One of the things that I’m really grateful for is all of the super talented, creative friends I’ve made through starting this blog. The majority of the people that are in my life right now wouldn’t be here if Inward Facing Girl didn’t exist. Lucky for me, some of these amazing people live right here in Seattle. We get together for coffee and walks, and “talk shop” on a regular basis.
Not too long ago I was walking with a friend and we were sharing business stories. I told her about One Creative Summer and how that experiment opened me up, in time and in mind. I gave myself permission to take a break, let go of my blogging schedule, and “not think” about my business. I told myself that I don’t have to do or figure out anything until October 1st. I’m sure you know what happened next.
The act of letting go brought on an avalanche of creative ideas, plans, and progress.
Taking on and living through this experiment has allowed me to help creative entrepreneurs who struggle with, “I need to figure everything out right now!”
The truth is, you can’t.
Creativity does not flow from desperation.
“I’ll try anything to make something work,” doesn’t lead to creative thought. Trying to develop something new and great under extreme pressure likely won’t lead to innovation.
When I lived in L.A. and worked in movie marketing, we had crazy deadlines. Like, laughable insane deadlines. I worked as a Director of Research, and my primary role was to tell movie studios how to make their films and advertising campaigns better. If I had to go to a screening, I’d see the film at 7:00 PM with an audience of about 400 people. After the movie was over, I’d observe a focus group of 20 to 30 people. I’d get home about midnight and I’d have to be back in the office and start working on my report by 7:00 AM. The report was due by 2:00 or 3:00 PM. On the same day. Then the process repeated itself. It was exhausting.
The company prided themselves on delivering unnecessarily fast results. No one needed to have them that quickly – the filmmakers weren’t going to go out and reshoot or edit the movie right away. In reality, a couple of extra days would have added nothing but value and depth, and ultimately lead to a (theoretically) better movie. But this company chose to sell themselves on speed and turnaround time at the expense of creative input and value.
Creating a pressure-filled environment with rigid deadlines can lead to missed insights and opportunities for growth.
This is true in business and in life.
How To Give Yourself Permission
1. Are there things that you want to do that you’re trying to force? Write them down.
2. Take a look at the list with an objective eye. Do any of these truly HAVE to be done right now? If so, cross them off this list and add them to a new list labeled “urgent.”
3. Look at the remaining things on your non-urgent list. How can you give yourself the permission and space that you need to develop these projects more organically? What are some realistic deadlines you can give yourself for completing them?
4. Schedule time in your calendar for thinking about, exploring options for, and working on these projects in a way that’s conducive to creativity and openness.
If you try this exercise, I’d love to hear how it works! Leave a comment on this post or email me!