Planning Creative Goals on Artist Strong

Planning Creative Goals on Artist Strong

Today I just had a wonderful conversation with a dear friend that reminded me how important connection is. She is writing this amazing, fun, interesting book that she has been working on for quite some time and has come back to it after I connected her with an editor. We talked about how we put our creativity on the backburner when other things happen and how it creates this ebb and flow, despite the fact that being creative sustains our spirit.

Clearly, we all need to make our creativity a greater, more valued, priority. Why don’t we? I think sometimes it happens because we don’t have a specific plan of action. If we create a plan and timeline of goals, we have something to work toward and remind us of our passion and interest. When I first started this blog two years ago I talked about SMART goals, and how creating specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely goals can help you reach your creative dreams.

There are many ways to set goals or help direct yourself. I also am a big fan of mind-mapping (link to another article on mind-mapping). Included here I am showing you my 6 month Mind Map. I won’t judge myself (working on it anyway) if I don’t reach all of these goals but I have it in my journal/sketchbook space to remind me of what I am working towards, and it helps keep the big picture fresh in my mind.

Artist Strong mind Map

Artist Strong mind Map

Another way to help you plan your creative success is to use a business plan as a model. Google Search free business plans and you will see you have all kinds of templates you can modify and build off of as a template for creative reflection.

An important consideration is what I first mentioned in the start of this post: the importance of connection. It is because of meaningful friendships who help inspire me and encourage me through my dry times and offer me feedback and support that I manage to create. The right people in your mental creative space is extremely important. Your friends can be a rock to help you build towards your goals!

Yes, all of these strategies take time away from the actual creative process, but the time you spend on your artwork will be more meaningful and directed if you do some planning and reflection before creation. I guarantee you will be closer to your hoped for creative goals if you take one of these steps. A reminder of what you hope to accomplish and what makes your heart happy is something worth prioritizing, and reminding yourself about, don’t you think?

BE COURAGEOUSLY CREATIVE: Pick one strategy I mentioned today and give yourself 15 minutes to reflect on your creative project using that strategy. What have you now learned or aim to do?