I’m sure you have many plans for your creative projects this year, and maybe you’re reaching every goal successfully so far. If so, congratulations! I’m very proud of you.
If you’re not reaching them successfully yet, don’t beat yourself up. Your goal list is not set in stone and can be altered at any time, which I think is something we forget when we’re so passionate about what we want to accomplish. When our goals don’t go exactly to plan the first time, we let our defeat take over. This is especially true if we’re in a position where we’re used to them not going right—when we’ve spent years spinning our tires, balance feels like an impossibility, and we give up way too easily.
Instead of falling back into bad habits and routines that are counterproductive, here are a few tips to keep you on track:
1. Spend one week observing your life as it stands now.
If you’re feeling especially lost with how to amp up your creative projects, I’ve found the best way to improve my strategy is by spending one week observing how I spend my time. You’d be amazed at how much you learn about yourself and your habits! With your observations in front of you, you can then create a more manageable goal list, because you’ll know exactly where to cut the fat to create more time.
2. Compliment your must-dos with your want-to-dos.
We all have tasks and chores we have to do that make us want to vomit. We dread them, so we put them off, and the more we put them off, the more weighed down we feel (especially once they pile up and overwhelm us). To keep you going, use your creative projects as your reward system. For example, “When I finish the dishes, I’ll spend an hour on my manuscript/screenplay/painting/product.” I find that because I want to work on my creative projects so badly I borderline on desperate, it pushes me through the crap I could care less about, and the reward system automatically integrates more time for my creative projects into my schedule.
3. Boost your creativity by not being creative. At all.
Just before the new year, I spent the last few days of 2011 doing absolutely nothing. Nada. Zilch. It was a very surreal experience, after years of push, push, push, go, go, go. But when it came time to bite down and move forward on my creative projects again, I felt as if I had a clean slate to start from. Taking time away makes it so that when you return to your responsibilities and creative projects, you start over with a fresh perspective, and you naturally find ways to better balance out your time.
As you can see, none of these tips have anything to do with your creativity itself, but the things in your life that surround and sometimes hinder your creativity. We all want a better balance, but life’s a mess, and it’s important to accept that and keep pushing forward in whatever way works best for you. Find a way for your personal and professional obligations to compliment your creativity, and you’ll be ahead of the game in no time!
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I love you first paragraph, it was rather funny. (….. maybe you’re reaching every goal successfully so far……) There is nothing like having a since of humor. I have come to the realization that I will never reach every goal at any given moment and if I did I would probably fall off the face of the earth. Having goals is like wielding a double edge sword. It’s a wonderful feeling to achieve, but for every finished goal a new one must take its place. For every goal not finished, is just another step closer to being finished, but tell our psyche that.
I don’t care how you respond to my next comment Krissy (actually I do or else I would not have taken the time to tell you), you are on-top-of-it, and for me, on-top-of-it doesn’t look like perfection, but it looks like the many topics you discuss with your people. I totally agree with your advice. I hope people understand that the idea behind the exact method is more important than the method itself. I seriously enjoy your tips. They are enlightening and revealing.
Thanks so much Brian! I totally agree with you. Actually, there’s a great point in Jonathan Fields’ book Uncertainty about that very thing: we work towards “getting there,” but there is no there there, LOL. Because as you said, once we’re done a goal, a new one takes its place. So we really never get to where we want to be, because we’re always striving for more. The only time I get pissed off with myself is when I don’t reach a goal I hands down could have reached–if I didn’t reach it because I was screwing around, watching reruns or reality TV, then I kick myself in the ass. But if I was trying really hard and didn’t reach it, I’m okay with that, because I did my best. It’s taken me a long time to get to a point where I can spend time on the things I enjoy the most, and I’m soaking up every minute of it.
Thanks for your great comments! Love that you always pop by to say hello.
I think being pissed at yourself and watching reruns helped you to get to where you are now. Everything that you’ve experience has helped you reach this point. You have built relationships, near and far (intimate and shallow). You have defied society’s desires for your career choices. Last but not least, you decided to say, hey people follow me. Oh shit, I slipped and fell on rock, crap another set-back. Then you take that “oh shit” experience; share it with your followers in way that is comforting and beneficial to yourself and others. That is why I love to read the Brady Lady’s tips and advice, DAMMIT. Sorry, I got a little over zealous.
You are welcome.
I like to pop by to say thank you, because your site so helpful. I don’t always comment, but I do read a lot of what you post.
That means to much to us Brian, and please do keep us posted on how your own progress is going! We’re in your corner.