Suggestions for Success with The Overcoming Procrastination … · 2013. 8. 5. · Suggestions for Success with The Overcoming Procrastination Toolkit First of all, there is no way

© Samantha Bennett 2009 www.TheOrganizedArtistCompany.com

Suggestions for Success with The Overcoming

Procrastination Toolkit First of all, there is no way to screw this up.

This is not school. There are no rules and no grades and no way to do “better” or

“worse” in this process. This is your life. You are the expert on you and you will

automatically do what!s “best” and moreover, what!s right, for you.

My mission with this Toolkit is to give you some support and inspiration around the

projects that mean the most to you and, more importantly, give you an opportunity

to take a good, long, compassionate look at your own creative process so you can

figure out what!s working, what can be jettisoned and how to best get out of your

own way so your Big, Genius-y Ideas can get out into the world where they belong.

That being said, I do have a few tips that will help you get the most out of this

process. And you might want to try them, if only to help you figure out what doesn!t

work for you.

1) Allot 15 Minutes Per Day To Your Project

Plunging into your day knowing that you!ve already made even a little bit of

progress on the work that is dearest to your heart will improve your whole world.

If I could actually make you do stuff, this is the number one thing I would enforce.

As it happens, you are the agent of change in this relationship and I can!t make you

do anything. But I strongly urge you to set aside 15 minutes per day for your

project. It!s amazing how much work you can get done in 15 minutes. It!s even


more amazing how much progress you can make if you put in 15 minutes a day,

seven days a week. Try it. You!ll see.

Let me put it this way: my clients who do the daily 15 minutes see astonishing,

mind-blowing results, usually accompanied by a few miracles. My clients who don!t

do the daily 15 minutes...well, some of them have amazing results and some don!t.

How you spend these 15 minutes is entirely up to you, of course. I recommend

that you make a list of possible 15 minute tasks, some easy, like daydreaming;

some fun, like brainstorming titles; some tedious, like database updating; some

requiring courage, like a phone call to an important person. With that list at hand,

you can select a task for each day that suits your mood.

Finally, I strongly recommend that you allot these 15 minutes in the morning,

before you check your email or go online at all. It takes an iron will to resist the

siren call of the Internet, but it!s worth it. Whatever!s out there can wait for you to

put yourself first for just these few minutes.

2) Find An Idea Catcher

Paying attention to your creativity causes increased creativity.

You are a genius and you are having a lot of really good ideas every day. But

chances are, you!re not writing them down. And the half-life of an unrecorded idea

is…well, it!s pretty short. So find a system that works for you (I like index cards,

but other people like notebooks, voice memos, journals, calling their own phone

and leaving a message, Post-Its, etc.) and use it every day.


Then you need to create a home for these great ideas. (This is my number one

organizational tip: everything needs the right-sized home.) I suggest creating a file,

folder or envelope, labeling it “Genius” and at the end of each day, put your ideas in

there. They will nest and grow and turn into something fabulous.

3) Allot 15 Minutes A Day For Some Very Dull “Exercise”

A body in motion puts the mind in motion.

That!s right – I want you to do some simple, repetitive motion for 15 minutes per

day, every day. But it!s not to get fit or to lose weight or to lower your blood

pressure – it!s to enhance your creativity. So find some simple, repetitive exercise

that you don!t hate (walking, running, swimming, calisthenics, dancing, jump rope;

if your range of motion is impaired, you can knit, toss cards into a hat, chop

vegetables, fold laundry, sort paper…even going for a drive can be good) and find

time for it every single day.

Any repetitive task tends to occupy the left (logical) brain just enough for the right

(creative) brain to flower. That!s why you always have such great ideas in the

shower, or while you!re out walking the dog. So let!s cultivate that.

I think it!s important to make the “every day” commitment in order to automate your

decision-making and free yourself up from the internal debate that sounds like,

“Should I walk today? I walked yesterday. But I might not walk tomorrow. And it

might rain. I!m sort of tired…” That kind of circular, inside-your-head conversation

is just a big energy drain.

Tell yourself you!re going to do it every day (and you don!t have to do it well – half-

hearted efforts count just as much as a full-on attack) and then do it. No excuses.


And let me reiterate: this is NOT for your health. It is for your creativity and your

creativity alone.

Here are a few more suggestions:

- Get a notebook in which to keep all these worksheets and stuff

- Fill out your Weekly Project Tracking Sheet before you listen to the week!s

recording

- Keep a doodle pad & magic markers handy while listening to the recordings

- Get a kitchen timer - one you like - so you can track your daily 15 minutes

- Keep a running list of all the compliments you receive

And most of all, be proud of yourself for taking this action towards a fuller, richer,

more creatively fulfilling life.

Thank you for undertaking this process. You are good and brave.


MISSION STATEMENT

The Organized Artist Company exists to provide a secure, structured, goal-oriented environment for artists. We seek to facilitate growth, enrichment and achievement in all areas of the artist!s life.

AGREEMENTS

I agree to graciously accept success, love, health, prosperity and overall well-being for the greater good of all concerned.

I agree to honor the confidentiality of the group.

I agree to honor all commitments of time, money and other resources. I understand that there are no excused absences.

I understand that extra help is available for an additional fee.

I agree to maintain an openhearted and supportive attitude towards my colleagues and towards my own self, and to do my part to create an atmosphere that is positively charged for success.

Agreed: _____________________________________

Date: _______________________________________


TEN NICE THINGS

Ten Really, Really, Really Nice Things About Me This is not a trick question. Just quickly – without pondering – write down ten things about you that are nice. Maybe you have good posture or cute shoes or a wicked backhand or a great sense of humor or you!re a very safe driver or...

1. ___________________________________________________________________

2. ___________________________________________________________________

3. ___________________________________________________________________

4. ___________________________________________________________________

5. ___________________________________________________________________

6. ___________________________________________________________________

7. ___________________________________________________________________

8. ___________________________________________________________________

9. ___________________________________________________________________

10. ___________________________________________________________________

Ten Successes/Wins/Blessings That Have Happened In The Past 12 Months Again, work swiftly. These could be ten things that you made happen, or just nice things that happened in your world. No victory is too small, no event too big.

1. ___________________________________________________________________

2. ___________________________________________________________________

3. ___________________________________________________________________

4. ___________________________________________________________________

5. ___________________________________________________________________

6. ___________________________________________________________________

7. ___________________________________________________________________

8. ___________________________________________________________________

9. ___________________________________________________________________

10. ___________________________________________________________________

These lists can serve as the beginnings of a daily gratitude practice or just as an occasional pick-me-up. They are also great conversation starters, Facebook postings, elements in a personals ad, etc. Notes:


PURE PREFERENCE WORKSHEET

This worksheet is designed to help you hear what your heart and gut are telling you, quite apart from what!s “realistic,” “practical” or what you “should” do.

STEP ONE: Listing Your Options List your options. Assume all factors are equal. For example, if you are deciding between jobs, assume they each pay oodles of money, are an easy commute, work with great people, etc., even if that!s not “realistic.” We!re not concerned with practicalities; we!re just trying to discern what, all things being equal, you prefer.

1) ___________________________________________________________________

2) ___________________________________________________________________

3) ___________________________________________________________________

4) ___________________________________________________________________

5) ___________________________________________________________________

STEP TWO: Ranking Your Options Ask yourself, “Between choices 1 and 2, which do I truly prefer?” and circle your preference at Line A, below. Continue to Line B, asking, “Between 1 and 3, which do I prefer? And between 2 and 3, which do I prefer?” Circle your preference each time. Keep going until all choices have been ranked against one another.

A) 1 / 2

B) 1 / 3 2 / 3

C) 1 / 4 2 / 4 3 / 4

D) 1 / 5 2 / 5 3 / 5 4 / 5

STEP THREE: Scoring Your Options Count how many times each number is circled. Remember to count both down and across.

1 = 2 = 3 = 4 = 5 =

STEP FOUR: Results What do you notice about your results? Is there something on the list that got zero votes? What information do you have now that you didn!t have before?


Naming Where You Are And Claiming Where You!re At

This article walks you through how to fill out the “Naming and Claiming” Worksheet.

It should be pretty close to the information on the recording, but sometimes it!s nice to read instead of, or in addition to, listening.

You may already have a project idea in mind, or maybe not. Or maybe your project

idea is to create a project idea. Either way is OK.

First off, let!s take a look at the circumstances that are causing you to think that

maybe a project would be a good idea with the “Naming And Claiming” Worksheet.

Because you can!t get anywhere until you know where you are.

This exercise has a bunch of parts to it, so I advise doing one segment at a time,

and don!t skip ahead, or you might get sort of confused.

The first line of the worksheet asks you to answer the question, “Right Now I Feel

___________.” So, without pondering, just write down the word that describes how

you feel right now, as you contemplate starting this process. Do you feel excited?

Nervous? Happy? Discouraged? Terrified? Giggly? On Fire? About to jump off

the high dive?

I encourage you to be completely honest here – there!s no reason that the feeling

you!re having ought to be a “good” feeling. And if you are feeling some trepidation

or anxiety, well, fine. Let!s haul that monster out from underneath the bed and call

it by its name. No sense pretending you feel all chipper and yippee-skippy if

you don!t.


The other reason to be honest is because it!s possible that as you look at this word

you!ve written, you may realize that this is a feeling you often have when you are

beginning something new. So in the same way that performers feel “butterflies”

and immediately think to themselves, “Wait a minute, I!m not nervous, I!m just

about to go on stage and I always feel this way before I go on stage” and thereby

are able to transform the feeling into energy (rather than fear) so you, too, may be

able to realize that this feeling you have is merely your body!s signal that it knows

something new is coming down the pike.

And while we!re on the subject of stage fright, let!s just straighten one thing out

once and for all: performers get stage fright. People sometimes say things like,

“Oh, you performers, you just love the spotlight!” Implying that performers are

some kind of ego freaks.

Now, some performers are ego freaks. But some dentists are ego freaks, too.

Most of the performers I know are, at heart, tremendously shy. But since according

to The Book Of Lists, “fear of public speaking” is ranked number one and “fear of

death” ranks number seven, the average person assumes that anyone crazy

enough to go in front of a crowd voluntarily must not feel any fear. Or, perhaps

they must have some pathalogical need for recognition and applause.

To the contrary!

Performers feel the exact same “fight or flight” reaction we all do when facing a

crowd: the blood rushes to the internal organs so your hands and feet get cold,


your breathing gets shallow, you feel like you have to pee and you wish for all the

world that you could just disappear. But performing artists have one secret

advantage: a compulsion to share the story. Whether through theatre or dance or

storytelling, the drive to share the story overrides the “butterflies” and eventually,

the seasoned performer learns to look forward to that rush of energy that occurs

while standing in the wings.

Artists are not addicted to applause. We!re addicted to telling the story.

OK, back to the business at hand. The next line of the worksheet asks you to

describe, in just a few words, what your current situation is. For example, let!s say

you!re considering a project goal called “lose ten pounds.” The current situation

that!s causing you to consider that goal might be: clothes don!t fit, feel sluggish,

don!t feel sexy. Bottom line it. You don!t need to write down the whole story – in

fact, I!d prefer that you didn!t. Just write down a few of the prevailing conditions.

The next line asks “What You Want To Keep.” By which I mean, what aspect of

this current situation do you honestly want to hang on to?

For example, you may hate being unemployed, but you love not having to get up in

the morning. Filling in this line might lead you to realize that you would love to find

a job that didn!t start until after 12noon. Or, to go back to our “lose ten pounds”

person, perhaps you hate feeling overweight, but you love baking treats for your

sweetie. This line might inspire you to bake delicious healthy treats for your

sweetie.


Maybe you hate your full time job but want to keep your sense of security, or you!re

tired of writing alone, but you love your ability to work in your pajamas. Any little

thing or big thing is fine. Sometimes we don!t make a change in our life

because we!re afraid that if we do, everything might change. This line helps

you figure out what you prefer not change, and then you can construct your goal

with that in mind.

As I will remind you plenty of times, you cannot screw this up. There is no “right”

way to complete these exercises; there is only your way.

Now write down one idea of what your project goal might be on the next line. And

you aren!t making a commitment yet – you may well change your mind, in fact

you!ll probably change your mind before you!re done here – so feel free to

experiment, make a guess, take a flyer.

On the next three “So That” lines, I want you to write down three things you think

might happen as a result of your completing the project goal you just recorded.

They can be three sequential things:

My Goal Might Be: to audition for a play

So That: I get cast

So That: I get noticed by an agent

So That: I become a huge international movie star and live in a mansion


Notice that these “So Thats” do not need to particularly realistic. I don!t care

about realism right now.

Or your “So Thats” might be three concurrent, simultaneous things:

My Goal Might Be: to clean my apartment

So That: I can concentrate on my work

So That: I can invite people over whenever I want

So That: I can find my socks in the morning

The next line is a bit of a mind-bender. I want you to write down your “Opposite

Goal.” That is to say, I want you to write down the exact opposite of what

you!d like to have happen. The “Bizarro World” version. So if your goal is to lose

ten pounds, your “Opposite Goal” might be to stay the same weight, or even to gain

another ten pounds. If your goal is to audition for a play, your “Opposite Goal”

might be to never act again.

I know – it seems a little silly. But Neuro-Linguistic Programming teaches us that

people are motivated both “toward” and “away from.” To be “motivated toward” is

how most creative people are: you see a vision in your mind of something that

doesn!t exist yet and you work to make it come true. But many are also “motivated

away from”: you see a vision of what you don!t want, and work to make it not come

true. In other words, you see a vision of yourself ten pounds thinner and you work

to make it come true; you see a vision of yourself suffering from obesity, heart

disease and diabetes and work to make that not come true. (Lawyers and housing

inspectors tend to be “motivated away from” people, and thank goodness for that.)


Since we all have at least a little bit of each kind of motivation, it pays to give

a name to that which you are fleeing.

And now you are to write three more “So Thats,” but these are three consequences

of your “Opposite Goal.”

For example:

Opposite Goal: to never act again

So That: I never express myself creatively

So That: I spend all my days stuck in a cubicle dying under fluorescent lights

So That: I end up lonely and alone in a house with thirteen cats

Or maybe:

Opposite Goal: to gain another ten pounds

So That: I end up with heart disease

So That: I have to buy a whole new wardrobe

So That: I end up lonely and alone in a house with thirteen cats

Go ahead and exaggerate. Be a little silly. Again, I!d rather call those monsters

by their right names than pretend they!re not there.

Great job so far. You!re doing really well. Pat yourself on the back again.


Now, this next part is about values. And it!s sort of a sneaky way to figure out what

your own personal values are. I!ve found that if you just straight-out ask someone

what their values are, they are likely to say things like, “health, family, friendship…”

And those things are certainly valuable. But they!re a bit generic.

I!m looking for the values that truly motivate you and really get you fired up. Or as

my client Laura put it, “I work out, and I could tell you it!s because I value my

health, but it!s not really for my health. I work out because of my vanity!” And

she!s right – vanity is an excellent value and a highly motivating one. So is

money. As is the desire to share your work, shine your light and be seen by

important people.

I want you to go through your worksheet and extract any words that reflect a

“positive” value. If you look at the example on the next page, you can see the

words highlighted in yellow are then listed at the bottom – and they got transposed

into the form of a value, if necessary. So the word “excited” gets written down as a

value of “excitement” and the word “fit” gets written down as a value of “good fit.”

The words highlighted in blue represent “negative” values, so you just need to flip

them around to determine the value they represent. In other words, if you wrote

down words like poverty, failure and loss, those might get recorded as values of

prosperity, success and winning. And you might have to fudge around with them a

bit – that!s OK, this isn!t an exact science. As you can see on our example sheet,

“nervous” got written down as a value of “calm,” “sluggish” become “energized” and

a little further down, “have to buy” reflects a value of “thriftiness.”


You might want to keep playing around with this list of values, and add to it as new

ideas occur to you. These unique-to-you values will be your inspiration when

you feel dried up, and they will give you courage when you feel weak. These

values are what will motivate you to pick up the phone and call an important

person, or to make a bold move you might otherwise shy away from.

Great. Almost done. Just make a few quick notes about anything you!ve noticed

while doing this work – anything you want to make sure you remember – and call it

a day.


NAMING AND CLAIMING

Right Now I Feel: ___nervous, excited____________________

The Situation Is: clothes don t fit, feel sluggish, dont feel sexy ____________

What I Want To Keep: ____making delicious treats for my sweetie__

My Goal Might Be: ____to lose ten pounds_____________________

So That:__I like myself_______________________________

So That: ___I can feel strong and healthy_____________

So That: _I feel more confident & can ask for a raise____

Opposite Goal: ____gain ten more pounds_______________________

So That: ____I get heart disease___________________

So That: ____I have to buy a whole new wardrobe_______

So That: _I end up alone and lonely in a house with 13 cats_

Values: excitement, good fit, sex appeal, delicious treats, my sweetie, self-love, strength, health, confidence, asking and receiving, money, wardrobe and looking good, calm, energized, good heart, thriftiness, friends, companionship and community

Here!s What I Notice About This: _______________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________


NAMING AND CLAIMING

Right Now I Feel:____________________________________________________

The Situation Is: _____________________________________________________________

What I Want To Keep: ________________________________________________________

My Goal Might Be: ___________________________________________________________

So That: ___________________________________________________

So That: ___________________________________________________

So That: ___________________________________________________

Opposite Goal: ______________________________________________________________

So That: ___________________________________________________

So That: ___________________________________________________

So That: ___________________________________________________

Values: ____________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Here!s What I Notice About This: _______________________________________________

© Samantha Bennett 2009

www.TheOrganizedArtistCompany.com

!

MY INAUGURAL STATEMENT

As always, work right off the top of your head and don!t second-guess yourself.

The lesson from the past eight years has been:

_______________________________________________________________

And today I inaugurate a new era of:

_______________________________________________________________

The hallmarks of which are:

_______________________________________________________________

And I give thanks for:

_______________________________________________________________

And I know that with the help of my friends, both seen and unseen:

YES WE CAN!

Documents

Suggestions for Success with The Overcoming Procrastination … · 2013. 8. 5. · Suggestions for Success with The Overcoming Procrastination Toolkit First of all, there is no way