005: Psychology’s Top Tips For Starting Your Creative Work Part 1

SelfPubEmpire Podcast

Season 1 Episode 005

Walt Disney once said “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”

Let’s start with seven thought provoking tips on how to get started on your creative work!
According to a survey conducted by SmallBizGenius, 53% of businesses say that starting a project is the most challenging phase. Today we’re going to get into the top tips for you on the psychology of getting started.

1. Set a clear intention.
   The Senior Dummies’ Guides Book is where I started. The feeling that seniors needed help with their smartphones because I heard them complain about “not having a manual” for it.

2. Create a conducive environment.
   Designate a dedicated space for your creative work, free from distractions and clutter.

3. Establish a routine.
   “200 crappy words a day, that’s it…” attributed to an unable author that wrote over 70 novels. An requoted many times.

4. Engage in pre-work rituals.
   The research shows that rituals tend to move your mind to a state of Flow. What is Flow? A researcher, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, coined the term back in 1970. It is focused concentration and attention. It has been described as flowing like water, being caught up in the work like flowing in a river.

5. Overcome fear of failure.
   Fear is by far a huge influence on behavior. People are more afraid of loss than excited about gain. That’s why advertisements often focus on telling someone of what they might suffer from rather than positive benefits. It works in advertising and works on yourself, so be aware of your fear.

6. Start with small steps.
   Research by Harvard Business Review indicates that setting specific, achievable goals increases motivation and productivity by 37%.
   How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

7. Leverage inspiration triggers.
   A study performed by Pew Research Center shows that 80% of online content creators find motivation from observing others' work.

Resound