The creative procrastinator
Hey friends, happy Sunday!
I'm moving into the last week of full-time client work before I spend the next 3 months primarily focused on creating, learning and building.
In preparation for that I've been thinking a lot about how I should spend my time, so this Filter is heavily focused on using time well and making good decisions.
Alrighty, let's get into the Filter!
The creative procrastinator
I didn’t think that I was someone who procrastinated.
Over the last few years I’ve cultivated a bias towards taking action that never leaves me sat avoiding work.
But I’ve realised that I still procrastinate, just in creative ways.
See, there’s always an excuse for not doing something.
The typical procrastinator would use some form of leisure as the means to avoid doing the important work.
But I use low-leverage, easy work as the means to avoid doing the important work.
And I see this happen everywhere, some people focus on their 10 step note-taking systems instead of actually reading and writing. Others build complex Notion dashboards to avoid the uncomfortable feeling of doing hard work.
Perhaps the best way to explain this form of procrastination is through the Eisenhower matrix.
Most people see procrastination as something completely separate from their work. It’s playing video games or watching Netflix instead of working.
But for creative procrastinators you see easy work as a distraction from hard work
The problem for the creative procrastinator is that you’re constantly trying to satiate your appetite to always be busy. And in doing so you work a lot, yet somehow don’t have enough time to do the important things.
The creative procrastinators creativity shines, not by doing the creative work they know is important, but in creating new and novel ways to distract themselves from doing the work.
So how do you stop being a creative procrastinator?
Well, I realised that this type of low leverage work is the equivalent to building a shelf to hold your tools. Sure, it might be needed, but you don’t get any extra points for making it fancy.
If you show me someone with the fanciest new apps, equipment and complex productivity systems, I will show you a procrastinator.
Usually the most effective people prioritise well and keep it simple. They don’t read blog posts on how to structure their day for maximum productivity.
Instead they focus on identifying what they want and then they focus on prioritising the important work that will get them there. Everything else takes a backseat.
I revisited my 12 favourite questions this week and here are two that I'm focusing on:
I.
What are the few things I do that have the biggest impact?
II.
How do I effectively manage my time so I'm continuously learning and increasing my surface area to serendipity?
My website about startups made $79,342 this month: This is a great write up on how Pat Walls started his site StarterStory as a side project and grew it into a full-time business making over 500k+ p/year.
Four Great Decisions per Year: The direction of your life will be determined by a few great decisions per year, the problem is that often those decisions are not clear. This post shares some thought provoking ideas around gaining the mental clarity to make better, life changing decisions.
Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage: Endurance is one of my favourite books, it shares the journey of Ernest Shackleton and his crew as they set out on an expedition to cross the Antarctic. On the way their boat was crushed in ice and the crew spent the next year trying to return to safety.
Every time I read this book it puts into perspective how easy my life is and makes me want to do more hard things (but maybe not get stuck at sea for over a year).
END NOTE
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Have a fantastic week!
- Stephen