3 easy steps to keep petty demands from ruining your best work

Petty demands are a cost of doing business. Everyone has little things that they have to do, but which they don’t really like to do. Even creators.

You may have to fill out expense reports. You may have to market your work. You definitely have to do your taxes. These things are a real drag, but don’t let them drag down your best creative work.

Don’t waste your best energy on petty demands. Keep them at bay until the time is right.

Petty demands are the “Administrative” component of Full Focus. Your aim with Full Focus is to always be as focused on the task at hand as possible.

Note that being as focused on the task at hand as possible is different from giving your best focus possible to the task at hand. Your best focus possible should be designated for your creative work.

We all have ebbs and flows in our energy levels. If you’re giving your all to your creative work, by Friday, you’re just about drained dry.

Here are some ways to make sure your petty demands don’t ruin the rest of your creative work.

1. Protect your creative work from petty demands during your prime creative hours. I have a morning creative habit, wherein I write when I’m still groggy, face a blank wall, and don’t check email. My phone is on silent, and I haven’t looked at it yet. Petty demands can’t reach me.
2. Designate a time for petty demands. For petty demands that can wait, have a weekly session. I like Friday afternoons, because I’m creatively tapped out. But, I have enough energy to take care of financial details. Knowing the weekend is coming up, and I’ll get a chance to Recharge, helps give me a dopamine hit to move forward. For petty demands that can’t wait long, save them for another time that doesn’t interfere with prime creative time. For me, that might be late afternoon, before clocking out for the day.
3. Deflect petty demands. This is the hardest part. The Resistance loves petty demands, because they give you an excuse to not do the really hard work of creating. It’s tempting, when an email comes in from my accountant, to check my financials, or pay their invoice right away. I tell myself to stop—sometimes aloud—then use Boomerang so the email is out of my inbox until Friday afternoon.

The siren song of petty demands will distract you from your best work—unless you’re careful. By deflecting petty demands to a time that doesn’t interfere with your creative work, you can stay in business. Best of all, you can be fully-focused on fighting The Resistance, when the time comes, to do your best work yet.

If you got this far, you should read about 10 unconventional ways I achieve Full Focus »