I have a lot of ideas for new projects. I find that I only execute a small number of these ideas however. The past month that I haven’t blogged? It hasn’t been writer’s block. I have a lot of ideas for drafts, I just never write them.
I always think that I don’t have time to start something new. The idea of a brand new project, a clean slate, a blank canvas—it makes me think I need substantial time to dedicate to it at first. If I have a project already started, I can spend an hour on it and quit without worry. So what is it about starting something new that is so hard to get past?
I’ve found that things I thought would take a long time often resolve quite quickly. Then it’s done, out of my brain, I stop worrying, and my eye doesn’t start to twitch (a sure sign I’ve got too many ideas in limbo.)
This blog post is a perfect example. This is, in reality, a response to something ze Frank said today about self-motivation. That reminded me of the episode of The Show that I use for personal motivation. It was 6pm and I wanted to go home. “I don’t have time now,” I told myself, “I’ll write it later.” But my iPod was syncing and I thought “I’ll just start it.” Turns out I’m already done, and it didn’t take that long. One less idea in my head, waiting to be acted on.
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Justin Dickinson
