Getting Unstuck
March 10th, 2006 by HalBeen stuck lately. I'm working on a book, but can't seem to make the progress I want to make. So on a whim I pulled out three trusty resources: UNSTUCK, by Keith Yamshita & Sandra Spataro, The Project 50, by Tom Peters, and One Hat at a Time momentum cards. I can't say any of them helped. I need a plan. A plan I can work with. I may also need some coaching.
For now, I've selected a hat that I've propped up on my desk. It's a beanie. The kind with a propeller on top. On the back of the card it reads:
Let go of being the expert.
Innocent. Simple.
Curious. Beginner.
Approach the situation with
a sense of wonderment.
How does it work?
Why? Why? Why? Wow!
Is this like …
Discover what happens when you
let go of knowing things absolutely
and enter the realm of not knowing.
The weekend is ahead. Let's see if the beanie helps. And maybe I just need to go to bed!
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March 11th, 2006 at 10:50 pm
I had this problem last fall while completing the writing on my second book. I had the worst case of writer’s block I’ve ever experienced. Three months without being able to write a word.
Two resources I relied on: The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp (awesome book that I recommend to everybody - I used it as a resource last fall when I taught Creativity for Business to MBA students and they loved it). There should be some valuable nuggets in their to help you rethink your book.
The second (and equally valuable) activity was a simple change of habit. I went to the mall on a weekday evening and just sat and people watched. It really had nothing to do with my book, but just sitting and observing people’s actions, conversations, and behaviors provided me with the creative well-priming that I needed to pump out the remainder of my book.
It’s now in editing, so we’ll see how much the editors chew it up. Good luck!
March 12th, 2006 at 9:29 am
Thanks Tim. I’ll get The Creative Habit. And thanks also to those who wrote emails of encouragement.
March 12th, 2006 at 11:14 am
Though it’s not likely to help, I see a strong parallel with the philosophical writings of Nietzsche: the transition from child, to camel, to lion and back to child: from the innocent, simple, curious beginner to the adept full of preconceptions (”baggage”), to the lion who ferociously casts off the baggage, and finally back to the child.
Sounds like you’re trying to find your inner lion. Good luck.
March 22nd, 2006 at 12:18 am
I own a web design company and as the project manager of the company projects it is amazing at times how stuck I can feel…
Jumping between client managment, company managment and the creative process at times makes me want to scream.
But lately I found a solution… much like Tim said … a change of perspective, a change of location, a change…
Now when I feel like I just can’t seem to tactle a solution for the business side of things… I go to the local starbucks to work, or the library.. anywhere that isn’t my familiar surroundings, and when I have a creative solution I need to fix… I walk an walk and walk. It is amazing how walking while listening to my ipod sends a jolt of creative energy …
I am encourage this with my employees too.. everyone has their thing that helps inspire them… and I want them to serach for theirs.
When times are despearte and I really need to, I find the airport a gold mine for ideas, but a nightmare to get to.
March 22nd, 2006 at 8:52 am
You are so right, Lucia. The airport (while difficult) is the absolute best place to mine inspiration. Our post-9-11 world has made this especially challenging, but Starbucks (or any popular coffee haunt) works in a pinch.
Even a change in reading material can help. In managing creative projects, we get “stuck” reading the same material hoping for inspiration. Sometimes I’ll read to my children (hit one of my best inspirations from “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas”), I’ll read a b-grade mind-candy novel, I’ll read the comics… anything to give my mind a new perspective.
March 23rd, 2006 at 1:08 pm
Just discovered your site via Tim Johnson. Glad I did.
The poem is super.
Maria Girsch of www.CreativityCentral.com says that being creative (unstuck) is an act of remembering…remembering what you were like as a child and acting that way in your adult world.
Looking forward to reading more of your postings.
March 26th, 2006 at 3:14 pm
Hal - I know a whole bunch of folks who need to do this..(wink!!). I’d love to chat further.
Great writings folks….my best place…running 3.5 miles or on the stairmaster;my best work has come as a result of changing the scenerio….