Procrastination is my worst enemy.
I find myself procrastinating way too often for almost every task I need to do, whether it be something around the house or with my art. I become almost afraid of the tasks looming over my head, so instead of chipping away at them, I just…do nothing.
I do a lot of things actually, just nothing important things related to the tasks at hand. I get incredibly distracted quite easily, so it’s not hard for me to start procrastinating. I find myself watching a lot of YouTube videos on various unrelated topics like makeup videos, bird call videos, meme compilation videos, etc. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abltbGT63O8) None of which have any relation to my artistic practice, but are guilty pleasures and surefire time-wasters. In between videos, I scroll on social media on my phone until I can’t scroll anymore. Basically, technology is my downfall! Recently, the cutest distraction ever has been the 5 kittens that were born in my art studio. Since their birth, I’ve definitely wasted hours upon hours just looking at them, cuddling them, and taking pictures of them. They’re just too cute to tear myself away!!
It can be very hard to eliminate technology, especially if I’m using it to look at reference photos for a drawing or sculpture, or just wanting to not miss a text. And with the kittens, well I can’t escape them. Literally, they live in my studio, and get into everything and I’m always at my studio, because the work I make requires a studio! To be quite frank, I’m not the best at holding myself accountable, and I don’t have very strong willpower. Sometimes I tell other people to not let me get on my phone or not let me cuddle with the studio kittens. It’s so hard to do, but it’s necessary, especially when I’m preparing for my BFA exhibition, which is supposed to be the highlight of my college career!
When I find myself procrastinating, sometimes it’s from running into a creative block. I can’t figure out how I want to create a piece, or can’t think of an idea. To get myself out of the rut, taking a walk outside usually helps. I find brisk walks outside to be refreshing and reenergizing, especially since the art I make is inside and usually while sitting. It’s also a break from screen time and my eyes can readjust which is great.
The biggest distraction at the studio, AKA Biscuit.