What does BETTER mean to you?
Have you defined what BETTER means to you?
Most artists want to become better and have successful careers.
Very few actually know what they mean when they say that.
If you haven't defined what BETTER means to you, you are wasting energy doing a lot but never quite hitting the mark.
But that's the thing, you can't possibly hit a target that you can't see.
If you want to experience joy and traction in your creative career you need a clear target. This will help you aim your efforts in a specific direction.
Today I want to share three tips to help you define your target so you can aim properly.
1) Write down your ideal day with as much detail as possible.
I love this exercise because it really transports me into the life I want to have.
It's inspirational but it's also practical.
Instead of "wake up at 10 and have breakfast" you can write:
"wake up at 10 am, get off the bed and open the curtains and let the light in. Put on my slippers and go to the kitchen to myself an omelet with orange juice and fresh coffee"
The specificity helps you actually think about the kind of person and the kind of life you want to have in 1, 2 or 3 years.
Once you know these details, and you remind yourself of them constantly, you can start making changes to get closer to achieve them.
Go ahead, take 5-10 minutes and write your ideal day.
2) Give yourself a time limit and schedule days to make progress
Every good goal needs a deadline. Otherwise, it's just a wish.
But deadlines are half the battle. You need to divide the goal into small tasks you can achieve daily.
That was my problem in college. I knew I had 3 weeks to finish homework, but I would waste time and end up staying late the night before the delivery, trying to finish it.
It frustrated me so much!
I finally learned that I had to block a 20 minute time daily in my calendar to actually make progress.
Give yourself a deadline, and then mini-deadlines: Things you can accomplish daily in less than 20 minutes so you can do consistent progress.
3) Determine your capacity and adjust expectations
Write in a column the hours of the day you are normally awake (Say 6:30am to 11:30pm).
Divide them into segments of one hour (6:30-7:30-8:30)
Then start blocking the chunks of time you always have busy with things that have nothing to do with your goal (laundry, meetings, eating, etc...)
The spaces left are your capacity. That's the amount of time you have available to pursue the goal you have.
This is often a wake up call. It you only have 1 hour a day available per day to work on writing a book, you better protect that hour with all your might!
But it also makes you think: what else could you stop doing to free up time for your goal?
In any case, knowing how much time you have will help you be realistically optimistic.
You owe it to yourself to have a clear target/goal for your life and career.
When you write down your ideal day, give yourself deadlines and adjust your expectations to your capacity you will find it easier to make decisions and prioritize.
This in turn will help you gain more traction and experience more joy in your creative career.
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