December 3, 2024 • 8 mins
When I'm having trouble creating, I use this technique and it works every time.
Just start. Sometimes you’ll have to force yourself to do it—make anything without worry, just to get moving forward. The longer you go, the more momentum you build.
Every now and then, you’ll discover something that feeds the fire. Keep exploring, keep making. Eventually, it’ll feel like it’s flowing on its own. From there, all you have to do is maintain it.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
I sent out this email the otherday. If any of you are on my email list, you probably saw it. It's was talking about getting unstuck. I think everybody finds
(00:10):
themselves stuck from time totime, and I know I certainly do, and this is something I learned, and I talked about this on this podcast before, but I think it's
been a little while, but it'sidea about generating momentum, and it's, it's under your control to do that. So a lot of times we meet when we're stuck,
maybe we're sitting therewaiting to be inspired or motivated or something, but it's like that stuff.
(00:36):
I don't, you don't have anycontrol over that to a certain extent. You know, it's like you're gonna sit there and wait to be motivated to do the shit
that you know you need to do.But like, the reality is, like you can create that on your own. And it's, I mean, it sounds stupid to say, but it's like,
simply
by starting, you know, and a lotof times you have to force yourself to start. But like, if you start, if you start making or creating, or whatever, you
(01:06):
know, whatever the block is foryou, it could be anything really, like, but, but if it's a creative thing, you know, to to just start creating and don't
really think about what you'remaking. So, like, I used to have this all the time with design, and that's where I learned it was a professor at the school I
was going to, I was, I was stuckon a project that I was like, I don't know what to make. And he was like, well, just start making stuff. Don't worry about
(01:31):
what you're making. You know,just just get start, just start putting things together. And it doesn't matter if it's good or if it's related Jesus Christ,
it's related to the
to the project, or not. Itdoesn't matter. It's just a matter of getting yourself moving. And so,
you know, Steven Pressfieldtalks about this in his book The War of Art, and it was,
(01:56):
he calls it resistance, and it'slike,
it's that he, he kind of createdthis, I don't know, not created, but it's like we all have experienced this, like, the thing that you don't want to do,
you know, thing that you knowyou need to do, but there's something that's holding you back. It's like you're doing all these other things that don't
really matter. Like, Oh, youknow, I got to get all this work done, so maybe I'll get my desk all cleaned up, or some stupid little tasks that don't really
(02:24):
matter and you're doing anythingto
to sort of avoid doing the thework that you know you need to do. And so that's how I I get past resistance, is just by forcing myself to start and
I don't know this might be alittle sidetrack, but like, the fucking
(02:47):
my attention span is so muchshorter than it used to be like, and I think it's because I spend, have spent too much time on the phone and all these kind
of things. Because,
like, I it was a whole differentthing before. So like, when I was doing design full time, this was before social media, and I would feel resistance. It would
(03:07):
just be a matter of like, okay,I'm gonna start Machin shit because I know I'm gonna be locked in for several hours at a time. And nowadays it's like,
fuck dude. Like, I'll set atimer for like, 30 minutes and be like, Alright, I'm gonna be locked in for 30 minutes, and it's like, that's not even
really that long. So, yeah, I
guess that's a little bit of asidetrack. But like, if you
(03:31):
I need to find a way to belocked in for longer amounts of time, for sure. But
you know one thing that, like Isaid, with a timer, I just bought like a little kitchen timer. And so if you're, if you're finding yourself stuck,
regardless of what it is, itcould be anything like your physical health, like work that you need to do for your business, or it could be
(03:55):
creative work. You know, ifyou're,
you're trying to develop a newstyle as a graffiti writer, and you're, you know, procrastinating, putting in the work, because that shit, I don't
know, for a lot of people, thatshit sucks. When you sit down and you try to draw something and it all,
you're like, all right, I'mgonna do a whole nother version of a bee that I've never done before, and then you draw it, and you're like, man, I've done
(04:18):
this fucking b 100 times likethat shits frustrating, and I think that's one of the reasons why,
why we procrastinate, because wedon't want to deal with that little bit of pain that we have to deal with when, when stuff isn't going the way you want it
to go. So that's why I thinkit's powerful to just say, You know what, fuck it. I'm not going to put all this pressure on myself. I'm just gonna say,
(04:41):
like, you could buy this, like,you know, I think I paid $10 for it on Amazon, just a little kitchen timer, and just say, Alright, I'm gonna get locked in
for 30 minutes. And it doesn'tmatter what it is that I make, as long as I as long as I stay on task for that amount of time. And at the end of.
That time. You know, once thetimer goes off, I know I've put in the time that I said I was going to put in. Obviously, you can set it for longer. If you
(05:07):
want to get locked in for anhour, two hours, three hours, you know, that's
that would be better, I think,in some cases, for sure,
but I don't know it helps. Helpsme every time is just forcing myself to start. And I had to do that this morning, like I went out and I made some stuff, and
(05:30):
I didn't like any of it. Butthat's another thing that I'll add, is
you can look at everything asthe first draft. And I think I've mentioned this before, but I read it in a book. I can't remember what book, but the guy
said,
if you look at everything likeit's just the first draft, then it takes a lot of pressure off of you. So if whatever that
(05:54):
resistance that you're feelingand you're forcing yourself to get started, there's a lot of things that might go through your mind, like, oh, man, what
if it doesn't come out the way Iwanted? What if? What if I have to start over? What if I have to this and this and that? You don't have to show that shit to
anybody. You can just fuckingit's the first draft. You You knock out the first draft, and
(06:15):
if you don't like it, then youcan just do it again. And, oh, I remember what it was. It was the Untethered Soul. It was like a lecture Untethered Soul at work.
I think it was called, you canget it on Amazon or audible, but
he said, and I've been findingthis as well. When I'm writing things like captions and shit, I'll say, All right, this is just the first draft that takes
(06:40):
a lot of pressure off me, so itmakes it easier to overcome the resistance to want to procrastinate, because a lot of that is like self doubt or
questioning whether or not it'sgoing to come out good. But if you're like, you don't even care if it comes out good, because just the first draft, you just
want to get some shit down, andthen you're going to you're
going to revise it. That act oftaking all the pressure off of yourself not only helps you get going, but it also helps you create better shit, because you
(07:09):
don't have that extra layer ofpressure on, you know, I want, I want this bee to be totally different than what it used any bee I've ever done in my life,
like, you know,
some shit like that. But ifyou're like, all right, I'm just gonna draw a B, and it doesn't matter what it looks like, it's just the first one. I'm gonna do
100 of them today and try tofigure out, find a new style or something like that.
(07:33):
Taking all that pressure offyourself will off often be enough to make it so that
that first draft is actuallygood. So I know
this is a pretty simple concept,but if you're stuck, just get started and don't worry about, don't worry about the outcome. If you're starting, if you're
going and you're moving forward,you're already going to feel better. So I find that really helpful, and it helps me get unstuck pretty much every time,
(08:01):
even though it sucks to forceyourself to start, sometimes you just got to do that. So anyway, hope that helps. I'll talk to you next time.
All right,
appreciate each and every one ofyou guys who are supporting the cause and continue to spread the love and yeah, stay up.
I sent out this email the otherday. If any of you are on my email list, you probably saw it. It's was talking about getting unstuck. I think everybody finds
(00:10):
themselves stuck from time totime, and I know I certainly do, and this is something I learned, and I talked about this on this podcast before, but I think it's
been a little while, but it'sidea about generating momentum, and it's, it's under your control to do that. So a lot of times we meet when we're stuck,
maybe we're sitting therewaiting to be inspired or motivated or something, but it's like that stuff.
(00:36):
I don't, you don't have anycontrol over that to a certain extent. You know, it's like you're gonna sit there and wait to be motivated to do the shit
that you know you need to do.But like, the reality is, like you can create that on your own. And it's, I mean, it sounds stupid to say, but it's like,
simply
by starting, you know, and a lotof times you have to force yourself to start. But like, if you start, if you start making or creating, or whatever, you
(01:06):
know, whatever the block is foryou, it could be anything really, like, but, but if it's a creative thing, you know, to to just start creating and don't
really think about what you'remaking. So, like, I used to have this all the time with design, and that's where I learned it was a professor at the school I
was going to, I was, I was stuckon a project that I was like, I don't know what to make. And he was like, well, just start making stuff. Don't worry about
(01:31):
what you're making. You know,just just get start, just start putting things together. And it doesn't matter if it's good or if it's related Jesus Christ,
it's related to the
to the project, or not. Itdoesn't matter. It's just a matter of getting yourself moving. And so,
you know, Steven Pressfieldtalks about this in his book The War of Art, and it was,
(01:56):
he calls it resistance, and it'slike,
it's that he, he kind of createdthis, I don't know, not created, but it's like we all have experienced this, like, the thing that you don't want to do,
you know, thing that you knowyou need to do, but there's something that's holding you back. It's like you're doing all these other things that don't
really matter. Like, Oh, youknow, I got to get all this work done, so maybe I'll get my desk all cleaned up, or some stupid little tasks that don't really
(02:24):
matter and you're doing anythingto
to sort of avoid doing the thework that you know you need to do. And so that's how I I get past resistance, is just by forcing myself to start and
I don't know this might be alittle sidetrack, but like, the fucking
(02:47):
my attention span is so muchshorter than it used to be like, and I think it's because I spend, have spent too much time on the phone and all these kind
of things. Because,
like, I it was a whole differentthing before. So like, when I was doing design full time, this was before social media, and I would feel resistance. It would
(03:07):
just be a matter of like, okay,I'm gonna start Machin shit because I know I'm gonna be locked in for several hours at a time. And nowadays it's like,
fuck dude. Like, I'll set atimer for like, 30 minutes and be like, Alright, I'm gonna be locked in for 30 minutes, and it's like, that's not even
really that long. So, yeah, I
guess that's a little bit of asidetrack. But like, if you
(03:31):
I need to find a way to belocked in for longer amounts of time, for sure. But
you know one thing that, like Isaid, with a timer, I just bought like a little kitchen timer. And so if you're, if you're finding yourself stuck,
regardless of what it is, itcould be anything like your physical health, like work that you need to do for your business, or it could be
(03:55):
creative work. You know, ifyou're,
you're trying to develop a newstyle as a graffiti writer, and you're, you know, procrastinating, putting in the work, because that shit, I don't
know, for a lot of people, thatshit sucks. When you sit down and you try to draw something and it all,
you're like, all right, I'mgonna do a whole nother version of a bee that I've never done before, and then you draw it, and you're like, man, I've done
(04:18):
this fucking b 100 times likethat shits frustrating, and I think that's one of the reasons why,
why we procrastinate, because wedon't want to deal with that little bit of pain that we have to deal with when, when stuff isn't going the way you want it
to go. So that's why I thinkit's powerful to just say, You know what, fuck it. I'm not going to put all this pressure on myself. I'm just gonna say,
(04:41):
like, you could buy this, like,you know, I think I paid $10 for it on Amazon, just a little kitchen timer, and just say, Alright, I'm gonna get locked in
for 30 minutes. And it doesn'tmatter what it is that I make, as long as I as long as I stay on task for that amount of time. And at the end of.
That time. You know, once thetimer goes off, I know I've put in the time that I said I was going to put in. Obviously, you can set it for longer. If you
(05:07):
want to get locked in for anhour, two hours, three hours, you know, that's
that would be better, I think,in some cases, for sure,
but I don't know it helps. Helpsme every time is just forcing myself to start. And I had to do that this morning, like I went out and I made some stuff, and
(05:30):
I didn't like any of it. Butthat's another thing that I'll add, is
you can look at everything asthe first draft. And I think I've mentioned this before, but I read it in a book. I can't remember what book, but the guy
said,
if you look at everything likeit's just the first draft, then it takes a lot of pressure off of you. So if whatever that
(05:54):
resistance that you're feelingand you're forcing yourself to get started, there's a lot of things that might go through your mind, like, oh, man, what
if it doesn't come out the way Iwanted? What if? What if I have to start over? What if I have to this and this and that? You don't have to show that shit to
anybody. You can just fuckingit's the first draft. You You knock out the first draft, and
(06:15):
if you don't like it, then youcan just do it again. And, oh, I remember what it was. It was the Untethered Soul. It was like a lecture Untethered Soul at work.
I think it was called, you canget it on Amazon or audible, but
he said, and I've been findingthis as well. When I'm writing things like captions and shit, I'll say, All right, this is just the first draft that takes
(06:40):
a lot of pressure off me, so itmakes it easier to overcome the resistance to want to procrastinate, because a lot of that is like self doubt or
questioning whether or not it'sgoing to come out good. But if you're like, you don't even care if it comes out good, because just the first draft, you just
want to get some shit down, andthen you're going to you're
going to revise it. That act oftaking all the pressure off of yourself not only helps you get going, but it also helps you create better shit, because you
(07:09):
don't have that extra layer ofpressure on, you know, I want, I want this bee to be totally different than what it used any bee I've ever done in my life,
like, you know,
some shit like that. But ifyou're like, all right, I'm just gonna draw a B, and it doesn't matter what it looks like, it's just the first one. I'm gonna do
100 of them today and try tofigure out, find a new style or something like that.
(07:33):
Taking all that pressure offyourself will off often be enough to make it so that
that first draft is actuallygood. So I know
this is a pretty simple concept,but if you're stuck, just get started and don't worry about, don't worry about the outcome. If you're starting, if you're
going and you're moving forward,you're already going to feel better. So I find that really helpful, and it helps me get unstuck pretty much every time,
(08:01):
even though it sucks to forceyourself to start, sometimes you just got to do that. So anyway, hope that helps. I'll talk to you next time.
All right,
appreciate each and every one ofyou guys who are supporting the cause and continue to spread the love and yeah, stay up.
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