Practically speaking it's not that hard to be productive. You only need two things:

1. A plan for how you're going to do what you want to do.
2. To take step after step to implement the plan.

It's quite simple... in theory.

I'm meeting my mom for lunch today so I'll use this as an example for how to be more productive.

I'm going to make a plan and then implement it on time. This is what productivity is. My plan for this is so simple I don't even need to write it down but here goes:

1. Change from my pyjamas into real clothes.
2. Pack up my laptop and journals as I want to go to Starbucks after lunch to do some admin stuff.
3. Get bundled up - it's cold out there!
4. Get on my bike and go. I already know the route I want to take.
5. Lock my bike outside the restaurant and go in.
6. Have lunch with my mom!

I know my plan is solid because I've done this before. Once I get going I just keep going until I am done. I'm 100% sure that I won't just stop my bike halfway there and sit on the sidewalk and not finish my plan for getting to the restaurant.

But when it comes to being more productive about our creative dreams we DO tend to get off our bikes and sit on the sidewalk for no apparent reason.

Sometimes we never change out of our pyjamas. Or we go to the wrong restaurant.

We could even get on the wrong bike.

More often: we don't ever make a plan in the first place.

Using the example of me meeting my mom for lunch really illustrates how silly a lot of our productivity issues are. Why do we do this?

Because we think that being productive in service to our creative dreams is infinitely more complicated than me going to meet my mom for lunch.

We're wrong. It's not. I mean it's going to take longer, but the principles are the same:

You decide what you're going to do and then you do it.

Productivity is very straightforward. When it comes to our dreams, what makes it seem so complicated is our conscious and unconscious emotional reactions and patterns.

But it's not complicated.

If you want to be selling your art on Etsy, but instead of making art every night after work you're watching Netflix - well the problem is that you're watching Netflix instead of making art and learning how to use Etsy.

You're not following through.

You probably have reasons why you're watching Netflix instead of making art, but if you look closer these reasons are probably excuses that are masking a fear.

It's our fears that make it seem complicated. It's our self-doubt that leaves us wondering what to do, instead of just diving in.

It's our sad old stories about who we are and what is possible for us that tell us that it's easier to just put our dreams on hold.

So how do we push through all of this and actually be more productive?

There are thousands of productivity experts out there who will tell you that they have a system that will teach you how to be more productive. But here's the thing: you don't need to learn to be more productive.

There isn't any tool or technique that will magically change you into a more productive being.

You already have a natural creative flow which you can tap into to make amazing things happen.

You just need to learn how to manage that stuff that gets in the way of your productivity. (This is the stuff I help with you in Dream Book 😉

You can't be more productive until you've dealt with the stuff that stops you from being more productive.

The fear, self-doubt and sad old stories. This is the stuff that gets in the way. Your shadow.

This is the stuff that tells you you're not productive or you can't be more productive or you're a procrastinator or whatever.

Underneath all of that: you are a powerhouse of creative ideas and magic!

There is *so much magic* and possibility in you it can naturally power your creative productivity. You've just got to open up the flow.