According to writer Todd Henry in Daily Creative, steady, deliberate progress is the key to creative success.
It takes three things to get things done and bring about creative success:
1. Commit to steady, deliberate progress;
2. Do it every day, and;
3. Work even when you don’t feel like it.
The key to creative success, then, is to simply keep going. Make a commitment to yourself to show up and do the work every day, even when you don’t feel like it. The days when you don’t feel inspired will eventually give way to the days when you do, but only if you stick with it.
1. Commit Yourself to Steady Deliberate Progress
Most of us grew up hearing the fable of the race between the tortoise and the hare. The tortoise was very slow, but he kept moving steadily forward. The hare was much faster, but he stopped to rest for a while. When he woke up, he saw that the tortoise had already finished the race.
When I was a teenager, I learned this lesson on a backpacking trip in the high Sierras. My youthful friends raced up the mountain, trying to outdo each other. They’d quickly exhaust themselves and had to stop for numerous rest breaks.
I met a young couple along the trail and began hiking with them. They taught me the best way to hike was to take a slow, deliberate, sustainable pace, rarely needing to stop. During the day I hiked with them, my companions would race past us, then we’d pass them when they were resting having exhausted themselves. Guess who reached our destination first, with energy still left over? Hint: it wasn’t the energetic youngsters.
Creatives who have been successful over time understand the value of steady, deliberate progress. James Clear, in his article on How to Master Creativity, says “Finding your creative genius is easy: do the work, finish something, get feedback, find ways to improve, show up again tomorrow. Repeat for ten years. Or twenty. Or thirty. Inspiration only reveals itself after perspiration.”
2. How We Can Make Steady Progress Every Day
Although Henry says, “Do it every day” I doubt he means every day in a literal sense. I think what he’s getting at is “Do it every workday.” I don’t think he means you can’t take a day or two off to rest or do other activities.
It’s one thing to talk about making steady, deliberate progress, but it’s quite another to actually do it. I find that in my practice I need structures, habits, and routines to help me accomplish what I want to do.
Here are some of the techniques I use that you might find useful:
- Planning my work in 12-week blocks. I’ve found that planning on a 6-month or 1-year basis is too long a time for the way I work. I tend to procrastinate when I know I’ve got 6 months or a year to get something done. I’m much more realistic in my planning when I’m dealing with a 12-week period. 12 weeks feels more immediate, and I’m motivated to get to work now, not later. I understand that I will need to work every day to achieve my goals for a shorter time. See The 12 Week Year for more information.
- Quarterly and weekly reviews to plan and review my work. In my quarterly reviews, I plan what I want to get done during the next 12 weeks. During my weekly reviews, I remind myself of my goals and see if I’m on track with doing the work I planned. See David Sparks’ article on Mid-Year Reflection and Planning. It’s my understanding he’s now using this process for quarterly planning and review sessions, as am I. See a sanitized example of my reflection and planning template.
- Time blocking to schedule my work. During my weekly review on Sunday, I schedule the time I’ll be working on my different projects during the week. These are blocks on my calendar telling myself what I’ll be doing during that time. I’ve found that if I don’t schedule my time, the work likely won’t get done; I’ll find other things to do. David Sparks (aka MacSparky) has written helpful articles on The Hyperscheduling Experiment and The Plan vs. the Day. “Block some time each week, preferably each day, for doing your most important creative work.” Daily Creative, Todd Henry.
3. Habits and Routines that Support Steady, Deliberate Progress
- One of my most productive habits is Coffee Shop Mondays. Every Monday morning, I go to a local coffee shop to write a new blog post. This deadline prompts me to select a topic, complete my research, and draft a mind map in the days before Monday mornings. It ensures that I make steady progress in writing and publishing at least one blog post each week.
- I do my weekly reviews every Sunday afternoon. During this review, I review my ideal descriptions for each of my life roles, review my active project list, and schedule my work for the week on my calendar. See How to Do a Quarterly Reflection & Planning Session. Having a Craft template for these reviews ensures that I don’t forget any items.
- Some people find it helpful to have a theme for each day, week, month, or year. Mike Vardy in his Productivityist Playbook recommends daily themes to give you a focus for each day. I use themes on a limited basis. Mondays are for writing blog posts, and Saturdays are for doing household chores. I’m considering adding a “training day” where I take online courses, read, etc.
4. How to Make Steady, Deliberate Progress When You Don’t Feel Like It
All the talk about planning goals and making steady progress sounds great in theory, but what about those days when you don’t feel like working and don’t feel any inspiration?
We often consider inspiration to be something that exists outside of us and comes and goes when it pleases. We think we can’t do any creative work if inspiration is not present.
The reality is that “The muse shows up when we do the work. Not the other way around.” The Practice, Seth Godin.
In his The War of Art, Steven Pressfield says, “Someone once asked Somerset Maugham if he wrote on a schedule or only when struck by inspiration. “I write only when inspiration strikes,” he replied. “Fortunately it strikes every morning at nine o’clock sharp.”
We can choose to work with the understanding that inspiration will show up when we put in the time. “Creativity is a choice, it’s not a bolt of lightning from somewhere else.” The Practice, Seth Godin.
5. Don’t be the Hare; Be the Tortoise!
Steady, deliberate progress is the key to creative success. Don’t be the jump start, erratically running hare, and lose the race; be the steady, deliberate tortoise.
Use whatever techniques, habits, and routines help you to stay on track and make steady, deliberate progress. What I use may or may not work for you. I encourage you to give the ones that make sense to you a good-faith try and see if they land for you. If not, try something else.
The key to creative success is to find what works for you and stick with it. Whether that means setting goals and planning your work in 12-week blocks, or simply making time to work on your projects each day, the important thing is to be consistent and deliberate in your progress.