Guest post by licensed Right-Brain Business Plan® Facilitator Amy Egenberger
Traffic jams can be a drag. Especially when you’re running late. You just want to get where you’re going but can’t. Argh!
Do you feel such slowdowns in your creative efforts, too? You’re tooling along, making good time and then unforeseen congestion happens. Movement draws to a near standstill, and you wonder why the delay.
Where are the slow spots in your creative business right now? Do you sense the pace is just right, or is it hindering your productivity, profits or peace of mind?
It’s worth taking a look.
A downtempo could just be the natural rhythm of things, your spirit’s way of incubating what’s happening. Seemingly ‘unproductive,’ but such slow-going is actually deeply productive.
On the other hand, a “flow-a-constrictor” may be in the way of your best creativity stream.
For example, along one wall in my office sit my ‘grab-‘n-go’ bags. Each for different facets of my work, I like to keep a bookbags, packed and ready. Suddenly last Sunday my row of totes felt like a real bottleneck. Argh! So, I set a timer, dove in, consolidated & culled, sifted & sorted through each one. Immediately the energy felt better and back to a better speed.
In addition to physical barriers like clutter, slowdowns can pop up anywhere in your business systems for customers. Registering for a workshop, purchasing a product, getting your message, for example, can be susceptible to bottlenecks of the tech or text variety. Do people get what you are saying and selling? Paying attention to what questions they ask can help you notice and then unsnarl the tight spots in your income flow.
Perhaps the most prevalent bottlenecks are due to our own energy. Certain thoughts and human feelings can snag us, dragging us to a halt. Whether it shows up as procrastination, forgetfulness or just plain sluggishness, the result is a sense of stagnation that you may need to shift.
“I don’t want to be the bottleneck.” That’s what I told a cohort the other day. Then I realized that I had been. Argh! One tiny task of confirming a date had slipped my memory, and that missing piece was holding up the show. Oh, brother! One simple email later we were back in business.
Sometimes the flow slows naturally and in accordance with all the elements of a project creatively coming together, both seen and unseen. But, a narrowing of the flow can also be a detrimental delay.
How do we discern the difference? Procrastination, an oversight, or a call for stillness?
Only you can tune into what’s true for you, and the practice is to keep asking.
As creative beings we are always invited to dance with the question of right timing. Has the natural, organic pacing of things just slowed for the best all around? Or is it time to infuse your creative energy to bust up the logjam?
Either way, beware the bottlenecks and free yourself up for what’s really wanting to happen.
Create on!
Making way for creative action, Amy Egenberger, MEd., CPCC, is proud to be a Licensed Facilitator of the Right Brain Business Plan®. She is a seasoned educator, life coach, artist and founder of Spirit Out! Coaching. Amy helps people find the courage and clarity to get moving on their creative path. A book, a business, a project, a change… your creative spirit gets out! Amy is one of our licensed Right-Brain Business Plan® Facilitators.
