About 40 years ago, I got a little button that said “writing is easy, just stare at your typewriter until your forehead bleeds”. I thought it was funny at the time. I don’t use a typewriter any more but boy there are definitely days when I just stare at my iPad until my forehead bleeds, and still nothing happens.

We all go through cycles in our creativity. Sometimes ideas blossom all around us, everywhere we look, and other times it is as barren as a dessert. This month has become a dessert. There’s a lot going on right now. There’s a lot of stress, and stress is a thief of creativity. I have actually found myself sitting in the evening with the television on, not doing anything at all, just sitting. I never do that. I have so much that I could/should be doing, there’s no time to sit, and yet I sit.

I’m keeping the important things going. My job, for example. Some of the major commitments I’ve made. Other commitments are so far behind I will never catch up and those weigh on me. I know that these can be self fulfilling cycles: the more I sit, the less gets done, the more that weighs on me so I sit even more and so on. I also know that the opposite is true: I get something accomplished which gives me a little kick to do some more, which gets more accomplished which gives another little kick and so on.

This situation is calling for some drastic measures, so I’m going to revert back to what I call “Do One Thing”: instead of setting wildly unachievable goals for myself, just get one thing done every day. The first week or so is rather rough and I have to really talk to myself to get that one thing done, but after a week, that’s 5-6 things done, and that gets a little kick forward. The second week that will be another 5-6 things done, resulting in another kick forward. I know this is the way to get out of the slump so get one thing done.

This blog post is a good example. It is not going to change the world, it’s not riveting reading (I apologize most humbly to you, dear Reader), however it is done, and it is keeping my weekly post on track, and it is my one thing today, and I will do another thing tomorrow. There will be more posts in the future and I know I will get my creative juices flowing again, but for today, one thing will be enough.