Discipline is one of those words that sometimes I really don’t want to use, much less hear used.. However, without it, I would never get my work done, especially as a creative person. It’s not that I’m lazy, though I have my days, it’s just that I don’t really like the idea of disciplined work. I learned early to do what I was told, as most children did, and I also learned early to feel frustrated about being told what to do all of the time. I wanted to do well, but I didn’t always make the grade, whichever one was priority at the moment.. I see myself as being someone who learned to meet deadlines out of fear, as much as I learned to meet them out of interest and motivation about finishing the project.

I think that this process is quite reasonable for younger students. A little bit of anxiety can go a long way to helping anyone move faster and work more accurately, then when they are in a less anxious mode. I guess for me the fear, melded with the anger, created the anxiety which eventually led to severe anxiety and many forms of procrastination. I’d much rather admit to you that I have a procrastination problem, then that I have difficulty with anxiety. Procrastination is one of the toughest habits that I have yet to break.

For purposes of discusssion, I’m going to substitute the word consistent for discipline. Being consistent describes the action to me that I want to work toward, without using a word that is emotionally loaded for me. I want to consistently work on a creative project. It doesn’t matter what type of project it is, I just want to work on it in a regular fashion. Why do I want to do this? I want to do this because I want to complete the project. I want to learn and/or apply the set of skills that I have available to this project and I want to move on to more advanced projects, that can be best completed by successfully completing this first project.

I learned to skip steps in math and similar subjects when I was a younger student. Unfortunately it really didn’t help me that much. I used the ’skipping steps’ method to complete my math session, without really knowing what or why I was skipping those steps. Sure, I knew that I would finish my homework faster, but I left out an important point, I didn’t really understand the basic math concepts, that would allow me to skip the steps with and reach the correct answer. So what happened? I ended up having to redo the problems again. I also asked for a lot of help from my older brother, which neither of us was pleased about. After all of that, I still stumbled imperfectly through my math classes.

Using shortcuts is fine if you know how to use them, and if you are not using them solely to bypass consistent and disciplined creative work. If I continue to bypass consistent practice of skills that are difficult or just time-consuming to learn, then I will make very slow progress toward my goals. I will also become discouraged about completing a project, must less planning for my next one or looking at new ways to grow my skills.

So, what do I do?
1) Stop and think about the situation.
2) Identify my fears or other emotionally-loaded issues.
3) Choose one situation to address. (You can always return to the others later)

For example, I have a specific skill that I need to revisit in my beading. I don’t want to revisit it, because I thought I learned it already. Well, I need to revisit it, because I’m spending too much time completing the step when I’m making my inventory. I don’t want to spend that much time on the skill. It really shouldn’t require as much time as I’m giving it. It should be much easier to do than, I am doing it right now.

So, returning to the list of actions:
4) When you choose a situation, you will become aware that it’s difficult and aware of the feelings supporting it.
5) Take a breath. Acknowledge that revisiting this skill brings up a lot of emotion for you.
6) Review what you know about the skill.
7) Putting your feelings aside for just a moment.
Review your information, to see where you can adjust your technique. Don’t rush this process, because that is what you have done in the past. You wanted it to become so automatic that you made it so, before your hand had developed the muscle memory to remember the skill. You treated yourself like a robot, and made yourself ‘do’ the skill, rushing through the process, rather than learning the process via consistent discipline.
9) Stop what you are doing. Admit what you know about why you wanted to rush the process. Are you afraid of making mistakes?(this is one of my biggies) Are you afraid to admit that you might be wrong? (this is another one of mine) Are you afraid that you might need to ask for help?(this is also another one of mine) Are you in a hurry? Have you procrastinated so long that you have to rush the completion process so that you can meet your deadline? (I have.) If any of these reasons apply to you, then you may be rushing your work and fighting against developing a consistent discipline.
10) Talk yourself through the steps that you need to complete the skill. At least whisper to yourself, if you can’t talk to yourself out loud. Stop, if you are having becoming too emotional and resume working on your up your practice at a later session.
11) Finish up for the day. Make a note of where you left off, so that you can begin at the same spot in your next session.
12) Repeat 1 - 7 until the skill starts to become automatic. You will notice that you don’t have to think about each step anymore or that you finish the process faster than when you did the last few practice times.
13) Now add that process into the bigger picture of completing, let’s say, a part of a bracelet. Just work on finishing part of the bracelet for the remainder of the work session.
14) Mark your place and finish that session.
Do you see how you worked through the emotional and practical issues?
You did the following:
1) Identified the emotional issue.
2) Reviewed your material.
3) Took a deep breath.
4) Worked on the most problematic part of the skill until you became at ease around it.
5) Worked on it again until it became mechanical and eventually easier for you.
6) Added this skill into the creation of a larger piece of the final product, using the same steps as before.
7) Completed the finished project.

I’m not saying that you will learn consistency overnight. It may take awhile for you to really learn or relearn a basic skill. I am saying that your work ethic will improve and eventually your output and quality of work will also improve. You will begin to notice that your pieces look better. The best part of it is, that your customers will begin to see your pieces the same way that you do.

For further reading I am suggesting the following articles found at:
www.writerseye.com/creativitycoaching/a-journal/index.shtml
www.writerseye.com/creativitycoaching/a-crcoach/index.shtml
www.writerseye.com/creativitycoaching/a-self-help/index.shtml

The Importance of Percolation
Procrastination Quiz
Procrastination Solutions
Five Ways to Express Your Anger
Telling Yourself the Truth

See you next week.

Lael Johnson
Creativity Coach

 

Tags: Articles - Creativity Coaching //