I am hungry and stressed because I only have 45 minutes to write this post, but the girls keep interrupting me and I can’t get my brain into the right zone to write. I want to start, but I just feel STUCK. And I’m hungry, did I mention that?
Action leads to action, and the easiest way to start this post was to write a stream of consciousness, and the act of writing is keeping me going. See, I’m writing right now, go me!
An artist must have a place to work, especially while raising small children. You know that you need space that is free of mess and clutter, and you know you don’t have time to maintain complicated organization systems.
But how do you get started when you just feel stuck?
The first step is always the hardest. Bodies in motion and all that, but each one after that gets easier and easier and easier. Today I want to share with you some of the easiest ways I found to get started when I feel stuck.
Get Started Step One: Put on Your Shoes
Here is the easiest thing ever to get you unstuck: Go find your shoes and socks and put them on. Super easy!
This simple action tells your body and brain that you are in WORK mode, that its time to get stuff done.
Get Started Step Two: Take out the Mental Garbage
Your brain is the biggest block to getting started. And the greatest tool for getting started when you feel stuck is pen and paper.
Your brain is so full of everything you need to do, everything you want to do, and everything you think you should do. You have to get it out so that you have the mental capacity to focus on the task in front of you.
Do a brain dump. Take a piece of paper, and write down everything that is buzzing in your brain. Don’t think of this as a to-do list, think of it as decluttering your thoughts.
Let me give you an example of what my brain dump would look like at this moment:
Take out the trash, fold clothes, put away laundry, take boxes to the dumpster, finish ink drawing, order new sippy cups, put away groceries, do blog graphics, post blog to Instagram, vacuum, sort toys to purging, make appointment with carpet cleaner, plan pumpkin patch trip, buy candy, list monitors on craigslist…..
Get the garbage out of your head and onto the paper.
Get Started Step Three: Take out the Physical Garbage
Next, you are going to get the garbage out of your house. Your mission is to hunt down and kill all the trash in the house. Grab one or two empty trash bags, put on your favorite grooving music or a podcast, and go!
Start with an easy win. Do the room that will take the least time to finish. Then do the room that will have the greatest impact, like the kitchen. Trash likes to hide in the pantry and fridge. Don’t let it escape!
If your kids are older than babies, they can help you. Give them their own small bag and have them join you on the mission.
Guess what? By destroying all the trash you have already created a lot more space for you to work and breath! And you have momentum.
See Results Quickly with a 21 Item Scavenger Hunt
There are 21 things in your house that don’t belong. They know it, you know it, but they still play hide and seek. Your mission is to find them and get them to their next home.
Let me give you a hint, they like to hide in clothes, drawers, and cupboards. The things that are useful are OUT getting use, and the unused items are squatting their rightful home. For example, the clothes that are in the hamper or laundry basket are getting worn. You are not using the clothes that are always on the hanger or in the drawer. Send them to a new home!
Some of these things aren’t junk, they just aren’t useful to you anymore. It’s time to use them to bless someone who DOES need them. The expensive item collecting dust in your house might be the answer to someone’s prayer.
Now give me a high five! I know how hard it is to ignore the ugly voices in our head that tell you it's too hard, or that nothing is going to change. But I believe in you, and I know that you have the creative spirit to do this!
If you feeling overwhelmed, I wrote Free EBook, a Survival Guide for Artist Moms that I think might help you start to find your creative groove again. Get it HERE for free as a thank you from me.