Initiate Launch Sequence

Do you have an unfinished creative project? A half-developed idea that you have lying around? An outline, sketch, riff, verse, program, design, note, problem, chapter, or melody? Is your brilliance gathering dust? One sure-fire way to get it off the ground is to assign to it a deadline. Broadcast this deadline to other people and then there's no turning back.

A deadline, when taken seriously and used appropriately, can bring tremendous stimulation to the creative process and yield thrusts of prolific output.

I've seen this principle in action many times at work; a huge developmental milestone in the team will occur when faced with a customer related deadline. It is during these times when entire systems get pulled together, problems get solved, decisions are made, synergies happen, teamwork blossoms, designs are finished, processes are streamlined, and ultimately projects get launched.

Your work needs to be launched. Start the countdown. Define a clear moment in time where all preparation ceases and the project is published, sent, shipped, mailed, handed off, shown, shared, recorded, posted, played, performed, displayed, or launched.

I'll call my own bluff. Today is 9/4/2011. In exactly one week I'll post a rather ambitious creative project here that I've neglected for quite some time. Now that I've said that, it's time to blow off the dust and get to work.