I like to fixate on weird details. It’s not a conscious effort on my part initially, but once I get something in my head it won’t go away.

The problem is when I have “bigger” problems to solve, yet I can’t tear myself away from the minutia.  You know the dogs and squirrels from Up? That’s me when it comes to pretty, shiny websites.

So while I spend an enormous amount of time and energy working behind the scenes to get the makeover for my website and my ideas behind it up and running, most people I know are telling me to focus on creating valuable products and content as soon as possible and worry about the details (graphic design, taglines, photographs, etc) later.

I’m sure they’re right.

But for me, it feels like showing up to the first day of school wearing a potato sack.

And it’s not like I’m a person who tends to prepare for things, because I’m actually quite the opposite.

But when I look around the interweb (uh oh… comparisons ahead!) I’m like Veruca Salt from “Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”: I want it now!

I want a bumper sticker catch phrase, gorgeous typography, inspiring videos, National Geogrpahic-esq photos, and a Newsletter sign-up that will actually make people want to sign up.

And then, out of frustration, I make myself another cup of tea, or clean out the sock drawer, or look for inspiring quotes on Pinterest, or other such nonsense.

But here’s where my the majority of my energy should be spent:

Writing quality content

Offering a valuable service

And here’s where the deep thoughts portion of this post comes in:

Like me with my website, most people spend their time focused on things that don’t actually matter. They fixate on the shiny things that other people have that they don’t. They spend inordinate amounts of time comparing themselves to others, and instead of doing the work that has to get done to improve, they procrastinate their lives and numb their desires with distractions.

So even though everyone can be of valuable service to the world, most people get stuck in the details along the way.

So here’s what I propose:

Let’s ignore that which doesn’t serve us. Edit the extraneous. Focus on the plot.

There will be time to revise later.

It’s time to put the pen to the page.

And share our message with the world.

{Speaking of sharing our message… Guess what? I’ve added some awesome testimonials to my Mastering the Art Public Speaking page! If you are thinking of adding video content to your website or leading workshops, and want to polish your presentation, feel free to take a gander.}

Your turn! How do you distract yourself from getting the work done and how do you stop the distractions?

You. Are. Out.

Thank you Heidi Klum. Anyone else enjoy talent-driven reality show competitions? Ace of Cakes? Project Runway? Top Chef?

Yeah me too.

A huge part of my fascination with these shows is the time constraints the participants are forced to work under. Build a house out of banana peels in four hours? Create an artificial limb out of chia seeds overnight? Anything is possible.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to take part in Season 2 of Work of Art.  I can’t give away any details, but let’s just say the artists were forced to create new works under extremely limited time and budget restraints. Were all of the works of art… art? Not really. But the challenges forced the contestants to work outside their comfort zones and push the limits of what they considered possible. In chatting with the artists behind some of my favorite pieces, a common theme kept appearing: “I’ve never tried X before but now I’m really enjoying where that’s leading me.”

In the real world (totally different from MTV’s The Real World) we tend to procrastinate creating anything new. We check out blogs, create boards on Pinterest, watch tv, go on coffee dates with friends, ANYTHING to keep us from actually CREATING.

This week I’m going to take a lesson from my Work of Art friends and give myself some super tight time constraints to complete the tasks I’ve been finding most daunting but ultimately most fulfilling. Who’s with me?

Are you in or are you out?