Today’s episode is a requested reading of a previously published post on Productive Flourishing named “5 Ways to Get Through the Creative Red Zone.” This article lists five ways to get projects that are almost done into the finished stage.
Key Takeaways:
[0:48] - The creative “red zone” is when you have a project that is almost finished, and you feel as if you have just as much to do as you did when you started the final push. Charlie discusses this analogy as it relates to football and creative projects.
[3:04] - 1. Double-down by returning to the why of a project: As we draw toward deadlines, we tend to lose sight of why we started the project in the first place. Reminding ourselves why can give us the extra push we need to finish - a gift to both ourselves and others.
[3:45] - 2. Focus on getting it to good enough: If your goal is perfection, you will never get it done. We need other people to make our work excellent, which requires us to let go when it’s good enough.
[4:16] - 3. Know that the more it matters, the more it’s only a start anyway: We often falsely assume that the more it matters, the better the start of it should be. In reality, the more something matters, the better it is that we start finishing sooner, so we can get it out in the world.
[5:02] - 4. Understand that you’re usually working on your own mindset toward the end: Often, once we’re in the red zone, we continue to work without really getting anywhere. What we’re really working on is our own mindset.
[6:02] - 5. Do your work, and then step away: There’s only so much we can do with creative work to make sure that it’s successful. When you make art, you give up predictability for remarkability.
[6:37] - In finishing creative work, we risk our project failing, but we’ll be out of the red zone. Finishing a project allows for more self-reflection and change moving forward.
[7:07] - You’ll always have a red zone; it never goes away if you’re really showing up. Charlie encourages us to get real about the type of projects in which we are investing our time.
Mentioned in This Episode:
Creative Giant Campfire Facebook Group
134: 5 Ways to Get Through the Creative Red Zone