You’re all set to write your course content, sales page or about page on your website. You sit down at the computer or open your notebook.

You stare at the screen or the blank page. It stares right back at you. It appears to mock you. Perhaps the pure white space you see has a voice. It might say, “There’re a bunch of cupcakes sitting on the kitchen counter, why don’t you take a break and have one.”

Or maybe you hear,“Did I take out the garbage?” or the ever present, “I’ll just check Facebook for 5 minutes…” That last one’s a doozy isn’t it? I can’t count the number of times I’ve fallen down the Facebook Rabbit Hole only to come back up for air 1 hour, 2 hours and — my personal record — 4 hours later.

It doesn’t matter what you hear or what you’re suddenly compelled to do when you sit down to write, you WILL want to procrastinate. If you do not have a writing habit as firmly in place as your daily habit of brushing your teeth in the mornings, you WILL make excuses NOT to write.

You will find that there are times when you don’t even know you’re putting off writing. It just feels like you’re suddenly gripped by the helpful urge to clean the house or water the plants or rollerblade.

Procrastination has many faces and it can certainly keep you writing what you set out to write but what if the less-than-inspired feeling you’re experiencing isn’t just you delaying what needs to be done? What if it isn’t plain old postponement or needless delay on your part? What if what you’re experiencing is the natural ebb and flow of the creative process?

You see creativity is like a butterfly. Make sudden moves and she’ll take flight. The key is to nurture your creativity with love and patience and that means knowing when to push forward with your writing and when to take a break.

This natural flow of creativity is a process that allows your brain (not to mention your spirit) to be replenished. It allows those “creative juices” to flow with ease. Ideas and inspiration will arise; allowing you to transform them into words on a page.

Push too hard and this natural flow slows to a trickle and eventually stops. When this happens, writing your course, eBook, sales page and all the rest, will feel like having your teeth pulled – minus the anesthetic!

But how can you tell the difference between natural creative ebb that will refresh you for quicker, sharper and certainly a far more pleasurable writing experience and procrastination that can cause you to stumble and fall?

Well, there’s just one difference: procrastination arises from a feeling of doubt and fear.

A creative ebb arises from a calm space within – a feeling of openness and inner evaluation. When you’re procrastinating, you feel jittery. Uncomfortable. Fried.

When you’re riding a creative ebb, curiosity and anticipation surface.

So the next time you’re being hard on yourself for “putting off” your writing, ask yourself if it’s plain old procrastination or a creative ebb.

If it’s procrastination, write something, anything. Writing is the ONLY cure for chronic procrastination.

If it’s a creative ebb, make room for it to run its course. Take an hour, a day or a weekend and do something completely different. Paint. Go for a long drive. Have Sunday brunch with the best friend. When you come back to that blank screen or page…

The words will flow or at the very least they’ll appear without very little encouragement on your part.