Well, 2012 is going to be a big year for me, in more ways than one! Maybe turning 60 is such a milestone that it is telling me.....no more excuses; no more procrastination. I need to walk the walk!
So here it is; January was a great start, thanks to my new friend, Kristen Dukat, who kept me going on the 30 paintings in 30 days. Thanks to that and some wise words from Carol Marine, I am finally planning. YES, I said p-l-a-n-n-i-n-g.....I am to be held accountable. I am putting it on paper. It is amazing how wonderful it is to have a plan!
I was always good at saving money and planning, I am not sure why I didn't translate it over to my art. The principles are basically the same, just a little more complicated.
Some of my 'not planning' was not excuses, but a great deal due to an overactive nervous system, due to a spinal injury. Now that I know & recognize that, I can do my best to overcome it.
I am excited about the possibilities.
I started my plan with putting in the things written in ink, such as the days I have to work, some paintings workshops that I am sponsoring, vacation, etc.
Then I added my goals............yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily. First of all, I have given myself permission to be flexible, so that I don't feel like a total failure if I miss one or two small goals. I am working to keep the big picturte in mind.
All of this is not my idea. I am compiling all the great advice that I have gleaned from books, the internet and other fabulous, sharing artists and applying it as best I can, on this given day, at this point in my life. It is but one part of our journey.
I also added travel to places that I want to make it to. Part of my bucket list. Friends have been telling me they live vicariosly through my travels. I used to do the same thing, until I changed my thinking and started believing I could travel, too. There is so much out there to experience! God has created such a tremendously beautiful world and to get to explore it through our eyes, camera, and paint is an incredible opportunity.
It isn't always easy, but it is certainly possible if we plan and make ourselves accountable!
Have a wonderful day! Ruth Ann
8 comments:
What an inspirational post! It is so hard to keep going when it's just you holding yourself accountable. I think that's why I started the monthly challenge group, just another small part of accountability. After the 30 day blitz, I sort of felt a bit at loose ends, but on a positive note, I didn't beat myself up if I didn't "finish" a painting. I do like having a list like you said. I like to give myself small weekly goals., but I haven't been brave enough to make monthly or long term goals yet. I think I will think about that!!
That really does sound like you have a plan and are very deterimed. Now can you bottle it, or at least type it up? : )
I will share my list of goals in an upcoming post, if you like. Thanks so much for your input.
Hello Ruth Ann! I have enjoyed your planning post. I did have to giggle, only out of my OWN embarrassment. I love to create, but as my career some 20 years back, I was a graphic artist in an agency. In our busiest seasons it just confounded me how to keep everyone who wanted art done happy. The problem stemmed from my own work style: I wanted pure swaths of time ( say a whole morning to work on one project only; lunch break, and then the whole afternoon on another project.). Made sense to me, right? Weeeeellllll..... Problem was, sometimes there were many more projects than two which needed to see progress every day.
I was a greenhorn on time management - clearly - until the Accounts Manager took me aside to explain the beauty of an "open-minded" Day Runner....a forgiving bunch of bound papers (to my aesthetic liking, of course, and in mine, each page is letter-sized) one week for every two pages....loose schedule on one side & a place for notes, sketches, taped-on photos fix and facts on the other. Once I felt this book was my friend and it had no inherant negatives to it, I got SO MUCH MORE done, and have ever since, regardless of the topic...family, art, friends, life in general. There it is folks- my big take-away from 23 years in the ad world. The Accounts Manager was such a sweetie; he was patient and helped out so much....I remember him clearly - I married Richard Brumbaugh 18 years ago!
Thanks for the valuable reminder, Ruth Ann. I'll join you and try to do better and follow my own plans made roughly on Sunday nights. So many of them end up redirected or scratched out entirely, but effort will be there. We might as well try and manage the only commodity no one has more of in 24 hours. Have an awesome, productive week ...and thanks again! Marla
You are right, planning is very important. I to like to "jump the gun" and just do the fun stuff . . .like putting down the paint.
This is an awesome goal. I may 'steal' some of it for myself.
It's good that you have found that part of the puzzle! I hope your year finishes better than it's tremendous start. Go girl! (we get by with a little help from our friends-friend)XXOO
Good for you, gf! I am amazed at how well your 30 day pieces turned out and it was so nice to see you grow as an artist in that window of time. We all need a plan or we will never reach those goals!
When I started the 30 day challenge, I got out a clipboard and a bunch of blank paper. I headed the top of it Week of _____. Then I wrote down lists in 4 sections....1. Household tasks (laundry,chores,etc), 2. Things to "get" (ie supplies, stuff for the house, etc) 3. Painting (my weekly goals-usually the weekly challenge, several paintings on a single theme, and one thing that's different like a palette knife painting or landscape)4. Secondary things I'd like to do, like look into framing options, shows, a Blurb book, marketing art better.
I do this on monday morning and clean the studio on Mondays too....Anything that didn't get crossed off of last weeks list, gets put on the new week....It's worked really well so far...keeps me on task.
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