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Notes from Sarah Campbell | December 3, 2021
Non-toxic tactics for finishing a project you care about

Procrastinate and love your process

For artist Lauren Aczon, what she thought was avoidance was actually sustaining her through pandemic rough patches

Aren’t we the meanest to ourselves when we’re procrastinating? Things we’d never to say to a friend, we freely dump on ourselves.

Lauren Aczon was feeling bad about her own procrastination until she looked more closely at the small things she was doing while avoiding the "Massive" projects. She realized that her short-burst projects—ones she thought were just delays—were actually sustaining her.

Aczon is an Oakland-based illustrator and handcut mapmaker. We “met” over Instagram, where I was drawn to her sketchbook shares. When I asked her if she had any thoughts on finishing—or not finishing—she wrote back with this stunning reply.

I was so taken with her rehabilitation of procrastination that I wanted to share what she wrote in this week's newsletter.

Maybe they’ll change how you view the tiny things you’re doing while you think you’re just procrastinating.

Artist Lauren Aczon (Find her at: @makegoodyourart and @neptunemaps)

"I struggle with stamina, falling prey to Boredom and Doubt when projects stretch out for weeks or months. I have come to rely on short burst projects, easy to start and finish, to build up my sense of competency and sustain me for the longer haul.

Some of my most beloved bits of creative work were finished while trying to avoid working on something bigger, riskier, more challenging. Like these little five point blobs with hearts, which I now draw all the time! I find them so cute."

"Short-burst" work by Aczon

"I have wasted a lot of energy tearing myself down for procrastinating..."

– Lauren Aczon

"What I used to think was procrastination, I now see as a supportive part of my work process— little drawings on the side of the page get the niggling thoughts out of my mind, and let my hand keep moving, as I meditate on the big project.

Something happens as I pace the corridor in my mind that connects the Tiny (currently, a magazine collage) and the Overwhelmingly Massive (my website and career). It’s like I need that time in the corridor to clear my mind without losing the creative flow completely as I would if I, say, went shopping or played with my son."

"My tiny projects - like these marginalia drawings and collages - are my checked boxes, my happy place, some goals met."

– Lauren Aczon

"I have wasted a lot of energy tearing myself down for procrastinating (plus a hundred other things), which over time has contributed to an appallingly low level of self-esteem. This got especially bad during pandemic when suddenly I had a lot of “free” time - time when I wasn’t earning money - and much of that alone, without anyone else to reflect back my strengths, contributions, or talent.

The journey to build it back up has been surprisingly painful. Like building up muscles I haven’t used for a long time, which, as you might know, hurts. My tiny projects - like these marginalia drawings and collages - are my checked boxes, my happy place, some goals met. Things I HAVE completed, my reply to the inner voices that want to dwell on what I HAVEN’T done."

Aczon designs custom cut paper maps through her business, Neptune Maps

Thanks for reading!
Free-associations, feedback, advice for finishing, or links to interesting reads are appreciated.

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