This will get you back on track!

One of the joys of being a creative person, is that you have a lot of ideas. Of course, it's also one of the downsides.

On the plus side, a lot of ideas give you a lot of options. (At least once a week, I think of an idea for an online course or a series of new paintings). But it can also be overwhelming. If you're reading this letter, you probably know this.

The ideas are often only half-formed, or they involve more work than you're willing to do, or you simply don't know how to get started. If this is you, you probably just get stuck, not starting anything because it just feels too overwhelming. 

On the other hand you might be someone who does get started, only to find yourself swimming around in a sea of chaos with five different types of paintings on the go, and some random notes for a book scattered on post-it notes!

The truth is, you probably have a lot of good ideas - but you can't do them all. So how do you choose? And then how do you stay on track.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Personally, I like to have a few creative projects on the go at once. I get bored if I am only doing one thing. But that means I can sometimes start too many things, and I can also feel weighed down by all the ideas I haven't started (but feel like I should).

So I've found it's best to limit myself to three different projects. For example, if I'm working on creating an online course, I can only have two other projects on the go. If I then decide to write a book, I am now down to just one. But perhaps I could postpone the book, and that leaves room for one series of abstracts and one series of self-portraits?

I actually barter with myself like this, because it would be very easy for me to start them all and then just get mired down in a huge mess.

How to choose

I choose the projects that spark the most excitement; the ones that come infused with their own energy. There's no way to describe this except it's a very clear feeling. If you have trouble connecting with this, here's a pro tip. Look through your photo library on your phone or laptop, and choose your favourite pieces from the year. Choose only the ones that you really love - don't choose ones you think others will like. This has to come from you. Most likely, this will clarify the direction you should go next.

What to do next

Once you've chosen, I suggest writing yourself a creative brief. I had a brief spell in the advertising industry and this is what is given to the creative teams after consultation with the client. It outlines the goals, scope and parameters of the creative project so that designers and copywriters can go away and weave their magic.

Your creative brief might be a plan for a workshop, an outline for a book, or parameters for a series of paintings. I will be teaching more about this in Art Tribe in January, so I won't spell it all out, but basically this is the outline that will keep you on track. 

It can be as simple as a list of words, or as detailed as a full description that covers several sheets of paper.

The idea is first to outline the objective of your project (e.g. "I want to capture the feeling of freedom and space I feel when I am out on the hills near my home"). Then to list any techniques you want to employ, limitations you want to set, or media you want to use. So you might say I will create 10 paintings, all the same size, and I will work with a combination of inks and acrylic paint. 

You can then also list experiments you'd like to try (for example, are you going to try making the paintings outside? Or do you want to try adding bleach to your ink? Or do you want to find a limited palette that will work across all the paintings?)

This list of experiments can be your starting point.

Your creative brief will shift and change over time - you can keep changing it/adding to it all the way through your project - but it keeps you focused and on track.

But what about all my other ideas?

This is where you need some self-discipline. You can't manage all of them at once, so you're going to need a place to put them. I have a Google Docs document where I just add them all as they come. From time to time, I read through the document and sometimes one of the ideas jumps out saying "Me! Me" My time has come!" But more often, over time, those ideas lose their juice because they weren't really ready for primetime, or they weren't meant for me.

To summarise... 

You're an artist. You have a lot of ideas. But if you don't manage them, they can overwhelm you, leaving you frozen in place. I think my system gives you a way to harness your own creativity so that it doesn't take control of your life, but rather enhances it :)

I always start writing these newsletters off the top of my head and I assume someone needed to hear what I have to say or it wouldn't have come through. So if that's you, I'm glad I could help!