Goal Setting

With significantly more time on my hands than I would like, I have to focus.  I start graduate school in a month, which is exciting and alarming.  I have so much to accomplish before then and get myself ready to dive in completely.

It has been proven that a majority of people do not set goals and those who do seldom review them.  The people who do regularly set goals and review them tend to be the most successful.  I think Teux Deux helps me keep track of my goals most.  I have huge goals and dreams and most of the time I don't have to means to accomplish them easily. 

What I have to do is make sure that I am always moving in the right direction.  This reminds me of Neil Gaiman's commencement talk where he talks about the mountain.

"Something that worked for me was imagining that where I wanted to be (...) was a mountain. A distant mountain. My goal.

And I knew that as long as I kept walking towards the mountain I would be all right. And when I truly was not sure what to do, I could stop, and think about whether it was taking me towards or away from the mountain." -Neil Gaiman

As I go into the next stage of my life of adulthood and graduate school with all the joys and terrors it brings I cannot waste time.  Life and opportunities are precious.  I will set goals and review them as often as I can so that I may do it all!

No one is awesome at everything.

Some natural behaviors don't help you succeed at work. Vague, but true. Sometimes coaching to change those behaviors can make you defensive.

No one is awesome at everything. Admit you suck at doing it a certain way. Try and be aware of it so you don't slip back into that behavior and work at it every chance you get! Improving those skills will help you succeed. You want to and if people are coaching you, they want you to as well.

Find A Space, Thank you John Cleese

Of all of John Cleese's factors to help creativity blossom, space always stuck with me.  They are all brilliant, but I desperately need help with this one. 

“You can’t become playful, and therefore creative, if you’re under your usual pressures.”

This talk is worth watching for anybody, especially creatives.   Play!  Make mistakes!  And give yourself enough time to find multiple solutions.  The first is rarely correct, and that doesn't make you a poor designer or intellectual.  

But back to the point.  Find a place.  When you are alone with your thoughts, you are honestly left with your own ideas.  That is rather daunting, but your creativity deserves your full attention.  It is miraculous what you can accomplish in the "open mode."

Plans... More or Less

I'm bad at doing things in just the right amount.  I can either do everything or nothing.  However, I love plans and lists!  Once again I either have pages of lists or won't touch a list for days.  There are times when I love to leave my day completely open and just wing it.  Those days can be just as productive as my list days. 

So here is my plan, have an adventure and go about my day unplanned.  The requirement being have an adventure.  The other option being make a list and do damn near everything on it. 

If I don't I'll waste my days watching movies and feeling guilty for not working.  Anyone who knows me (aka my 2 followers) knows that is how I spend most of my days. 

A Little Late, But Very Inspired

Hokay, so.

These past few days I've spent creating and crafting.  It's been miraculous.  I've been experiencing a plethora of inspiring events nonstop for a few days.  So I apologize for the delay in posting. Time to catch up.

So, firstly, this was advice from a dear friend about my dancing.  It applies to basically everything though.  Also, it has been noted by numerous sources I'm happier when I do things I love.  I'm also happier when I create something or anything.  This brings me to the second. 

I've created 10-15 pieces of art since Thursday.  Some are crap, some are okay.  I don't care.  It felt remarkable to create something.  Between the 700+ photos I took this week, 4 hours of video to edit, a project mostly finished, a new portfolio and all the art, I feel practically tingly with inspiration.  It's bad for my bank account in terms of paper and canvases and my vanishing amount of wall space.  However, once again I don't care.

Lastly, a design thought.  I think the one size fits all mindset is excessively dated.  I got this idea from reading about education reform.  I've heard related concepts about place based solutions.  Very few if any solutions are universal.  So stop it.  Besides, one size fits all didn't even work in clothing,why would it work elsewhere? 

Post Script:  It's good I didn't delay any longer otherwise I would have run out or arm room.

Productivity

 
Okay, the lesson from this one is simple.  Get up earlier.  The problem is cuddling with an amazing man and sleeping in till noon.  Perhaps there is a balance yet to be attained.  Still, today I took almost 200 photos, completed a new portfolio, restructured another website for a group I am a part of and washed my car by hand.  I'm also very tired at 1 in the morning, as I should be.   Lesson learned?  Maybe perhaps.  Will I want to wake up at 7 tomorrow morning?  Hell no.