Resistance rarely kicks the door down; it usually tiptoes in wearing fuzzy pink slippers. It starts with the tiniest move away from your work: I’ll just check my email, I should really wipe this counter, Maybe I need a different notebook for this idea. Catching that first sidestep makes it a lot easier to laugh, turn around, and head back to your art before you wake up three hours later deep in a laundry spiral.
You can even start to recognize your “signature” first moves: anything involving the word Facebook or TikTok, the urge to reorganize your junk drawer, and the powerful conviction that now is the perfect time to research Venetian plaster. Once you see them, you can say, Oh, there you are, and steer yourself back: five minutes on the project first, then we can alphabetize the spice rack.
Journal prompt: Think of the last time you meant to create but did not. What was the very first move away from your work? Write it down with humor and affection.