THE IMPORTANCE OF PERCOLATION
Copyright 2005 Writer's Eye Advisory Service
Percolating over a creative process isn't procrastination,
though it may look like it from the outside. Percolating over a
chosen creative project, happens at any point along the
creativity continuum, from choosing an idea, developing plans,
creating the product to displaying the project. Sometimes you
will need to take a break from your project, life events
interrupts. If you've set up a break schedule, then you don't
have to worry about taking a permanent break. Taking breaks will
allow you to concentrate on other parts of your life, while your
brain processes what you've just completed in your creative
session. If you are prone to procrastination following
percolation time, then set and share your goals with another
artist. This will help you return to your creative work at the
consistently. Percolation time can be short or long. An example
of a short percolation time is when you write a portion of a
chapter during your creative session. Take a walk. Start working
on a new chapter at your next session. Here are some fears that
you may encounter as you experience your percolation time:
--You may doubt your ability to return to your original creative
pace. --You may not be comfortable experiencing a strong
positive reaction when you complete a portion of your project.
--You may run out of ideas. --You may not have completed any
part of the project perfectly. --Others might reject your work,
which means that they may be rejecting you. --You may be afraid
that once you stop, you won't be able to start again.--You may
feel too powerless to finish this project, so you decide to give
up on the project completely. What can you do when you feel too
powerless?
Remember to:
--Listen to all of your reactions. --Schedule a working personal
break. --Talk, write, act (exercise or dance, etc.) or pray out
your feelings. --Put away your feeling work for 24 hours.
--Reread your feeling work. --Choose one new idea. --Write or
pray about this idea for five minutes. --Identify your feelings
now. --Create one new short-term goal for your project. --Take
the first action listed to complete your goal. --Check in with
yourself. (feelings, thoughts and physical responses)
If you experience a strong positive reaction, then resume your
previous creative process.
If you experience an ambivalent reaction, you may be
experiencing the natural discomfort of learning a new set of
skills. This is a temporary situation. Resume your previous
creative process as soon as you can.
Finally, if you experience a strong negative reaction, repeat
the exercise until your experience a positive reaction or decide
to work on a different project. Percolation time can be both
exhilarating and frustrating. Discipline yourself to keep on
creating your unique product, while putting your strong
reactions to work for you as you put them in their proper place.