for a business trip tomorrow and I tend to stress out a bit about traveling – until I get through security at the airport, and then I’m just fine – relaxed even. Until that point, I’m a bundle of nerves wondering if I’ve packed everything I need to (this amuses my husband who likes to point out that I travel to places that have these things called stores. So, if I forget something I can get a replacement).

Anyway, when I sat down to write this I couldn’t come up with a topic, there was too much other stuff going on in my head. So, I wrote the Note for my newsletter, because sometimes as I write it a topic comes to mind (it worked last week). This week nothing came to mind but the list of other things I still want to do today – and it’s already 4pm.

Part of me said, “Forget it! Go get the other stuff done and come back to this later.” However, another part of me that’s a bit wiser said, “If you don’t write it now, you won’t do it before you leave. The remaining day will quickly fill with the other tasks and you’ll be trying to write it when you’re tired.”

My point here? Sometimes there are things on our to-do list that we want to do, but getting it done seems really difficult. Whether it’s writing something and the words just won’t come or starting a new project and you have no idea how to approach it – sometimes you just get stuck.

And yet, you want to write those words or start that project – despite the frustration. But HOW?!

This is what I did:

  1. Get quiet.
    I set my timer for five minutes and sat quietly and thought about the task I wanted to do, asking for guidance.

    Many times, when I sit quietly and gently brush away the other thoughts that pop up, I’ll open up the mental space for a new idea or thought. It didn’t work this time – although I was enjoying the quiet so much I set my timer for another five minutes.

  2. What’s another way to get this task done?
    Since my task was writing an article, I thought about how an article could be posted if I didn’t write it. I had two thoughts (1) re-post an old article or (2) have a guest writer. I liked option two better and lots of people who write blogs and are okay with people reposting them on their blog as long as they attribute it to the original author (usually there’s a specific paragraph to include with a link back to the author’s site).

    I poked around one of my favorite blogs, but didn’t find anything that made me go “this is it!”

  3. Set your timer for 10 minutes, turn off all distractions and only work on that task
    I set the timer, minimized all the windows on my computer, turned off the sound on my phone and opened a document to write the article. Nothing else was open to distract me and writing, or staring at the blank page, was all I allowed myself to do.

    And suddenly I had a topic! Writing about what I did to get an article written when it seemed like it just wasn’t going to happen.

Sometimes waiting for “the right time” doesn’t work. In this case, there wasn’t going to be a better time – just a more frustrating time.

Ohh, and the quote that I shared on Facebook the day I wrote this:

You cannot wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. – Jack London

How accidentally appropriate.

In the comments below share what you do when you want to get something done and are stuck.

Image courtesy of renjith krishnan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

Not Feeling Inspired?

I was thinking about the post with WheezyWaiter’s video talking about inspiration.

“If you want to create something and you’re not feeling inspired, take a closer look as to why that is or just ignore it and start doing stuff” – Craig Benzine

This came up because I was having a hard time coming up with a topic for this post. I couldn’t think of anything to write about and wanted to move on to something else. Basically, I wasn’t feeling inspired.

I remembered feeling similarly when I was a programmer/developer. There was a specific task or program I needed to work on, but I really didn’t want to, I wanted to find anything else to do but that task or program. I felt like if I tackled it while I was feeling like this it would take twice as long to complete than if I waited until I felt like it.

I realized that the thought or feeling is the same even though I would have never said that I didn’t feel inspired. Telling your boss or client that you weren’t inspired to work on something just wasn’t an option. So, why is it different when it comes to something like writing? It doesn’t have to be. As Craig said, “just ignore it and start doing stuff.”

There are a couple other similarities between the two for me: the distractions. Because I wasn’t inspired to work something, I would take a break every 15 minutes and do something else. Things like a quick check of my work and personal email or Facebook or Twitter. The problem was that I wasn’t really giving myself a chance to really become involved in what I was working on. When I stopped allowing myself to be distracted I would generally become pretty involved with whatever I was working on after a little bit.

I still occasionally find myself doing this. The difference is I recognize it a lot sooner now. One way I combat this is a timer. I set the timer for however long I want to commit to working on the task without distractions and then do it! I find it also helps to close any windows or browser tabs that might be distracting.

When you’re not inspired and are allowing yourself to be distracted, what do you do?

You Are Powerful and Strong

You are powerful and strong. Yes, you are. I hear you denying it, telling me I’m wrong, that I don’t know you and can’t really say that with certainty.  But you’re wrong.  I don’t have to know you to know that you are both powerful and strong, I can feel it.

You’re reading this because you’re searching for answers, you’re searching for something more. You don’t know exactly what it is you’re searching for, but you know it’s out there. You are powerful and strong because you are seeking your answers. You’re taking a first step into change and that makes you powerful and strong.

Keep looking for your answers and don’t forget to look into yourself for those answers.  Take time to recharge your batteries and breath.  Sometimes answers come when you give yourself space to have them.  Don’t be afraid to ask for help and accept help when you need it.  Realize that the answers you want might not come in the way you expect, keep your eyes, heart and mind open.

I have faith that you will find what you are looking for.

Inspiration

Inspiration is a funny thing.  Some days a wave of inspiration will hit me and I’ll be able to just run with it.  Other days I try very hard to come up with something and nothing comes.

When the wave hits it’s easy to say that it came out of nowhere and want to wait for one to hit before I do something.  What I notice when I pay attention though, is that the waves of inspiration really don’t come “out of nowhere”.  They come because I’ve been working on the problem for a bit and my mind has been thinking about it.  Think of it like when you’re trying to think of that actor’s name from that movie and you can’t think of his name and then five hours later the name comes to you.  It didn’t really come out of nowhere.  Your brain has been working on it even if you haven’t consciously been working on it. I think inspiration can work like that too.  My brain has been working on the problem for a while and then it comes up with a solution.

Another way inspiration works is for me to simply show up.  Showing up means I decide that I’m going to do what ever it is that needs to get done and set aside some time to do it, with or without the inspiration.  What can happen when I simply “show up” is that somewhere along the way I do get inspired and stuff gets done.

So, don’t wait for a wave of inspiration to hit before tackling a problem.  Have confidence that you’ll solve the problem and then schedule some time to work on it. If a wave of inspiration hits immediately great! Bit if it doesn’t, don’t worry about it, because in both inspiration scenarios a problem gets solved, the project moves forward, or a blog post is written.