Sometimes, I have an idea that just won’t get out of my head.
I’m trying to prioritize my efforts and focus on what I am doing.
I have scheduled when I am going to address this idea.
I’ve put all the sub-ideas and research in its own little pile to be dealt with later.
And yet, the idea still knocks around – taking up valuable cognitive bandwidth.
It happens.
I find myself asking two questions of this idea when it does.
- What is so compelling about this idea? What is the fantasy surrounding it?
- Am I using “researching” this idea as an excuse to avoid the challenging part of my current project? Is this just resistance in disguise?
Usually, the idea speaks to a “fantasy self” that I am nowhere near becoming.
The idea also tends to be in the “hobby” area of my life.
The area where I am not necessarily wedded to it becoming part of my professional identity, but “wouldn’t it be nice if…”
The area where if I DID decide to “go pro,” I’d probably be disappointed.
And…I’m procrastinating.
I don’t want to do the hard thing I have to do to get my current project done.
The more fear around the hard thing I need to do around my current project…the more likely I am to start fantasizing over this distractor-project.
I don’t really have a tidy answer other than – see the distractor for what it is, write down what you need to so you can address it later, and get back to work.
As soon as I come up with a way to get rid of the distractors altogether, I’ll let you know.
Leave a Reply