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Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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Speaker 1: Today's tip is to switch to play mode whenever you're

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Speaker 1: feeling stuck. This tip comes from a blog post by

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Speaker 1: Jake Knapp, who is the co author John Zeratski of

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Speaker 1: the book Make Time Nap. Describes a time when he

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Speaker 1: was spinning his wheels while working on an illustration. Since

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Speaker 1: he wasn't really getting anything done, he decided to just

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Speaker 1: goof off for an hour. He would switch into play mode.

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Speaker 1: He told himself that nothing he did for the next

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Speaker 1: hour would matter, and he wouldn't try to make it matter.

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Speaker 1: He writes that I set a timer. I made about

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Speaker 1: fifteen rough sketches. Then the hour was up and I

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Speaker 1: hadn't gotten it right, but I'd broken the ice and

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Speaker 1: I was in the zone, so I kept working. Thirty

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Speaker 1: minutes later, I got an illustration I'm happy with, and

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Speaker 1: the whole thing was fun rather than stressful. Play mood worked.

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Speaker 1: Now I'm not surprised. When the stakes seem high, we're

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Speaker 1: unwilling to try things, and that can make us feel paralyzed.

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Speaker 1: But when something's just for fun, we take little risks.

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Speaker 1: We experiment. When something doesn't work, we think oh well,

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Speaker 1: rather than oh no. But every experiment gives us information

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Speaker 1: that can be useful in the long run, and that

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Speaker 1: can ultimately lead to better work. This is the advice

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Speaker 1: coaches often give to other creative sorts who feel blocked.

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Speaker 1: Julia Cameron's book The Artist's Way prescribes writing morning pages,

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Speaker 1: a few pages of anything you feel like writing, with

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Speaker 1: no judgments. And there won't be much brilliance in those pages,

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Speaker 1: but there might be a nugget of something interesting you

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Speaker 1: can explore later, and progress is motivational. Of course, plenty

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Speaker 1: of people put off work by going into pseudo play

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Speaker 1: mode in non productive ways. Checking your email is not

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Speaker 1: going to inspire the creative freedom that can get you

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Speaker 1: out of being stuck. And unless you have very carefully

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Speaker 1: curated your Instagram or Twitter feed to include only gorgeous

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Speaker 1: images or inspirational quotes, you're probably not going to tap

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Speaker 1: into that relaxed spirit that nudges you forward by looking

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Speaker 1: at social media. Either play mode means goofing off while

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Speaker 1: still doing something resembling the stuff of your work. You're

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Speaker 1: creating something, it's just something you're totally willing to discard

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Speaker 1: if it doesn't work out. But if you consciously lower

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Speaker 1: the stakes this way, you just might find yourself able

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Speaker 1: to do what you hadn't before. So today, if you're

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Speaker 1: feeling stuck, stop and set a timer. Work on something

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Speaker 1: you find inherently interesting or fun. Don't criticize, just do.

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Speaker 1: I'm guessing when the buzzer goes off that you'll feel better.

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Speaker 1: In the meantime, This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.

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Speaker 1: That's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast

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Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. H