Everyone experiences a bit of angst at the beginning.
Whether you are looking at a blank canvas, a blank notebook page, a new presentation page, or your planning calendar that moment just before you start you experience those butterflies.
Actually, it’s more than butterflies. You freeze and can’t think or sometimes even breath deeply enough and have to do something to break out of the performance anxiety or you just might scream! (and that would certainly not be good for your co-workers or your reputation).
As a coach, people often ask me what I do to get over that moment of angst and anxiety. “How are you always creating things? Always writing or designing new things for yourself and your clients?”
I hesitate to share my approaches because what works for me may not work for you.
You see it all depends upon where you are both at the moment of angst and your normal state of being when you are working. What you need isn’t necessarily my tricks (though I do share some of them below), what you need is to identify what you need to do differently. Not only that, but you need to find what works for you in your environment at the moment you are experiencing the angst.
It can seem overwhelming in the moment. And sometimes we can’t see what needs to change because it’s us that needs to change. How many times have you heard someone say “You just need to get out of your own way?”
That is where a mentor, advisor, or coach can help. Looking at it from outside your head – and a different perspective – can be exactly what you need to break through to creativity and productivity.
First try a few things yourself to break through the angst. To get you started, here are a few things to consider:
- Take a walk outside.
- Take a nap.
- Jog on the treadmill while listening to a podcast.
- Go to a coffee shop and work.
- Talk to your coach.
- Free write for 5 minutes.
- Take a shower.
- Brainstorm with a colleague.
Not all of these work all of the time. And you have to know when you are procrastinating vs. changing your perspective.
The most important thing is to recognize when you need to bust the angst by changing perspective and when you need to plow through the angst and just do it. A coach can help you distinguish between the two.
