Follow Through


LightBoxkite

Close on the heels of Majoring In One Thing At A Time, is the need to follow through with what you’ve determined to major on for that day, or series of days. I am the queen of creative ADD, an expert “waffler”, starting one thing and then switching to another mid-stream. Once the excitement of a “new project” wears off, I’m dreaming of other projects to begin. “Start-itis” can be a real issue.

In 2015 I’m wanting to continue to explore ways to follow through on creative projects, especially the ones that require a long term commitment…such as writing a knitting pattern or illustrating a children’s book. One of the projects I’m going to major on is the next Genevieve book! I’m really excited about it now! But I know, from experience, that many sketches and drawings into the developing of illustrations will find me looking for other projects to begin. Here’s how I plan on tackling that issue. It has helped me enormously in the past and I plan on employing it in the New Year as well:

1. Break down the long term project into bite sized pieces.

2. Designate small amounts of time daily to the project, allowing for time to be spent on other projects as well.

Approaching a larger creative endeavor in this manner has been hugely helpful in getting me to the finish line. Working this way, I hardly even realize how much I am actually accomplishing. One baby step at a time adds up to a finished project, sometimes sooner than I had expected. When I think of following through on the project as a whole, I can be tired before I’ve even begun! But facing just 30 minutes a day to work on said project, seems so do-able and exciting. Many times I find myself going past the 30 minutes, happily working for longer. But I do cut myself off, so that the freshness and excitement remains for the next day.

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The crazy thing is that I have several long-term projects I’d like to tackle. So I do have to limit myself. Be reasonable, for goodness sakes Jennifer!!

**Tomorrow, New Year’s Day, I’ll share with you the third and final way I want to move through 2015. I hope you all have a fun time ringing in the New Year!

See you in 2015!

***Please feel free to share ways you’ve found to follow through on your creative endeavors in the comments! We can all benefit from each other!

FYI:

My first children’s book, Genevieve and the Kite,

is available on Amazon and my Etsy shop for a signed copy.;)

A set of 6 cards with two images from the book

is available in my Etsy Shop too!

0 thoughts on “Follow Through

  1. freebirdsings says:

    I hadn’t quite thought of it as small steps but I guess that’s why I like classes that have several lessons but you only see one at a time. When I only see the small step I can deal with it. Good idea for the coming year. Can’t wait to see what you come up with tomorrow and I so hope for a wonderful healthy year for you ahead!

  2. Dr Cornelius Snorter says:

    Hello Jennifer. I do believe I may be king of starting works and jumping to the next before finishing…anything 🙁
    I think a lot of times as I’m working on a big piece I stumble better ways to do something. The next thing I know I am wanting to change the way I work. And when I get a new idea I want to drop everything and start the new project…it becomes all I can think of…ha ha.
    At least you know that everything you do is going to be wonderful…well that’s what we think anyway 🙂
    Stew.

    • jenpedwards says:

      I totally understand this!! Was it Einstein who said something like: “I’m not a genius, I’m just intensely curious”? Well, that’s artists too! Always curious and want if or discover new things!! And I do hope you are feeling well also!

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