You may think because I’m fairly effective in getting things done that I don’t get overwhelmed. That I don’t get distracted by what other people are doing and that I never fall prey to Bright Shiny Object Syndrome.
Oh contraire. I think this happens to all of us. And that’s normal. If we aren’t affected by the world’s bounty, we wouldn’t be creative people, would we? It’s good to let ideas and people influence us.
And, it’s good to be able to process all that goodness and turn it into meaningful things we care about sharing. Easier said than done. This is the kind of thing I coach my clients on all the time.
Here are my simple steps that help me get focused when overwhelm threatens to overtake me and my effectiveness. These practices are great for any time you are overwhelmed, not just post-travel. [Read more…] about Ever get overwhelmed? Here's how I cope
Creativity
Behind the Scenes of My Two Hands Paperie Illustration Project
It’s so fun collaborating with other artists. So far this year has seen a lot of fun projects that I get to do with others.
I’m in the final revision process for the book I am illustrating for Cory Huff of The Abundant Artist. I just finished a project with Two Hands Paperie and I want to share my experience with you.
It’s been fun to photo document the process of making something. There was a steep but satisfying learning curve, but solving these kind of problems is fun for me.
In this photo essay, I hope to share some of that process with you. You may have seen some of these images from my Instagram feed.
The project: Full-spread illustration for Two Hands Paperie newsletter
The idea: Travel like an artist with my visual journaling capture process, Capture the Wow
My creative edge: What’s the point of view? How to lay out a pleasing page?
The deadline: June 18, 2015
Want to Wow it up with me in Boulder this summer? I’m teaching a half-day Capture the Wow class in Boulder on Saturday July 25th. Space is limited so if you’d like to Wow it up with us, head over to Two Hands Paperie to register.
Mid-Year Review with Mind Mapping
It’s June, halfway through the year. I love summer for the chance to play a bit more. But before I go into the play zone, let’s do a mid-year check-in. This doesn’t have to take long. Enjoy a glass of lemonade or tea and check in on your year so far.
Doing this kind of reflection process helps to:
- see if you are on track with your priorities
- surprise yourself with all the wonderful, unexpected things that have happened
- celebrate how much you’ve already accomplished
- prepare for the next part of the year
I love my mind maps, and here’s another way to use them as a project management tool.
In January, I did a quarterly mind map of my major projects. The focus for this map is my art and art business. I laid out the known projects for each quarter. I don’t use goals as much as a focus on projects and intention. You can see in the middle of my map is my focus for my art this year – Make and Sell Things.
Additional notes:
There’s not a lot on Q4, leaving room to grow and also to have room in case some of the earlier projects aren’t complete by the last quarter.
The 100 Day Project and subsequent show weren’t on the map at the beginning of the year. This is turning out to be one of the best things of the year, and I am glad I made room for it.
I later added a goal of $10,000 or more gross income from art sales. I thought I was halfway there, but doing this review forced me to look up the numbers. So far I’ve earned over $8,000 in art sales this year. It’s exciting to feel that I’m going to surpass my art income goal this year! This is a huge confidence booster and a good reason to do the review in itself!
When I revisited this, I added some things and relished that I seem to be on track with my art goals. Time for some coconut milk ice cream to celebrate!
A few coaching questions for you to reflect on your year to date:
- What was the focus of your year?
- What has helped you stay committed to your focus?
- What unexpected surprises happened?
- What’s your focus for the rest of the year?
Have you done your mid-year review? What did you learn from it?
Let us know in a comment below, and if this was helpful for you, please share with your friends!
Fight Overwhelm with a Mind Map of Your Month
If you’re like me and practically every creative person I know, you’ve got more going on than you can reasonably handle. Yet we seem to be missing the message – adding more and more to do doesn’t always feel great. Overwhelm is a real stressor and can degrade the quality of our days.
I try all kinds of things to be sane with my work expectations, and I always return to a simple, quick and easy method to cope with – and fend off – overwhelm. When I share this with my students and clients, it’s a huge relief to them. Finally, a way to begin organizing and prioritizing creative projects.
Our problem is we love many things. At once. All the time. But then we’re running around feeling stressed and not enjoying any one project because we’re devoted to so many of them.
A stern taskmaster would tell you to focus, to choose only one at a time. But I know you and I know me and we can’t do just one thing.
Here’s what I do to have a grip on the projects I take on and how to stop myself from taking on way too much.
I call it Mind Mapping Your Plate.
Here’s how to mind map your month
Before the beginning of the month, take one sheet of paper or a page in your notebook. NOT a big one – just a regular size piece of paper.
Put the month in the middle and make radial bubbles or boxes for EACH MAJOR PROJECT or AREA OF YOUR LIFE.
On the map, put items you are focused on this month. The things that are your priority this month. You can develop out the map with smaller pieces of each project. For the sake of illustrating it for you here, I just added the main projects.
It’s a lot on my plate in June, isn’t it? Notice the box at the bottom: Does not include. I don’t include the things I do on an ongoing basis. I probably should, because then I would have a more accurate picture of ALL the things I am spending my time on. But I use this to manage projects, not my entire schedule.
Additional notes
Notice how travel is a project. Each trip is its own project with planning, taking and returning from. That’s a lot of energy.
Note the # of work days in the middle heart. This doesn’t include travel days and Saturdays and Sundays. Only 13 days in the office! Whoa! That seriously makes me think about how to focus my time and energy on those days.
Since I published this, I have added more things. There’s the copy writing for a client. There’s the interview request. There will always be more things to do. I know it’s difficult to leave space for these things, but I try.
You can also map out writing projects with this method.
See additional notes at the bottom of the mind map.
Have you tried this method for organizing yourself? Do it now! It can take less than 5 minutes. Let us know how it goes.
Building a Living Around Your Creative Soul – Interview on Good Life Project
You never forget where you were when you ‘get the call’.
I was sitting in Black Eye Coffee in Denver, having my afternoon coffee/writing/art making ritual. I like to take myself to cafes even in my city, because it makes me feel like a traveler.
In between sketches, I checked my email. There was a note from Jonathan Fields, my mentor, ally and Good Life Project boss, asking about my upcoming New York trip. Turns out he wanted to invite me to come on his podcast for Good Life Project.
When this kind of opportunity shows up, it’s a full-body experience. The kind that makes you want to jump up and shout and dance and cry and scream. But I’m in a hip, trendy Denver cafe and everyone’s keeping their cool under wraps. So I go into the bathroom and dance and make noises of joy.
I’d dreamed about this, and hoped for it. For me, this is like being asked to be on Oprah. But I would never had thought I was ready to be a guest. I figured that was years away, when I was famous and accomplished. 🙂
I say this because this is one of my favorite podcasts. I listen every week and I can honestly say that my life has been changed from listening to these conversations.
My interview with Jonathan on Good Life Project went live this week, and as of the time of this writing, has been shared over 400 times on Facebook. I’m shocked and thrilled that this interview inspired creative people to feel good about their talents. It’s my work to help creative dynamos to get their work out there in ways that work for them, and if this interview helps, I am delighted.
Lucky for me, that same night I got the call, I was scheduled to have dinner with my artist friend Lisa Call at Root Down. I was bursting with excitement, and the staff noticed. They brought celebratory drinks to us and congratulated me, not even knowing what I was celebrating. This kind of service goes beyond service – it’s the kind of world I want to live in, where even strangers celebrate each other’s wins.
Backstory about the interview day
If you’re like me, you enjoy the story around the story, so read on if you want to hear what it was like for me to do the interview.
I was in New York in March to have fun with friends. I’d added the trip on to a visit to my family in Pennsylvania. On the day of my meeting with Jonathan, I decided to brave the bike rental system. I love biking in cities, but still, New York is kind of intimidating. YIKES!
I am nothing if not daring, so I paid my fee and jumped on a bike. Cycling through the Village was easy and fun and surprisingly mellow. I went straight to an art supply store. (Of course.) Then I biked to the recording studio for the interview.
I was nervous, but because I know Jonathan, it was easier to relax. He’s also a very chill guy so his calm made me calm. Still, by the end of the interview, I had no idea what I had said.
I thanked Jonathan and the recording guy and left the building. I was halfway down the block, floating on a cloud, before I realized where I was. This was a street lined with flower vendors. Flowers, one of my favorite things, lining the streets. I took it as a sign of love and beauty and gratitude and floated to the subway, where I promptly got lost.
It was truly a golden day. I went off to a museum to treat myself to more art and beauty.
Big thanks to Jonathan for the fun interview, big thanks to everyone who listened, and even bigger bow of gratitude for everyone who shared.