Main barriers and how to overcome them

1. Being impatient

Yes, it’s true – we want to engage momentum with our creative projects and pursuits. I think it is important to contribute in real time to our projects every day to maintain our
focus, intention, and commitment to completion. It is important to be patient with yourself and the process of getting things done. Patience takes the pressure off of us, while not letting us off the hook with keeping our commitments to ourselves. Patience and trust live close together. We have to trust ourselves that we can get things done, we need to trust that our creative self-expression is a valuable part of making meaning in our lives. We need to trust that even if things are going slower than we want them to, that patience is part of the progress. It is also part of letting ourselves rest and not constantly pushing.

Journaling prompts to cultivate patience:

• What helps you take it easy on yourself?
• When do you find yourself feeling impatient?
• What does patience feel like to you?

2. Not having clear goals and priorities

Having clear goals and priorities combined with taking daily actions towards them – adds up to a significant body of completed projects and many accomplishments over time.

Journaling prompts for gaining clarity and setting priorities:

• How do you feel about goal setting when it comes to your work?
• What are your priorities for this week that will help you reach your goals?
• How do these priorities align with your big goals and dreams?
• What action steps must be taken to reach your goals?
• What do you need to start doing or stop doing to achieve your goals and complete your
  work?

3. Having trouble saying NO

Being able to say “no” to some things, allows you to say “yes” to others. For many reasons, saying “no” can be difficult for many people. Saying “no” in effective and empowering ways can take practice and support. As my late colleague, Lucia Capacchione, once said to me: saying no is so crucial to having success in your life

Journaling prompts for saying “No:”
The word “no” is an important part of assertive communication and setting boundaries. Without it, we would say “yes” to everything and risk becoming overwhelmed and burnt out.

• How easy is it for you to say “no” to the requests of others?
• How hard is it for you to say “no”?
• When have you said “no” to something so that you could say “yes” to working on and completing your work?
• How did that feel?

When you witness other people say “no” and set limits with their time so they can prioritize their creative work, how do you feel about them? Do you admire them? Resent them? Wish you could do that too. Just get curious about this. We can learn a lot about our relationship to the word “no” by witnessing how we feel about other people’s “no’s”.

4. Dealing with distractions

Getting distracted is a normal part of our work life.
Taking a moment to pause and reflect on where distractions get in the way of completing things can be a valuable step in overcoming them.
If you think this is your problem too, when journaling you can answer these questions :

• What keeps pulling you away? For example, is it other people, the competing needs and priorities in your life, avoidance, or your dog walking across the room?
• What distracts you the most?
• What helps you minimize distractions? For example, turning off the notifications on your phone.
• What is at stake if you don’t deal with distractions?

5. Procrastination and putting things off

Procrastination might very well be the number one obstacle to getting work completed.
Procrastination and perfectionism can often present together.
According to author, Lauren Sapala, procrastination can sometimes be caused by feeling anxious about what we are working on or putting out in the world. She suggests it is important to meet procrastination with self-compassion and get curious, without self-judgment, about what we might need to help overcome it.

If you think this is your problem too, when journaling you can answer these questions :

• What is one thing you have been putting off?
• Why do you think you keep putting it off – procrastinating, avoiding it, making other things more important?
• What is one step you can take to start working on it?
• How will you feel if you take that step?

Conclusion

Inspired by a discussion with a client that I admire, I feel inspired to share with you some universal truths that I reflected upon regarding how we can get more /better from the work that we aim to do.

Many things can support us to complete our work. Among them, is our ability to know ourselves and our unique ways of working towards and meeting the realities of completion and success in our lives.
One of my favorite tools for self-awareness is journaling. I also use it as a true companion practice to support my pursuits. There are many ways journaling can help engage in and complete, work of all kinds!

For example, journaling can help you to:

• Get focused, grounded, and centered
• Set priorities and be clear about what matters most
• Brainstorm creative ideas and discover new projects
• Make thoughtful decisions and choices

I know it is not easy. As a coach I am trained to see patterns, so let’s meet and decode for you what’s in the way and how you can overcome it.

You can actively work with me and break all these barriers! Schedule a meeting here and let’s start this journey together!