There’s always something you don’t want to do

Working as a creative is definitely more fun than the 9-5 grind. But it has its aspects that aren’t so very creative or fun. In fact, some are just downright exasperating. Like taxes. And invoicing. And business reports. And cleaning the studio …

For all that we enjoy in our business there seems to be almost as many things we really don’t want to do. Well, here are a few tips to get you through those dreaded tasks and back to the fun stuff.

1. Do it now! Kind of a mantra of mine, this philosophy has the most amazing effect. Instead of watching that pile of receipts grow or spending all day moaning about the client calls you have to make, just do it and do it now. Don’t think about it. When the task appears, get it done and get rid of it. You will stop wasting time hating the task and find your business so much more enjoyable. Try it for a week and see how much easier your whole business seems.
2. The 60 second Start rule: Tell yourself you only need to spend 60 seconds on a task. If after 60 seconds you still can’t stand doing it, go off and do something else. However, most of the time, once you get going, it won’t be so bad and you can just kick it out. Or you will simply get it done 60 seconds at a time.
3. The 60 second Finish rule: If any portion of the task will take less than 60 seconds, you have absolutely no excuse in the world not to do that part now (goes back to tip #1). When can’t you spare 60 seconds? If you set it up so it’s easy to do the work (cleaning items are ready to use in your studio, you do all your business forms on-line, etc.) you can get a lot done in random 60 second chunks.
4. Challenge yourself: This works particularly well if you have a competitive spirit. Just time yourself each time you clean or input receipts (still being meticulous about the numbers!) or give yourself a little side goal for your client call (like simply making your stodgy client laugh) and see if you can do it. Then once it’s done, reward yourself with a fun video game, a tasty treat, or an afternoon off if it was a big task.

The only other alternative is to pay someone to do the work for you. And that really is a viable alternative. As my economist father would say, if you can pay someone to do it for a lower hourly average than your average hourly, you’re just losing money doing it yourself. It’s something to consider.

In the meantime, just get ‘er done and get back to your creative endeavors.