In the middle of all the ‘do, do, do’, make room for some creative play. Here’s a blog in praise of creative procrastination.
First, a confession
[Sharon] I am a procrastinator. I procrastinate. I am also a precrastinator. (I didn’t know that until I read one of the other articles in this week’s Clec.)
So for all the times we’ve talked about productivity and the importance of staying focused (hello Pomodoro method) I’ve probably been diverting my attention from the task at hand.
An example. This week we’ve been finishing off a content project for a client. It’s a big beast, and we’ve been working on it for a while. I need to change the emphasis slightly in one chapter, and include a few new details in another. Nothing major. We’re 95% of the way there. It would probably take forty minutes at most to push it over the line.
"Have I done it? Well, kind of, but not completely."
Instead, what I’ve done is wonder what this document would look like if it had its own microsite. Something that offered a different way of reading it, with multiple entry points and the opportunities to link to other content that we’ve created. Something richer and more rewarding, that would help the teams across the business use it more effectively. Something that will make it come to life.
"Rather I’ve sidestepped the main task and done something that’s closely aligned to it. And I’m finding the whole process fascinating. "
And rather than just wondering about it, I’ve gone onto SquareSpace and designed the page. And rather than just doing it with some dummy copy to show how the navigation would work I’ve rewritten all the intros to the chapters with new headlines and calls to action. And rather than just leaving the stock images in place I’ve added the visuals, because I want it to look good, and because I’m finding the whole process fascinating.
So, in one way, this is procrastination on a grand scale. I’ve still not completed the task.
But it’s not entirely procrastination either. I haven’t spent the time I should be editing painting my nails or doom scrolling. Rather I’ve sidestepped the main task and done something that’s closely aligned to it. And I’d argue that this kind of procrastination is not a bad thing. I think this kind of creative procrastination needs a new word…..
… how about just ‘creativity’ [Andy]. I’m serious. I think creative procrastination is what happens when you open the tide gates of your mind, and allow the deeper currents to wash in. They carry a lot of interesting flotsam and then, among it all, the most perfect seashell. The procrastination is the distraction you need to relax your grip on whatever it was you were wrangling with – a sentence, a chord sequence – and let the flow in.
"A lot of us have had an upbringing that rewards perspiration disproportionately and denigrates inspiration."
I’m sad, in a way, that it’s taken me a long time to figure this out. But mostly I’m happy, because it wasn’t inevitable. A lot of us have had an upbringing that rewards perspiration disproportionately and denigrates inspiration (at least within the context of a ‘serious job’).
Creative procrastination takes various shapes for me. For instance trying to learn a new chord or two on the guitar. I do a bit of practise, and inevitably I start to get a bit bored or frustrated. So I’ll sit, cradling the guitar and staring into the middle distance, and just let my fingers find a pattern of chords I know really well. That leaves me free to mess about with strumming patterns, hammer-ons and whatnot.
Something always emerges that’s worth repeating. And I mean emerges – finds me, happens, presents itself, crystalises. And it puts a smile on my face. Usually I don’t write it down – it’ll find me again, I’m sure. And when I get back to the tricky chord, often somehow it makes more sense, takes a more instinctive shape, and feels less intimidating.
"And that’s how I roll, mixing creative procrastination with creating, in a blend that makes me more and not less productive."
I’m writing this to my usual Pomodoro cadence (second stave, if you’re interested – more on this magic formula below) and for the remainder of the time, I won’t procrastinate. I mean at all. I’ll put words down, and not edit myself. Nothing needs to be perfect. Better if it’s not, in fact. Then I’ll take a break and mess around with something else. I’ll procrastinate – creatively.
One of my signature moves is to play with the layout of the page. I know – sounds fatuous. But putting headings where headings need to be, choosing fonts and sizes, formatting candidate quotes – it is a visually creative distraction that also helps me see the words more clearly. Then I can go back to it – and that will mean editing, choosing words carefully or taking them out entirely. And that’s how I roll, mixing creative procrastination with creating, in a blend that makes me more and not less productive.
Pòmòdòrò
We mention Pomodoro a lot. If it’s all new to you, then this is how you do it.
Stave 1 | Turn off all distractions – alerts, phone, social – and set a timer for 20 minutes. Make your start. Write, practise, draw – whatever it is you have to do. This first stave is for sketches and playfulness, not perfection.
Take a 2 minute break. Here’s your moment to do something different, playful, creative.
Stave 2 | Same again. 20 mins of relaxed effort. Keep moving forward, without looking over your shoulder.
Take another short break. Procrastinate all you want!
Stave 3 | Same, same but slightly different: this time, feel free to review what you’ve done, cut stuff, polish stuff. Get it to a place where you can safely leave it to ferment further.
Now take at least a 10 minute break. Just recharge your batteries and don’t worry about anything else.
Epilogue
If you suspected the method is named after a Professor Pomodoro, then this will make you smile. It’s actually a tribute to those funny, tomato-shaped kitchen timers that got the whole thing started. Which nicely conjures the playfulness, the improv, the turn-your-frown-upside-down spirit of creative procrastination, don’t you think?
Give it a go.
What do you think?