Saddle Up to Unstoppable Flow

By Christine Carron

There are two important truths about productivity that are key to creating unstoppable flow. First, productivity has more than one speed. Two, we each get to decide what is the right pace for us at any given moment.

In many productivity circles, however, what I just put forth to you would likely cause a minor ruckus. In those circles (which let’s face it, drive a lot of current cultural expectations about productivity), there is one speed: fast. Though, perhaps I should have written that as FAST!!!!!!, because often what counts as “real” productivity is a pace that is blazingly, unsustainably, inhumanely FAST!!!!!!

The Problem with FAST!!!!!!

This leads to a no-win situation. We hold ourselves to productivity measures that, if upheld, will lead to burnout. Often these same expectations cause blocks as well, because we skip the thinking, planning, and mindset management that help us design and deliver the humble, small steps that actually move us forward. Instead our brains come up with plans that feel sexier and bolder and FASTER!!!!!!  Plans that expect us to leap over great chasms of progress at once, because that is what FAST!!!!!! demands. 

The problem is that most people balk at leaping over great chasms, literally and metaphorically. (Which is fairly smart when you think about it. Tom Cruise has a slew of safety and support in place when he jumps over—or off—chasms.)

Unfortunately, when our brains are enthralled by the FAST!!!!!! perspective, anything less than a Mission Impossible plan feels like failure. That means that steady, sustainable, and easily reproducible progress (in other words: unstoppable forward momentum) is dissed both by our inner pushers and our inner critics. Heck, sometimes solid forward momentum is dissed by “supportive” outer critics as well, who tell us that we really need to kick it up a notch if we want to “make it.” 

The Possibility Power of A Vivid Counter Narrative

Due to the seductive force of the idea that productivity has only that one blistering speed, I’m always on the lookout for counter narratives—i.e., individuals who buck the FAST!!!!!! norm by carving out a creative pace that works for them. Whether that's a slower pace or a pace that varies, it's always a delight to find stories about folks who resolutely demonstrate that there are more paths to productivity than just FAST!!!!!! 

(These folks also tend have creative adventures that are filled with more flow, less blocks, and more delight. Hmmmmm…. ) 

The New York Times served up one of these beautiful productivity counter narratives in a feature article about Nancy Martiny, a saddle maker in Idaho. Martiny has been making saddles for three decades. The wait time for one of her saddles is six years, even though she stopped taking orders in 2022. One person waited almost twenty years for one of her saddles. 

Martiny produces no more than twenty-six saddles a year. Compared to many other saddle makers, “some of whom churn out a saddle a week, she said, her hands are holding up well. And she will keep making saddles as long as that stays true.”

In Charge of Your Productivity Pace

Martiny is a lovely example of someone who has chosen—with purpose and intention—a creative life with a slower productivity pace. Her story is an embodiment of the two truths I shared at the beginning of this post: 

• Productivity has more than one speed. 
• We each get to decide what is the right pace for us at any given moment. 

My invitation to you this week: Be like Martiny. Saddle up to a creative pace that works for you. If you want to go fast, learn how to go sustainably fast, which absolutely is different than FAST!!!!!! fast. If, however, for whatever reason—necessity or desire—you want a slower creative life, or one with varying speeds, rest assured those are legitimate, valid, and fabulously awesome productivity paths. Yeehaw! 

Happy day. Happy creating. Happy jamming. You’ve got this!