In an interview, Ray Bradbury spoke about writer’s block, noting that it’s a warning that you’re doing the wrong thing:

“What if you have a blockage and you don’t know what to do about it? Well, it’s obvious you’re doing the wrong thing, aren’t you? . . . You’re being warned, aren’t you? Your subconscious is saying I don’t like you anymore. You’re writing about things I don’t give a damn for. . . If you have writers’ block you can cure it this evening by stopping what you’re doing and writing something else. You picked the wrong subject.”

So, trust your gut.

Could the same be said whenever we find ourselves procrastinating?

I think it could. But things aren’t that simple.

If you’re doing work for a client, the work has to be done. You can’t change the work just because your gut’s telling you something’s not right.

But that doesn’t mean we should ignore our gut. It might be trying to do you a favor.

When you feel resistance to doing something, take a moment to ask yourself some questions:

1. Does this have to be done? Maybe there’s another way to accomplish the same result. It couldn’t hurt to take a moment to consider this.
2. If the work has to be done, does it have to be done now? Maybe a delay would help you sort out some things that your gut says are a problem.
3. Am I the one who has to do it? If someone else could do it, that might be a simple solution to what ails ya.
4. Is there another way to get it done? If the work has to be done, now, by you, maybe you can do it in some other way? How might you do it differently?

Let’s noodle for a moment about that last one.

Suppose you are hired to write an appellate brief but your gut is telling you there’s a problem. You’re blocked, but you know it has to be done and you’re the one to do it.

Instead of writing the brief the way you usually do it–research, outline, first draft, etc.–how about trying a different process? Maybe start with a quick stream-of-consciousness draft of what’s on your mind about the case or the people, before you do any research. Maybe by doing that, you’ll realize some things about the case you didn’t think about before. And maybe this will provide you with a breakthrough and help you turn out a brilliant piece of work.

All hail your gut. It knows things you don’t know.