Need a Time Out? Build a Creation Cave

By Tom Haugomat

Productivity hacks aside, sometimes what you need in order to tackle something huge and long-term (like writing a book, launching a website, or shipping a product) is to give yourself a time out from the world.

Next time you feel the need to put a pin in everything going on around you, consider taking a page out of Clay Hebert’s book and building a “creation cave.” Cut yourself off from commitments and noise unrelated to your project. Say no to meetings, speaking opportunities, distracting social engagements. Carve out the quiet, restorative space and time that will fuel your focus.

The beauty of the creation cave is that it provides a force field that rebuffs any sources of procrastination, even those hiding under the guise of productivity. That is to say, sometimes when you’ve been putting off executing on an important (read: overwhelming) project, you find excuses in other work that’s helpful to the world and even productive, were it not for its theft of your time from your original goal. Hebert talks about how “productive” procrastination is even worse than the kind of procrastination spent watching TV on the couch:

If I was downing Jameson shots and dumping my sorrows on the bartender, the avoidance would be impossible to ignore. But I’m not. I’m helping people. I’m speaking at conferences. I’m teaching crowdfunding workshops. But the reality is, I’m hiding. In his seminal book, “The War of Art,” Steven Pressfield calls this The Resistance. I’m succumbing to The Resistance. My own brain is messing with me. Because I’m spending time helping people, taking one-off phone calls, consults and coffee meetings, one part of my brain tells another part of my brain that I AM being productive. Hey, at least I’m not drinking at the bar, right?! But it’s still hiding. It’s actually a worse form of hiding, because I can lie to myself and convince myself I’m still being productive.

When I help one person, I only help one person. When I produce content that anyone can read online, I can help thousands of people. Very clearly, the best way for me to help the most people is to stop my “productive hiding” and finish my crowdfunding course.

Amid a fire hose of distraction from myriad sources, sometimes a total hiatus is what’s necessary to nurture creative action. Pay attention to the types of activities eating up the time and effort you could be spending on a major project you’ve had on the docket; the more constructive they are, the more harmful they could be to your cache of energy towards that principal endeavor. Build your own creation cave; say no to anything that takes time and energy away from your original goal.

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