If you’re anything like me, if a task or activity has a bunch of hurdles that need to be tackled before starting the actual task, you have a hard time even beginning that thing. And it’s not being lazy. It’s easy to tell ourselves we are lazy, but that doesn’t get us anywhere either, and chances are, it has nothing to do with being lazy. Obstacles can be internal or external and are real motivation blockers.
Often, we have so many tasks, goals, and priorities that we simply can’t even decide where to start. And many of us only have small snippets of time to accomplish these things. Not to mention that decision-making fatigue can be a barrier to productivity all on its own. Sometimes, when I want or need to make art, even though it’s my career, I find that it can be hard to get started. In the past, I attempted to use different mediums, like oil and acrylic paints, but I realized that I was not looking forward to using them, partly because the set-up and clean up seemed too daunting. At first I thought it was something wrong with me or my ability to be the artist I wanted to be, but then I realized it was just that I needed to make the supplies easier to pick up.
While there are myriad ways to help streamline decision making and learn why we may not be as productive as we would like - including productive procrastination which is a real conundrum - I will focus on one that has helped me the most: finding supplies that feel quickly accessible and easy to put down at the end of a creative session, even if that session is shorter than expected and ends abruptly.
As a mommy that stays at home with two young children, most of the time I have to devote to my art is short and crammed between other daily tasks devoted to caring for my babies. While I am thankful for the ability to be home with them, it means that most of my opportunities to paint come during nap time, or after the kids go to bed at night. This made it more important to find art supplies that I loved using yet were easy to pick up and simple to put away.
In the beginning of my professional art journey, I experimented with oils and acrylic paints. But these mediums required not only a lot of space to set up, but required more set up and clean up time than I could accommodate. In addition, I wanted to keep my supplies as safe as possible since I was using them in my home, not a big well-ventilated studio space. I also find it special when my little ones come to ask to paint with me, so I wanted it to be safe if they were to get messy in the paint too.
I had tried watercolor years before with my grandmother, which had created calm, happy memories, so I gave watercolor paints a try again. When I did, it felt wonderful in many ways; the feel of the paint moving along the paper, the softness of the brushes, the amazing luminosity of the colors. It all just felt right. Part of the enjoyment of it was that it felt simple. Simple to start and simple to clean up. I could have all my paints in a small palette that sat out on my little art desk. I could have a pad of watercolor paper and brushes out all the time, inviting me to paint, even if only for a few minutes. When I found artist-grade colored-pencils and added them to my process, I loved how simple they were to use as well. I have them organized by color family in mason jars on my desk, always at the ready. I love the immediacy of their marks, and that there is no drying time or clean-up at all. The layering of these materials seemed to come naturally for me, so it felt like a wonderful addition to my work. So, now, when I do get to sit down to paint, once it comes time to put it all away, it is so easy! I can just close the palette, rinse the brushes with water, put the pencils in their mason jar homes and move on with whatever task comes next.
If you’re struggling to get started with a creative task that you would like to do, see if there is a way to simplify its process so that it is more inviting and accessible in your day. If possible, find a time of the day or week that you know is devoted to that craft, so it feels normal to work on it at that time, not something that you need to feel guilty about putting your energy into. As an adult, the guilt we feel about taking time to do things that we enjoy is a whole other obstacle to starting that could have its very own blog post!
Choosing supplies that are easier to use, creating a space where more cumbersome supplies can be left out, or carving out a regular time for the activity you enjoy, may just remove enough hurdles that you can feel more relaxed about beginning. And again, if you’re anything like me, you’ll be happy you did.