STARTING: Baby won’t you light my fire

Excitement is the spark. Let’s get this fire started. Like the best firewood, you need to break it down, way down, kindling baby! The smaller the better! Don’t smother your flame with a heavy load. Lighten up and watch it light up! Here’s how to make a start on your creative project.  

Just like starting a fire, we must step into the creative process with small steps. Not because you’re stepping into the unknown, because that’s the only way you can get anything done. Big steps like publishing a book or launching your website may seem impressive, but in reality, they are just the sum of many small steps that have been taken. The final step can be the easiest because of the momentum you have built up behind you.

Say you’ve got a goal to write a book, what is a smallest step you can take towards it? Most people say ‘write a few pages a day?’ That is not small. That is like trying to set a log on fire. When I say small I mean tinier than tiny. Seemingly insignificant steps are what you need to start with. Whatever you think of as your first step, halve it in size, make it smaller again and think of ten steps before that. Start with writing down the first 3 tiny steps. Step one needs to be something like: step into the studio, sit at the desk, turn on the computer. 

Tiny things alone can be scary when you know where they lead, do not underestimate their importance. By giving yourself easy wins like ‘brush teeth’, you immediately start ticking things off your list.  Feeling the momentum is all you need to get on a roll. You also get a release of dopamine every time you tick something off, which will make you crave more. 

If you ever do a task that was not originally on the list, write it down just to tick it off, give yourself the dopamine you deserve. If you feel your momentum slowing, access you action steps. Have you underestimated their size, do they need to be broken them down further?

Break it down.

Your Friend,

Buzzy