tick tock tick tock

time is your enemy. never forget that.
that thing you thought was only going to take an hour - it won't. you think it is only going to be a week long job - it'll be longer.
it'll always take longer.
so factor that into anything you are doing.

sometimes the reason it will take longer will be because you hit a block, you can't think any more, you just can't quite form the idea - it stays just out of reach, teasing and tempting you. even when that happens - you still have to plug away at it. you need to keep going.
other thimes the reason it will take longer is that the muse has struck and what was a simple idea has suddenly grown into a much larger piece. don't hold back go with the flow and enjoy that moment of creative pleasure.

while it seems counter intuitive being creative is all about planning and planning your time in order to create.

don't let time defeat you.
plan and be in a better position to beat the clock.

start

the time to start is now.
stop thinking about wanting to be a painter, sculptor, photographer, writer, poet whatever.
thinking gets you nowhere.
do it.
start now.
don't worry about the quality, don't worry about the quantity. just do something. get it started, feel good about being creative and let the rest worry about itself.
you'll have enough time to worry about whether or not it is any good once you have done it - and that is the time to start worrying about it - not before.

so get on with it.

failure is an option

not everything you do is going to work. it may not even come close to what you wanted it to be.
nothing wrong with that.
failure is good.
failure is where you learn the lessons that improves your work.
the fear of failure will stop you from taking risks.
embracing failure will allow you to take chances.

failure only works if you learn from it.
if you learn from it then there is no need to be despondent because it means the next time you do something you will be better.

you are the first judge as to whether or not a piece of work has succeeded in the way you wanted it to. if possible you need to find someone else you can show your work to in order to get some feedback.

failure is an option.
make failure work for you, it is just a pit stop on the road to success.

targets - take aim and hit the target

set yourself a target.
doesn't matter what it is - it might be the amount of time you spend being creative. it might be the amount of work you complete. it could even been when you are creative. your choice, it is your target.
make sure that it is doable.
there is no point in setting a target that you have no chnace in meeting - why set yourself up to fail.
maybe you want to devote an hour a night to whatever creative endeavour you on the go. good. then spend an hour doing it. pick a start time. stick to it. complete the hour. look at what you have done. be pleased and then walk away from it.
maybe you think you can write 1000 words - then let that be your target. write and write get to the 1000 word mark and then stop.
it doesn't matter what it is you want to do you will find it easier if you set yourself targets.
targets only work if you try to achieve them - so don't set them too high, but no good to set them too low either, as you want to push yourself.

why targets? why not just do it (as i have said previously). targets help you come back to do more. doing once is probably easy. doing it several times is harder, doing it consistently is the real goal.
the more you do the work. the easier it becomes.
the easier it becomes the more you can create.

as i have said before creation is just like being an athlete - you have to practice, you have to get better/stronger and the only way of doing it that is by having targets.

after awhile you find that your target has increased - and you might be working on it for longer, or aiming to do more in the same amount of time.

targets aren't for the days when the muse has kicked in and you are a creative juggernaunt and images and words flow like water. targets are for the 99% if the time when the muse is kicking back and enjoying a cold one.

tagets get you to apply yourself.
so think about your working method, think about how you might best apply a target to it and get on with creating.

remember be sensible with that target.

new year new challenge

we set great store by the new year. resolutions and all that. as if somehow the new year really is a clean slate and not just another day where the problems we had yesterday are still with us tomorrow.
however that is to dwell on the negative.
while it may not be a moment when the slate has been wiped clean the new year can be seen as an opportunity to turn a fresh page, open a new chapter and begin a new adventure.

so with the new year started - think about those creative ideas you have left lying around doing nothing for one reason or another. or that project you think you have finished but have not quite gotten around to doing those last minute revisions.
or you have that idea you haven't touched.
now is the time.
begin the year as you mean to go on.
put pen to paper.
brush to canvas.
tinkle the ivories.
look through the viewfinder.

we all have it in us to be creative in one way or another.
whatever form your creativity manifests itself - poetry or prose, oil or watercolour, dance or stand-up don't let it go to waste. do something with it.

this is an olympic year. take heart from that. think about those athletes who have pursued their dreams in order to compete at the highest level. most of them will fail.
there is nothing wrong with that.
when it comes down to it - if you don't try you will never know.

so as 2012 begins forget about all those barriers you have placed in front of yourself, brush aside all the questions you have about your creativity.
because the truth of the matter is you can do it.

what are you waiting for?
get creating.