Filling up the Bucket
So I just read one of Ben Nesvig’s most recent posts and I’m feeling a little down. It brings up a really critical point though: “Your mental capacity is not in a fixed state. Creativity is a muscle. Just like any other type of muscle, in order for it to grow stronger, you need to push yourself on a consistent basis. Spurts of 2 weeks of steady writing and one month off are too inconsistent. Whatever isn’t getting better is getting worse.”
Following the ‘creativity’ link, what James Altucher had to say further on the subject, was even a little more depressing: “You need to exercise the idea muscle. It takes about 3-6 months to build up once it atrophies. Trust me on this.”
I trust both of you, Ben and James. In fact I think you are the bluntly honest talk I’ve been needing from a close creative friend. It’s been two years since I’ve been to the gym anywhere close to my regular routine of 3-4 days per week and reading these two posts has reminded me that it’s been 10 months since I’ve done any serious work on my novel. Hence the sadness. My physical and creative selves have atrophied. I really feel like I’ve let myself down.
Two questions immediately come up: Why have I let myself down? How do I get back on track?
Now, I am proud of the struggle I’ve been waging over the last few years to answer the first question of why I seem to be standing in my own way, but I really feel this frustrated sense of the closer I get to unpacking all this baggage, the more there is to sort through. You ever decide to do a monumental spring cleaning and lose your verve halfway through? You say you’ll get back to it, but if you stop now all you’ve succeeded in doing is creating a bigger mess. Well I’m soldiering on regardless of the bigger mess, but I truly feel I need a new tactic, new motivation, new determination. I think it’s time I focus all my energy on answering the second question.
So? How do I get back on track? Setting goals for myself is challenging. I have a hard time plotting out the little steps that keep me from getting frustrated that I cannot realize the big goal immediately. I also know that if I don’t get little rewards along the way I lose motivation. See, all that mess of unpacking has done me some good, I know my personal Achilles heel. The challenge remains how to surmount it.
So what does all this have to do with storytelling?
Quite a bit really. It’s about how to keep exercising your creativity, even when you feel the bucket is empty. One drop might not feel significant, but it’s a start and maybe adding just one more drop is the only next step you have to worry concentrate on. Once you get back in the flow, it’s easy to get caught back up in your creativity without even realizing it.
Jeff Harrison
Jeff Harrison 
Sweet–just hit 20 posts!
August 7, 2012 at 4:29 pm
Great advice, I love hearing the inspired you talk yourself out of negativity.. Usually it takes about two bottles of wine and whole whack of cheese and crackers to get it out of you!
August 8, 2012 at 7:53 pm
LOL–I’ll never say no to wine and cheese, Manny, especially when you bring it over!
August 10, 2012 at 2:19 pm
Why be so hard on yourself? The past is done. You can’t change it, so try to look at the behaviours that kept you from writing and make changes so you DO write. My advice would be: try not to strive to write. Set aside a time to do your work and relax into it. You know how ideas come when you’re in the shower? Kind of like that. Allow for a block of time where you just let the writing rain on you.
Peace,
Tim
August 8, 2012 at 8:16 pm
You’re right, Tim, I am hard on myself sometimes. The trick for me, it seems, is to discover where discipline bleeds over into being too hard on myself. It’s a constant balancing act, which I’m happy to say, I’m becoming much better at.
August 10, 2012 at 2:16 pm
Great post.
The idea that the mind is a muscle is both inspiring, but sad, like you said. Inspiring because it means you can get better at anything you focus on and put a consistent effort toward. But it’s really tough to do that.
For goals I’ve been using the Pick Four book (http://www.amazon.com/Pick-Four-Pack-Designed-Share/dp/1936719215/)
It’s been helpful, but I also haven’t filled it out for the last five days. I know it would be beneficial for me to fill it out every day, but I just haven’t brought myself to do it. Goals are tough.
What I’ve found helpful is having a good vision of where I want to go, but focusing on the tiny tasks, crossing those off one by one. If I think about how much work will go into my next book, I’ll never finish it. Instead, I focus on writing 300 words a day. Yesterday I found myself looking at a retail building that was composed of thousands of bricks. When starting that project it would be depressing to think only about how many bricks it will take. You’ve got to just start brick by brick and know that your work will be worth it and lead to something bigger than yourself.
Also, find a way to motivate yourself daily, even if just for a few minutes. For me, this is usually reading a book (Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art) or listening to a talk from Seth Godin.
August 10, 2012 at 11:11 am
Great post.
The idea that the mind is a muscle is both inspiring, but sad, like you said. Inspiring because it means you can get better at anything you focus on and put a consistent effort toward. But it\’s really tough to do that.
For goals I\’ve been using the Pick Four book (http://www.amazon.com/Pick-Four-Pack-Designed-Share/dp/1936719215/)
It\’s been helpful, but I also haven\’t filled it out for the last five days. I know it would be beneficial for me to fill it out every day, but I just haven\’t brought myself to do it. Goals are tough.
What I\’ve found helpful is having a good vision of where I want to go, but focusing on the tiny tasks, crossing those off one by one. If I think about how much work will go into my next book, I\’ll never finish it. Instead, I focus on writing 300 words a day. Yesterday I found myself looking at a retail building that was composed of thousands of bricks. When starting that project it would be depressing to think only about how many bricks it will take. You\’ve got to just start brick by brick and know that your work will be worth it and lead to something bigger than yourself.
Also, find a way to motivate yourself daily, even if just for a few minutes. For me, this is usually reading a book (Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art) or listening to a talk from Seth Godin.
August 10, 2012 at 11:12 am
Thanks for the comment Ben! Wow, the brick analogy is perfect–who would want to even get started if you looked at it from the point of view of the whole building? Definitely best to tackle it one row at a time. I like your idea of 300 words a day and reading a book that inspires you–I’ll have to try that. Keep up the great posts as you’re part of my procrastination-that-became-inspiration. 🙂
August 10, 2012 at 2:04 pm