LogoIdeas and Tips
to Boost Your Creativity

July 2008

It all started a couple of weeks ago. The cleaning lady I'd hired three weeks earlier (and needed desperately) didn't show up.  There was nothing to do but turn off my computer, unplug the phone and get at the job myself.  As I tackled the first room, I realized it wasn't just cleaning I needed to do.  I needed to tie up all those pesky loose ends, finish those undone tasks and fix what needed fixing--all those things that had been nagging at me for longer than I cared to admit.  I needed to deal with my "nagglies."
 
There was a venetian blind stuck in the up position in my bathroom, a filter on the drinking water faucet in my sink that needed to be replaced, a basket of mending that had been there for God knows how long and various other things I'd put off.  All this seemingly mundane stuff actually added up to a big energy drain--and sometimes it had become a reason for some unhealthy self-talk about why I hadn't done this or that. 

woman_closetDealing with the Nagglies: Those Pesky Things that Zap your Energy and Creativity

You know nagglies when you see them--they're impossible to avoid. They're those little things that never seem to get done.  Those pants you bought six months ago but never hemmed, the books you can't remember to return to the friend who lent them to you, that stuff in the bag in your closet that you need to take to Goodwill--they're all nagglies.  Nagglies nag at you, taunt you, drain your energy and pull you down in subtle ways.  Because they never seem to get done, you chide or even berate yourself over them. Nagglies are an arch enemy of your creativity because they distract you from your creative goals.

Identify Your Nagglies

Get a notebook and go from room to room in your house listing the nagglies. Don't forget your office and even your car too. Nagglies will be easy to identify if you ask yourself how long a particular task has been waiting to be done and how many times over the last two weeks you've said to yourself, "I've just got to take care of that, finish that, etc." 

Build Momentum by Taking Care of One or Two Nagglies
 
Pick out either the nagglie that's bothered you the most or one that's easy and fast to take care of, then do what needs to be done. You'll jumpstart the process of ridding yourself of your nagglies if you feel a sense of accomplishment. Tackling the next nagglie may not seem quite so daunting, and before you know it, you'll be on a roll.   
 
You might also try taking care of all the nagglies in one room before going on to the next--this worked for me!

Build in Some Rewards

OK, it's a silly game, right? But just as kids can be coerced with rewards, so can you. Find a way to treat yourself as a recognition of your progresss in the war against your nagglies.

Enlist Help
 
Are you really going to hem that pair of pants yourself?  Take them to a tailor and spend the $10-15.  Getting rid of energy drains like this is well worth a little monetary investment, and it frees up your time and energy to focus on the nagglies that no one else can help you with.
 
I've still got some nagglies to wrestle to the mat, but I have a tail wind now.  I hope you'll give some thought to whether you have nagglies that are bogging you down and distracting you from your creative goals.  Getting rid of them might just energize you too!
 
Until next month,
 
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Creativity Quote of the Month
 
"I long to accomplish a great and noble task; but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble."
 
 Helen Keller 
About Excoveries
 
Excoveries is a word I coined when I was looking for a name for my creativity consulting and marketing business.  It's a combination of the words explore and discover, which is exactly the way I think of the creative process.
 
I teach classes on creativity and personal growth including The Artist's Way, and I also work with individuals who are looking for ways to re-discover their natural creativity. For a complete list of classes, please visit my website.
 
In addition to my creativity classes, I host a monthly marketing support group and send out a monthly marketing tips newsletter designed especially for individuals and small businesses.  If you'd like to be on that list, please email me or sign up on my website.

To contact me, email jbalian@excoveries.com or call 760.436.8848.