Do you follow Kindra Hall on social? If not, go do it now, you won’t regret it @kindrahall. I met Kindra when our kids were in preschool together – she is a professional storyteller – read her stuff, she has a very interesting and fun take on marketing.

And if you’ve read her book “Stories That Stick” you may recognize a name in the acknowledgments 

BE CENTERED

A few weeks ago, Kindra posted a quote from Deepak Chopra; “Always be centered so you can be creative.”

I immediately continued scrolling. Anything too “ooo-my” or calm never catches my interest (do I need that? Yes. Will I do that? Nah). But then I saw something in the rest of the post that hit me like a ton of bricks. To be centered doesn’t necessarily revolve around something like meditation – clearing all of the little tasks from your mind has a similar effect on creativity.

CHECKING THINGS OFF A LIST? NOW I’M IN.

I made a huge list of the things I’ve been putting off – small household items, quick errands, things to be purchased. Then I dedicated the week to getting all those minor tasks off my to-do list. I scrapped workouts in favor of 45 extra minutes to check. stuff. off. We ordered out so dinner was handled. I made a massive Amazon order and did a Target Drive Up. I scheduled doctor’s appointments, went to appointments, scheduled home repairs, gathered donations, and dropped them off, cleaned out closets, the pantry, every drawer I could find. All those annoying tasks were tackled and not a moment was wasted.

Was it hard to ignore prioritize paying work? Absolutely. But I kept repeating to myself that if I could clear up this list, I’d have a lot more space for creative work.

THE VERDICT

The result? It felt awesome to get so much done! And it really was helpful when it came to being creative. All of the post-it notes were cleared from my desk – and my brain. I also vowed to stop putting off small tasks in favor of getting back to my desk. Instead, I take 10 minutes to tidy up, place an order, make a call. Because clearing that log of items from the always growing list – even if just for a little while – definitely makes a difference.

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