Unlikeliest places

I’ve been to theatre-making workshops with performance artists I greatly admire and respect. I’ve joined productivity and creativity seminars with writers whose work I’ve followed for over a decade. I did a whole degree on producing, performing in and studying theatre. And I’ve still felt blocked.

But a haircut yesterday had me in the middle of a chat with my barber about projects we’re procrastinating on. I gave him some advice: if sharing it with the whole world feels daunting, pick a small group of people whose opinion you would value and ask them for feedback.

He found the suggestion really helpful and seemed eager to take a step forward now that the next step was less daunting.

I talked about an idea I have been stuck on for a theatre piece, and with that we formed a pact. When I came in for my next haircut, he would have shared his rough examples of the concept with some valued advisors. In turn, I would have made some progress on my show.

I still need to define quite what that progress is. But nevertheless, this simple deal and the exchange of accountability has motivated me in a simple and low-pressure way. Low stakes, but the first step.