Procrastination. I think we are all guilty of it.

It takes so many forms. For me I can spend hours running around doing housework, suddenly getting the urge to clean windows instead of knuckling down to do my tax (yes its that time of the year again). It seems too hard sometimes to start on the things we perceive as difficult.

Yet I find once I start, it’s often not as hard and doesn’t take as long as I think it will.

It’s about like the idea of building a house. Completely overwhelming if you think of the whole project as something that takes years, but when you go step by step, it does eventually happen. You have to hold the course and keep your nerve.

It’s something I think of when contemplating any new creative or business project. Can I do it? Am I good enough? Am I up for the task? Can I keep persevering until the project is completed without burning out or dropping my bundle?

The good thing about creative productivity is that sometimes your procrastination can get the windows cleaned and produce some great work. Because as you “clean” the windows, you “clear your vision” and start to see new possibilities, ways to tackle things from a different angle. Suddenly the way is clear again.

Procrastination can also point to needed change. If you are resistant to going into the studio to work, you can ask yourself why? I did this a month ago and realised I was unhappy in my overcrowded space. I didn’t have enough space to think, to expand, to breathe. I couldn’t start anything new. Something had to change.

The first thing I did was procrastinate. I washed the clothes, I tidied the kitchen. Then I started to tidy the studio. I rearranged the furniture and removed the couch which was crowding the space. I moved the table to a different wall. Suddenly the room opened up and I was able to dream big.

Then a whole series of other events began, like one chain reaction. A door appeared to give me some privacy from the kitchen. A set of French doors were hung in the other entry way. My screen printing table was cleaned off and ready for action. I began printing again and have a new exhibition in the wings.

I’m learning to embrace my procrastination and let it lead to the next thing. To give time to the projects which need it more and quickly finish those I can do easily. To block in time for dreaming which is so important to being productive. To think in terms of groupings, works which speak to each other to become a body of work.

Productivity doesn’t always mean working harder, but smarter. And sometimes procrastination leads you forward rather than in circles.