There’s a particular kind of exhaustion that doesn’t come from work. It comes from avoidance. From knowing exactly what you want to do (write, train, paint) and still finding yourself doing everything else instead. A dozen minor tasks rise like urgent messengers, each one pretending to matter more than the thing you actually care about.
I’ve lived this pattern more times than I can count. To me, it doesn't feel like laziness, or tiredness, or a lack of inspiration. It feels like something is watching the door. Like an invisible presence that only appears when the work in front of me is meaningful.
I call it the Threshold Guardian.
The Dark Place
Video games are a unique form of entertainment that combine many art forms (visual art, music, game design, writing, and so on) to tell stories and create immersive experiences. Today, I want to take a look at one particular game to talk about the thing most of us call procrastination, and that game is Alan Wake 2. And do not worry, no spoilers ahead.
In the game, Alan Wake (a writer) is stuck in what he calls "The Dark Place", a place where the world itself bends to prevent forward motion. The Dark Place doesn’t simply block Alan; it confuses him, misdirects him, and traps him. It’s a real place in the game, and it’s a perfect metaphor for procrastination: a Guardian at the edge of the ether. The only way out for Alan in the game is simple enough: he has to write his way out, effectively shaping the world around him with words to guide himself to the light.
That is what the creative life often feels like. Not a straight road, but a threshold guarded by something invisible that can only be overcome with effort.
Steven Pressfield calls it "Resistance", a force that pushes back and tempts the artist into submission. To me, that force is the Guardian. The name doesn't matter, as anyone knows the force is very real. In fact, you can call it whatever you please; The Dark Place, Resistance, Guardian, laziness, procrastination; pick your poison. What matters is this: we can overcome it, and to create art, we must wrestle with the Guardian.
Crossing the Threshold
As part of my series on creativity, my aim is to write about my journey and my approaches. I like to think in the abstract, but I also value practicality. In the last entry, I mentioned a few steps that I take that help me combine effort and inspiration. Similarly, here are a few things that help me with crossing the threshold of procrastination. And remember: try things out, see what sticks, and stick to that:
- Schedule/Block time for writing
- Lower expectations, but have a standard
- Pomodoro method (write for 25 min, rest for 5)
- Ritualize the craft (same time, same day, same room, no distractions)
- Set a word count and reach it (e.g., 1000 words per session)
Reflection
The barrier of entry is only as high as you make it. In the end, you are the creator. The Guardian is there for a reason. If what's on the other side of the threshold wasn't valuable, there would be nothing in the way to guard it. Guardians are a signpost for meaning, and the only way past it is through.
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