Doing the Simple Thing First

Between this blog and my music-making activities, I sometimes get overwhelmed. When I look at all the creative tasks I have to accomplish in order to achieve the goals I’ve set for myself, I get to a point where it seems like an insurmountable mountain of things that I know I should do, but don’t know how to.

I don’t know where to start. Or maybe I just don’t know how to start.

I’m also a perfectionist - a trait that I don’t see as a quality at all. I’ve found time and time again that, for me, the hardest part is to get started. Doing the first step is taking a risk, it’s letting go of the idea and letting the abstract become a concrete thing.

Once I do get started, strangely, some subconscious part of me kicks in and gets the work done. The first version isn’t always perfect, but it’s often a good start that takes me anywhere from 70% to 90% of the way there.

When I get overwhelmed, I remind myself to do the simple things first. Whatever comes easiest, to just do it. This way, I don’t have to deal with writer’s block.

In music, it means that if I’m struggling with coming up with a great chord progression, I’ll just get the drums done first, or I’ll find a sample to put down as a placeholder while I focus on other aspects of the track.

When I write, it can mean to start with a smaller post, something that doesn’t require too much research. It can also mean putting down all my ideas as quickly as possible and worry about editing them later in the process.

Lately, I’ve also been thinking a lot about what I need to do on the business/marketing side of things. It’s a world that I know a little bit but is often intimidating to creators like myself. Yet, I find that the same principle applies there.

I ask myself what’s the simple action that I can take right now. Maybe it won’t generate huge results, but it’s all about starting somewhere and getting into the habit of working on something seemingly unappealing.

It’s more about not dropping the ball than it is about scoring a goal.

Achieving cool things isn’t necessarily about talent. I don’t even think hard work factors in that much in the end. It’s all about having the right method to achieve what I set out to do.