A little less than a month ago I made a mistake. Someone needed (and I will say desperately) my help with building her website and I decided to take it on.
I always forget how big of a process designing then building the website is until I get waist deep into it, even though I’ve designed plenty of them.
And as I rationalized taking on this new huge project, I told myself I’d have time to continue drawing and creating.
I didn’t realize going back to what I’m not supposed to do is a thief. It came in and acted and played nicely as I designed and built, but everyday I was left drained and if I had time to create, I had lost focus and didn’t know where to pick up.
You see, going backward to what I used to do, stole every bit of momentum I had to move forward with what I should be doing and it left me feeling drained.
So as I wrap up this project, I am coming away with 2 lessons learned and 2 things I am doing to move forward.
Lesson 1:
Never look back, much less never go back when moving forward. I now know not to take on those things I used to do but aren’t meant for the season I am in now.
Lesson 2:
My momentum was also destroyed by a lie I told myself everyday. That I didn’t have enough time to create. But I did. I’m sure I could’ve carved out 20 minutes of sketching everyday which might have helped my momentum. Instead I let the overwhelm of all that I should be doing take control and I shoved it all into a closet until I could address it all at once. When I should’ve been addressing small bits when I could. Taking one little step each chance I got.
Moving Forward 1:
Inspiration is the key that opens the door to momentum. It doesn’t matter what you do, you don’t have to be an artist to be inspired to do what you do. But what you are meant to be doing is inspired by something and that something unlocks the door of momentum to move you forward. So, I am dousing myself with those things that inspire me.
Moving Forward 2:
Back to planning. I realized with the lie I was telling myself that I needed to take stock in what I was doing everyday. So, starting today I am tracking what I do every hour of the day for 1 week.
I am big on planning and list making – I love the organization of it all and this little trick is something I learned from a photography mentor years ago.
She told me to track every thing I did all day for one week. Then create a ‘dream schedule’ – one that would be a dream to have. It doesn’t need to be realistic. Then take stock of what actually happened vs what the dream is. By removing things from what actually happens and replacing them with what you want to happen you get closer to your dream schedule.
For example, several years ago I found I was spending a lot of time checking email – and it wasn’t even important emails. So I cut down checking my email to two times a day and it freed up blocks of time I could use for other things.
Which brings up another point – blocking time and batching is a huge life saver for me. I’ll get into that stuff later though because I have special surprise for you in a couple of weeks!
