I have a long To-do list. It's manageable and, if I were to practise the advice I've gleaned from all the books, seminars and articles I've read, attended and glanced at in a reverie of procrastination over the course of my working life, I'd discover that it's possible to make it a Done list. I'm great with deadlines. I'm well-acquainted with that sense of spent exhaustion that comes from pushing through to get something done just in time. I enjoy the sick feeling of impending doom as I struggle to think of what to say. Indeed, I find it hard to be creative without the pressure of a product in a given timeframe. Yet, I find that when a deadline looms and I'm faced with a blank sheet of paper my mind wanders down delightfully enticing tracks of new ideas. Suddenly I want to work on my novel. I have a brilliant idea for a play. I decide to create a raft of online outlets to share my musings with the world. I want to bake a cake. Practise my ukelele. Learn to tap dance.
I find it interesting to think about why it is that I am at my most creative when the fear of non-completion is upon me. Am I like a tube of toothpaste oozing too much fluoride goodness when squeezed too hard? Is my subconscious most engaged when my conscious mind is desperately battling to stay focussed? Or is it just that I'm a work-shy dreamer for whom the new and shiny is always more attractive than the hard graft of completing a task?
In any case, I've decided to keep an Ideas Book and jot down what I come up with so I can think about it later. Although maybe I'd be better off blogging about my ideas...turning them into a best-selling film...baking them into a cake...hmmm...now, what was it I set out to do?
Oh yes, a blog post about procrastination and creativity.
To avoid meeting two deadlines.
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