We all have what we consider to be strengths and shortcomings—luckily, misfits have the advantage of transforming their shortcomings into creative strengths.

To be quite honest, I don’t believe in shortcomings—every personality trait we have distinguishes us from the rest of the pack—they’re only shortcomings if that’s how we look at them. More times than not, what we consider shortcomings, others find endearing, so the fact is we should too.

For example, I’m anti-social, to the point where others might consider my lifestyle to be quite dull. This used to make me feel self-conscious, because when I’d bump into friends who were busy in school, or who’d go out on weekends or on vacations, I felt like what I had to catch them up on was less than colorful. I then went on a 5-year escapade of social adventures that ultimately caused me to lose touch with who I really am… but hey, I always had something exciting to talk about! It turned out though, that what I had to say was only exciting to others, and not to me.

The truth is, I enjoy my little bubble, and it’s in this little bubble I’m able to do what I enjoy most: write. I’ve unleashed my inner nerd, and in doing so I’m able to create the life I’ve always wanted, and spend time getting to know other writers and helping them do the same.

Your shortcomings don’t have to be shortcomings—you can use them to your advantage.

Your Misfits Assignment: Compliment Your Shortcomings
Make a list of what you consider to be your shortcomings. Beside each one, consider how they can be used to benefit your creativity.

Are you “too quiet”? Consider how much more perceptive to detail you are than those who blather on endlessly—you can use being quiet as a way to readily absorb what’s around you, and use your attention to detail to better connect with your craft.

You can now take your shortcomings and make them unique qualities that help you to stand out, so when a potential freelance job comes up that you’d be perfect for, you’ll be able to apply with confidence and proof that you’re the misfit for the job.

Krissy Brady

Junior Procrastinator/Internet Ninja

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One of the most difficult aspects of the creative life is trying to balance out your daily schedule between work, personal tasks, and creative tasks. With so many varying projects on the go, at times it becomes impossible to not feel scattered and unproductive.

The biggest challenge I face on a regular basis is the fact that I work at home full-time: I have no set schedule, so unless I make sure to keep my head out of my ass and focus, I could end up spending hours at my computer or around the apartment, while accomplishing very little.

There is also the fact that working on creative projects is a huge risk, on both a financial and professional level. You could end up working for years on a book, a script, or another creative project, and it might not ever get off the ground. Such is the life of a creative, but the risk is what keeps us going; it’s a terrifying path, but it’s the most exciting path out there.

Create Structure with Creativity Pillars
If you’re feeling scattered or insecure about your path, there is finally a way we can use the things we typically don’t enjoy (grocery shopping, doing laundry, and in my case, cooking) to our creative advantage.

The constants in our lives that will always be there, typically related to maintaining the basic necessities of our survival, are the only certainties we have until we become successful. Therefore, we can use these tasks as our creativity pillars. In doing so, they will give our day a much-needed structure, so when it comes time to work on our creative projects and take risks, we will be able to do so with minimal anxiety. When we begin to feel fearful, we will have our pillars, our constants, to fall back on.

Another Benefit of Creativity Pillars
Creativity pillars give our otherwise scattered existence the structure necessary to create a sense of security. When we feel scattered, we feel as if what happens in our life is out of our hands, and we slowly lose confidence in our ability to succeed as a creative. By creating creativity pillars, we take control of what’s important to us, our thoughts become clear, and we are able to spend the time we have to work on our creative projects—whether it be 10 minutes or two hours—being as productive as possible.

How to Create Creativity Pillars
Take every task you must complete on a regular basis—making your morning coffee, checking the mail, even brushing your teeth—and try your best to complete them around the same time each day. When it comes time to work on your creative projects, you will have already established a sense of stability and consistency in your day, giving you the confidence and motivation necessary to soar.

Krissy Brady

Junior Procrastinator/Internet Ninja

Twitter - Facebook

Skeptics: we all have at least one in our lives; that one person who, when you want to take a creative risk, tries to pull you back into the “safe zone”. I had plenty of skeptics to choose from when I decided not to go to university so I could fully focus on my writing career, and I also had plenty when I quit my to-pay-the-bills job in order to work at home full-time a few years after that. I have never gone after anything in my life based on the order society tells us to accomplish things in. At times, this can make for a hazy journey; it can become difficult to know if you’re truly on the right path or not, since you are the first one to step on it, and even hazier when your skeptics try and brainwash you with their insecurities. I would never have it any other way though—the thought of doing things in society’s order gives me the sudden urge to suck back a bottle of Javex, and we wouldn’t want that now, would we? (Would we? *snorts, kidding!)

Use Your Skeptics To Fuel Your Creativity
However, skeptics do have their place in our creative lives: they are the fuel that gets us out of bed each day. Not only do we want to succeed based on our own definition of success, we also look forward to the sweet victory that will come from telling them, “I told you so!” I am not ashamed to admit it, either.

Your Misfits Assignment: Write a Letter to Your Skeptic
Why? There are many reasons: writing is theraputic, it will help you put your thoughts in order (you know, the thoughts that were in order before your skeptic peed all over them), and most importantly, it will help you avoid assault charges for punching your skeptic in the face.

This letter will of course not be sent; it will only be used for your own purposes. Write it in a notebook, on a scrap of paper, on your computer, however you feel most comfortable sharing your thoughts. Because I am a fan of multi-tasking, use this letter as a way to productively procrastinate by not only including the reasons why you disagree with your skeptic, but by including your creative goals and how you plan to accomplish them. This letter will not only be a way to vent your frustrations so you can use your creative energy in a productive manner, it will double as your mission statement for your future goals.

Happy writing!

Krissy Brady

Junior Procrastinator/Internet Ninja

Twitter - Facebook

The only way to reach your full potential is to challenge and push yourself to accomplish what you’ve always wanted to. Since we are known to be in a “starving artist” industry (though I don’t believe this to be true), at times it can be difficult to find inspiration when we need it most.

Whether we’re exhausted from work and other obligations, or the limited time we have to work on our creative projects falls within a timeframe where we’re not at our peak energy level, we can be left feeling defeated and controlled by responsibility.

That’s where we come in: we are going to productively procrastinate by looking out for interesting creative writing prompts, imagery, exercises, challenges, anything and everything that will keep you inspired and on track—we’re even going to throw a few of our own into the mix!

Krissy Brady

Junior Procrastinator/Internet Ninja

Twitter - Facebook