Developing a practice of consistently creating requires dedication and grit.
After all, professional creatives get on with the act of creating.
But if you are just starting out, this can seem overwhelming. Going from not creating and publishing anything, to feeling the pressure of doing this consistently can scare many people off. Especially if they think that what they are about to produce is not good enough.
So how do you begin to form a habit of consistently producing great creative work?
Either you can wait for motivation to hit you, but science has shown that this is very ineffective.
Instead, one of the world’s foremost researchers on habit formation, BJ Fogg, suggests you start smaller.
Much smaller.
In his research, Fogg has found the power of Tiny Habits. A recurring action that is so small and easy that it removes the pressure and fear of not doing the habit well enough.
The secret of a tiny habit is that you have succeeded if you do the absolute minimum start of the habit.
So instead of saying “I want to develop a habit of drinking 8 glasses of water a day”, the tiny habit would be “I will drink one glass of water a day”.
Or if you want to get in shape, instead of saying “I want to be able to do 50 push-ups a day”, the tiny habit would be “I will do one push-up every day”.
One of Fogg’s favourite examples is for people who hate flossing their teeth but know they should. There, the tiny habit is “I will floss one tooth today”.
But why would you bother only flossing one tooth? Because once you begin the action, you are more likely to continue.
If you floss one tooth, you might as well continue and do the rest of your teeth.
If you do one push-up, you might as well try to do 5, 10 or 20.
If you start, no matter how small, but do it consistently, this is how you build momentum.
And when it comes to executing your ideas, momentum is important. Quantity over time will eventually result in quality.
So instead of saying “I want to write a novel this year”, instead say “I will write one sentence every day”. Or even “I will write a minimum of one word every day”.
Because once you begin writing that one sentence, you are unlikely to stop there.
Start small and build your momentum.
Nick Skillicorn
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