Inhibitions

I’m working on a theory of productivity for writers and other creators. The core of this idea is that what stops productivity is inhibitions, and that if you can get past those, production becomes dramatically higher. My own experience is that when I just start working, my production becomes nearly effortless. It’s starting that’s the hard part.

Inhibition can come in many forms. It can simply be self doubt. Related, it can be fear of imperfections (as if any work is ever perfect). It can be fear of the judgment or disapproval of others. It can be fear of rejection. It can even be fear of success, the worry that you’re “not ready for the next level.” It can be Impostor Syndrome. It can be stress. As in a famous quote from Ira Glass, it can be that you have high standards, and you worry you’ll never be good enough.

There can be other barriers besides inhibitions, such as health issues or other responsibilities or emotional or relationship troubles. But you might be able to squeeze in work around these concerns if only you could free yourself to do it.

Because removing inhibitions is about freedom. It’s about giving yourself permission to just do the work right now, today, and worrying about finding an audience later—or never, because the first audience has to be yourself. Once you push through the layer of inhibitions, creating gets easier.

How do you get past inhibitions? One answer is the same way people get past social inhibitions: a little alcohol or other liberating substance. The creator who drinks is a stereotype for a reason. But the creator who’s too drunk to work is also a stereotype for a reason. This “solution” often comes with its own worse problems. I don’t recommend this approach, but I acknowledge that some people use it.

Other methods are mental tricks: faith, prompts, social and family support, regular time and place, regular habits, accountability groups, deadlines, routines like Pomodoro, etc. I do much of my dictation while driving; and I’ve written on my steering wheel, “Is the recorder on?” Long experience has shown that if I sit in my Jeep with my recorder on, story will fall out of my mouth.

All of these methods are, I repeat, mental tricks in that they are ways to focus your brain on the method and the work, setting aside your inhibitions. But even with all these tricks, one inhibition can stop you: sheer cussed disbelief that you can do it.

And the only thing that can knock down THAT inhibition is experience, which eventually leads to belief: “Of course I can do this. I’ve done it before, repeatedly.” Ray Bradbury became a writing machine largely through the repeated effort of being a writing machine.

And I’m starting to experience a little of that. Less “Can I?” and more “What am I waiting for?” It gets easier.

Image: ID 29778098 © Skypixel | Dreamstime.com

Further reading:

Beaty, Roger E., et. al. Creativity and the default network: A functional connectivity analysis of the creative brain at rest. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4410786/

Bradbury, Ray. Zen in the Art of Writing. https://a.co/d/0spPDvr

Cleese, John. Lecture on Productivity. https://genius.com/John-cleese-lecture-on-creativity-annotated

Crowley, Paul. Akrasia, hyperbolic discounting, and picoeconomics. https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/geNZ6ZpfFce5intER/akrasia-hyperbolic-discounting-and-picoeconomics

Ferrer, Angela. Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Explained. https://www.scribd.com/presentation/100077286/Bandura-s-Self-Efficacy-Theory

Manson, Mark. 4 Principles of Productivity. https://markmanson.net/principles-of-productivity

Owen, James A. The Meditations. https://jamesaowen.com/books-and-publications/the-meditations/

Popova, Maria. The Art of Thought: A Pioneering 1926 Model of the Four Stages of Creativity. https://www.themarginalian.org/2013/08/28/the-art-of-thought-graham-wallas-stages/

Pressman, Steven. The War of Art. https://stevenpressfield.com/books/the-war-of-art/