
3 Things Every HSP Can Do to Finally Complete Creative Projects
Don’t you wish you could just wiggle your nose like Samantha from Bewitched and magic would complete your creative projects? I’ve been trying to master that skill since I was in grade school. No such luck!
It can be hard enough trying to start, let alone complete creative projects, with so many things seemingly smacking you upside the head every time you try.
For highly-sensitive creatives (HSCs), it can be especially difficult. We’re deeply connected to our inner life and pick up on energy in our environment others don’t.
I’ve met plenty of fellow HSCs who also have depression, anxiety, and a lingering case of perfectionism that can add to the challenges of making progress and finding focus.
To have the energy and confidence needed to get going and complete creative projects, HSCs need a system in place to help carry them through and stay focused on what’s most important.
How do I get past a few of the biggest barriers to starting and following through with creative projects?
1. Become aware of emotional habits that breed doubt and drain your energy.
How you do one thing, is how you do everything. If you’re constantly hard on yourself, you will also be critical of the work you do. If you avoid conflict and challenges in daily life, you’ll likely turn away from challenges in your work.
If you’re ready to let go of emotional habits that no longer serve your needs, it can be exhausting keeping them up! It’s time to let go. Release judgment and exchange it for compassion.
2. Connect to your biggest source of confidence and clarity – your intuition.
“When we relax our tendency to grasp for a pat explanation and just be present with whatever is happening without trying to alter it, we can bring to bear a deeper, more intuitive knowing. That in itself changes our reaction and our perspective.” Tara Brach
We can’t know everything. If you’re waiting until you feel completely sure your project is ready to get out into the world, you will be waiting forever. If you’re searching for answers from everywhere but inside you, you’ll be searching forever.
You are your own best source of advice. Mentors can watch us evolve and show us what’s worked for others, and that’s invaluable. When it comes down to getting the work done, it’s just you. One foot in front of the other, you bring new ideas and visions to life.
3. Create a system to automate your workflow and free up brain space for creative work.
Just like our emotions and daily actions become habits, so does organizing thoughts and projects. When we develop a flow for working, it takes some of the pressure off our brains. We don’t have to think about where things are, what to do next, how to proceed each day. Having those everyday decisions already complete gives the brain freedom to focus on the harder stuff of being creative and producing the work.
Before I started using Scrivener in combination with a travel notebook, a large “business grimoire,” and iNotes, I had ideas and writing everywhere. I couldn’t see how everything would flow together, and I didn’t see how cohesive my content and vision actually were.
Having a system for working on content and projects saves me an incredible amount of time and energy, not to mention relieves my anxiety and helps me sleep better.
Do you want to know how I plan my products and launches?
My next post will be all about the systems I use to help creativity flow and organize projects in a flexible and clean content creation system.
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