One of the comments people around me seem to make is "you just seem to know how to do whatever you put your mind to."
I tend to get stuff done. I always have. And I've always known how ... I learned early due to the size of my extended family and helping Mom project the needs of groups of 40 or more people. After that, I had a large group of friends that needed to be taken care of; there were many groups I helped get t-shirts for, there were the events I helped plan, the groups I lead, and then the music festival I ended up working for. I could go on and on. I just seem to always be around "events".Here is how I get stuff done:
- Identify the trigger thought. If you think "someone should ________" or "I wish __________" or "I want to ________", stop in your tracks.
- Identify the end goal and picture it. If you want to build a water well in Africa (see prior posts) that is what you need to picture.
- Identify the large sections of this goal and talk it through with a trusted friend who won't dismiss it or say it can't happen and start making notes--stay organized about it and be realistic about costs.
- Put an order to those sections. Start from the pictured end result (water well) and work backwards. For example: to get the water well we need to raise $5000, we want to raise it by baking cookies, we want to package the cookies and sell them, we will need to contact a lot of people to do that, and we will need to purchase ingredients for all of this. After the thoughts are all on paper, the order becomes obvious.
- Find a clearing house. Ask someone you trust how realistic your idea is. Ask if it is a good idea. Ask lots of questions.
- Be realistic and sleep on it. Rarely is it necessary to pounce on something. Take a few days to let any inspired idea sit and sit with it. Be realistic about time, toll on your talents, time frame and costs. If you are not sure about these things, guesstimate and then double it. Seriously. Double what you think--better safe than sorry.
- Suck it up. If it is a good idea, it isn't really about you. If you are afraid or self-conscious talk yourself off the ledge. You probably won't make a fool of yourself and if you do, at least you tried.
- Work all over the canvas and tweak as you go. So, in art, when you are developing a piece you will have the most cohesive look by working on all sorts of areas and building up the whole image slowly. When you only work on one section and then out from there, often the piece does not have the same style throughout; sometimes it doesn't pull together. What I mean by work all over the canvas is that if you start small and run one piece of your idea all the way through the process, you will work kinks out of the process. You will find the flaws and be able to adjust to match the needs of the project and the limitations of those involved. Keep doing this until you feel confident in the process.
- Visualize or think about how it will work out, how people will feel, how they will respond, what you will say, how you will feel, etc. Run through each step in your mind and really think about the ins and outs. I've been at baby showers where I was asked to eat baby food out of diapers, I was uncomfortable, I did not want to do it; I don't want to put people through that kind of thing.
- Listen to feedback and for opportunities along the way. People come to you with good ideas, sometimes solicited but often not. With the well, my friend was approached about providing just dough and not baked cookies. It was a great idea.
- Hold on loosely. Do not invest your whole identity into an idea. The spirit of creativity can not work inside of concrete boundaries or a strangle hold. It is important to recognize ideas need to evolve, change direction or die.
- Include as many things in the process that make the experience more enjoyable for everyone involved.
- Don't get lazy. It is really easy to lose interest or get tired near the end of a project. The hard truth is: finishing well is an art-form that few master. If you can muster the energy, put your mind to doing the end better than doing the beginning.
- Rest. Don't run at full speed, pace yourself, save your energy for when there is a real need to dig in and plow through. Plus, you are no good if you wear yourself ragged.
- Celebrate and be celebrated. After a good job pat yourself on the back and let others do it too. Learn to say "thank you" to compliments and truly receive them.
