Making space for your voice
Volume 2, Number 10 | October 2008
Right now, I'm over 1,000 miles north of my little E-Z-Bake Oven in Los Angeles, staring out the window at
Seattle's staggeringly beautiful Elliott Bay, in between pounding out these paragraphs.
Why?
Because my temporary home-with-a-new-view was made available to me by a generous friend (and, as we found
out to our
mutual surprise and delight a kind of cousin, by marriage). Because L.A. in October can be beastly
hot.
But mostly, because I needed to make some room for myself.
Don't get me wrong: the biggest part of getting something done is the actual doing of it. Books don't
write themselves. Neither do speeches,
bios, emails or anything else I'm aware of. The movie does not get made without making it; neither does the opera get composed, the website built nor
the presentation drafted. It does not happen without seat in the seat, and the application of sweat--literal or metaphorical.
However, there is also a need for space. It's easy to get frantic about a project, and to rush in and pound
away. At times, pounding is the only thing to be done, but most times, even a brief break, a small shift in perspective, pays out tenfold in output.
Because with just a little bit of breathing room, your voice, your creativity--the part of you that's brilliant, if you just let it be--will quietly
step up and handly everything in a way that Harried You never dreamed of.
Well, sure, you say: my voice and I would be just fine if we could relocate 1,100 miles away somewhere that not
only pared away distractions, but was cool enough that our brains weren't cooking in our skull. But we can't take a vacation, working or otherwise;
we're stuck here in Grindstoneland with an unsympathetic boss, four dogs and a lawn that needs mowing.
Fair enough. No full-Monty sabbatical for you. But there are some less dramatic things you can do to give
yourself the time, space and perspective you need.
1. Do one thing differently.
Yes, I'm up here now, almost bewildered by the distance and perspective I'm gaining. But in the weeks and months
leading up to this, I made a lot of much smaller shifts--everything from instituting a daily walking program to answering questions differently. The idea
here is to force yourself (gently) into a series of things that are the functional equivalent of holding your fork in the other hand: the rut is the
rut is the rut, and the good news about that is that almost anything done differently will help you out of it.
2. Do some pruning around your problem.
The reason problems become...er...problematic is because we can't see them clearly. To us, our problems are attached to all kinds of other problems:
a thorny thicket of problems that seems impossible to untangle because they're hopelessly interwoven. If you've got a big presentation to give or
report to write, do as Garr
Reynolds
suggests in his
excellent book: Figure out what your central point is; then figure out why it matters to your audience. (See sidebar for a more detailed
review.) It's a great equation that works with anything communications-related, from choosing a tagline to creating an entire website.
3. Take breaks...from your perspective.
I realize that I'm constantly harping on the benefits of the daily walk, the frequent break, the occasional artist's play date. I also understand
that sometimes, when you've got a deadline staring you in the face, it's impractical to take a walk, much less a trip to the country.
In times like these, call on your posse. (Well, first try taking three deep breaths; then,
call on your posse.) There is someone, somewhere who can give you a little differently-angled insight into your problem--why your presentation turns
into a goopy mess at the 10-minute mark, or where your reel is sucking, or why you're tanking in interviews. If you don't have those people to call
on, and you can't call in a pro, try putting on your Uncle Bob hat: literally, pretend you are someone else and look at the thing that will not
budge.
Go ahead--get a little goofy with accents and catch-phrases. If you keep at it, you'll turn up something useful, too.
***
Once the pressure is off, set up a plan to get management systems in place. Find yourself a group, a coach or a circle of folks who are wrestling
with the same kinds of issues. Meet regularly, set goals and contribute more than you ask for. Collect books, links and other resources and tools for
getting stuff done and seeing things differently.
Part of what you'll end up doing (aside from creating a dependable network to lean on and a killer library) is sharpening your critical and
observational skills. Then, the next time you're stuck, you can unstick yourself--with or without a little help from your friends.
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