STOP DRIVING YOURSELF F*CKING CRAZY!!!!

Procrastinating on a creative project is not a creative problem, it’s a mindset problem.

Skadoooshhhh….did I just light the biohacker bro brain hack candle? Maybe…but it’s true. I urge you to explore the interworkings of your mind…

I first had the idea for my one-woman show, VISIONARY, in 2020. Yeah, at this point, that was a long time ago. I dillied, and BOY, did I DALLY…to finish this show. For 5 annoying years, I was the person going around saying "yeah I’m working on my show.” I was working on it, but I wasn’t like… writing every day.*

*EDITOR’S NOTE: This actually ended up being fine because the time that I gave the project to breathe ended up making the show better. I had more little epiphanies after distancing myself from it than when I was in the weeds. So, separately a word needs to be said on the pressure to have a very fast creative output, because I think it can be detrimental, but anyway—

However there comes a time where you need a deadline. You need an impetus that says, NOW IS THE TIME. This can be self-imposed, or you can try getting laid off from your full-time job like I did. It may take some finessing, but if you can get laid off, it will 10/10 kick your ass into gear to finish a creative project (particularly one tied to your greater career aspirations.) Please this is all I have!!!

For me, my one woman show was the thing that had to get done—because it was the linchpin for anything else in my comedy career manifesting. (At least that’s what I told myself at the time, and based on the results so far afterwards, I think I was kind of correct about that).

I’m still not some perfect god who instantly fleshes out every creative idea I have, but here’s what actually helped me get my show done after whining about it for four years:

SIGN UP FOR A CLASS OR WORKSHOP RELATED TO WHAT YOU ARE DOING

This will get you in the motion of doing, and you will have instant accountability via peer pressure because congrats, you have just signed up for a group activity. Trust falllllllll!

In my case, I signed up for a character comedy class where the focus was workshopping new character ideas. Ironically, none of the characters that I workshopped in that class ended up in my final show, but it made me feel like I was someone who was working on my show. Hey look! I’m working on my show!

So if there is a workshop or class that you think will help you get some momentum, momentum is the name of the game, especially if you’re stuck.

My last personal note here is that the instructor of the class I took was someone I admire professionally (and he’s just really fucking funny), and I told him I was working on a one woman show. I think he said “oh, that’s great.” That was all I needed, tbh. Which brings me to my next point:

TELL SOMEONE YOU ADMIRE ABOUT YOUR PROJECT, EVEN IF YOU LITERALLY HAVEN’T STARTED IT FULLY

It’s true that once you start telling people about something you are doing, you feel pressure to actually finish it. You’re like “oh no! what if they ask about it!” They will, bitch! So work on it!

Even if you work on an early ugly version of it, it will feel so much better than not working on it. The important people I told about my show haven’t even seen my show, but again, I got it done—and that is what we are talking about here today.

One thing I will caution though, is DO NOT TELL ANYONE WHO IS GONNA YUCK YOUR YUM. If you have a parent, not super supportive friend, or coworker, etc, who is gonna react like “umm… cool… what’s the point of that?” — do not tell them. They don’t deserve it. And their reaction is literally irrelevant to your life. Shut up, Mark!

FIND A MENTOR OR ADVISOR WHO YOU TRUST

Working on my one-woman show was very isolating at times. I should have anticipated that, as it is heavily implied by the term itself. No one told me, ok?

I reached a point with my script where I felt like “I left it all on the dance floor” but I didn’t know what to do next. That is when you bring in a trusted ally who can coach you through it.

For me, I worked with one of my former teachers at The Groundlings who I always really clicked with and felt like I *** understood and grew from her feedback ***. Do not pick someone who gives you notes that make you feel like shit. That will probably make you hate yourself and stop.

A good mentor should identify the positives in your work and ask questions that make them stronger.

If you’re lucky, they will also be like Phyllis and explain to me in a really technical way why I can’t say "account executives were fucking in the conference room” during the 1970s, because the format of my show is satire of a heady documentary and they wouldn’t say fucking. I landed on “heavy petting,” which also felt right for the 70s.

Anyway, get someone who gives you feedback that makes you say “damn it I know that makes sense, and I’m grumpy because now I have to fix it, but I know it will be better when I fix it.”

Your creative work is special. If you’re going to pick a doula help you birth it into the world, you need to make sure they’re not gonna drop your baby. Then your baby is gonna be all fucked up and everyone’s gonna be like yo why is your baby so fucked up, and you’re gonna say because I’m a terrible mother but really it’s because your doula dropped it.

***This extended metaphor is not meant to slander doulas. If you’re doula, you’re amazing ok bye. Also I had multiple dreams I was pregnant while working on this show, and in my dream I screamed “GET IT OUT!!!!!!!” So that’s something.

FINISH A WHOLE VERSION OF YOUR PROJECT. YES, WITH AN END. EVEN IF IT SUCKS.

If you’re writing a book or a show or a film, finish the whole script (as a draft). If you’re working on something else, I trust you are intelligent enough to determine what this means for your craft.

The reason for this is because when you try to edit an unfinished thing, you 1) don’t give yourself anything to fix because you only want to document what you think is good, 2) what you think is good might actually be bad, and 3) the thing you think sucks might actually help you solve a problem you didn’t realize you had and make your project even better. Are we tracking?

I could probably get into this from more of a writing craft perspective, but ultimately the point here is to give yourself something to work with. Once you have something to work with, it will be easier for you to get tactical and figure out what boxes you need to check to finish the dang thing.

You can make a to-do list based on a shitty draft. You cannot make a to-do list based on an ok draft where you don’t have a strong opinion about anything.

BOOK A DATE—MAKE IT PUBLIC!!!

If you’re really dragging your feet on a creative project, you need to risk public humiliation. It’s the only way to actually get anything done.

Once I emailed and got approval from my venue (shoutout to Jake at The Lyric Hyperion), I was like oh shit…that would be so lame if I backed out. My script was not perfect polished finished, but it was in a good enough place where I was like, yup it’s happening.

So whatever that means for you: booking a venue, submitting your work somewhere, telling someone you are giving them something—WHATEVER IT IS. COMMIT TO A DATE. And I mean this is a way where you’d literally have to send an email or make a phone call if you backed out. Scaryyyy!

Logistically speaking, this will also give you a work-back timeline and make it way easier to schedule / accomplish whatever else you need to get done, like marketing, selling tickets, getting materials you need, etc. I think when I booked my venue, it was about 3 months out. That felt right to me.

And lastly:

REMIND YOURSELF WHY YOU’RE CREATING IT

This is going to be deeply personal for everyone. For me, doing my one woman show felt like it would be both the first time I was fully creatively putting myself out there in LA, and it was also going to be my way to approach industry people for opportunities. Like heyyyy look at meeeee. Also, I really love my show premise and think it’s fun and just had to get it out there—because I was tired of it living in my head!

If you’re in a funk, a little journaling session (or call with a trusted friend) may just remind you why you’re creating your lovely piece and more importantly why the world needs to see/read/experience/enjoy it.

What do you do to get yourself to finish creative projects you’ve been dragging out? Let me know if the comments!!

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TITILLATING UPDATE

In an exciting turn of events, this issue technically marks the soft launch of Oh, That’s Good 2.0! Starting today, I am offering a paid tier again, which will include fun pieces like:

• “I Tried It” - A special column where I tell you about a wellness treatment/supplement/activity/self-help hack I tried so you don’t have to (or so you SHOULD—let’s hear it for optimism!!)

  • This will include posts like my most popular piece:

• City guides (including travel guides to various cities) as well as LA-specific guides around where to eat, what to do, and how to enjoy yourself. I have great taste and you can, too.

  • This will include posts like:

• Creative behind-the-scenes and personal updates that detail the nuts & bolts of my process (and panic) as a creative/comedian desperate to succeed (Capricorn)

  • This article would fit into that, but I will likely get a little more personal even. Like sharing how much I actually spent on producing my one-woman show. Article on that forthcoming, so help me god. Juicy.

For this week, all my articles are open, and next week is when the new format will take hold! (But you can pick your subscription starting now—if it’s not working, let me know because I flipped it back on late in the night).

I really appreciate you all taking the time to read Oh, That’s Good. I’m pretty sure it’s the only place on the internet like it.

Don’t forget to leave comments and say hi and let me know what you’re digging. I really do appreciate it, and it really keeps things interesting for both of us. Don’t you want that?

Thanks for being here,

LJ

P.S. Photos are by Ian Zandi from my soft opening night <3