How to Set a Creative Goal
I'm going to be blunt here: a lot of creative people tend self-sabotage by giving themselves goals that are (1) not healthy and (2) completely unrealistic. I know because that used to be me.
I like to lead by example, so I'm going to give you my easiest, quickest, most successful guide for how to set your goal; regardless of whether you want to write a novel, edit said novel, pick up drawing, or learn an instrument.
Ask yourself the following question:
"What is the least amount of time I can spend on this project every day?"
You read that right. Not "the most time" or "what you can spend on average." We're talking LEAST here. What is the least amount of time you can spend every day? Two hours? One hour? Twenty minutes? That's good, and that's enough.
Take it from someone who's been doing this for a while, who's made all the mistakes, and who's had to learn and re-learn this:
The person who consistently works on their passions, every day, will not only grow faster, and finish more things, but also just be happier.
I know our human brain hates to wait; we want things to be ready yesterday, we want to see growth in a matter of minutes, but this is just not how life works. Being impatient only leads to burn out, take it from me. I learned that the (very) hard way.
So, again, ask yourself the question above and consider the LEAST amount of time you can spend on your craft every day.
Got it? Good. This is your goal. Now comes the hard part.
2 - The Making of a Habit
You may think that working on something only 50 minutes a day is not enough to actually get better, but that's actually how I practiced drawing. And you've all seen how far I've come. That's consistency, baby—but that isn't the only benefit of doing something every day!
The more you teach your brain to do something the less friction there is whenever you want to do said thing. It's just science. Writing can seem daunting, scary even, but the only way to change that is by consistently facing the blank page.
It gets easier. It'll never be automatic, you're never going to write a book in one sitting, but it is going to get less hard. Less harrowing. Some days you'll sit down and your allotted time will fly by.
That being said, the target is to work on your project everyday—because that'll help you make it into a habit faster—but don't stress out if you miss a day. Life happens. Whatever you do, try to miss as few days as possible. Keep a calendar, post about it on social media, tell people that you're challenging yourself. They'll take you more seriously.
Your creative projects shouldn't impede your life, they should be a part of your life. That is why we practice them daily, and we spend a healthy amount of time on them. If 2020 taught me anything, it is that you have to take care of yourself. We are a system, a machine with many components, and when you don't take care of one the whole suffers.
That's why it bears repeating.
The best creative goal is one that you can achieve consistently with ease, every day, so that it can function as a part of your life.
That's the trick right there. I can tell you from experience that I used to think my writing, and my art, where separate to the act of living. I did those things, and then I did the living. And I shouldn't have to tell you, but that was such a mistake.
Spending a little bit of time on your passions every day is good enough.
And if you think it's not, remember that I don't give advice I don't follow myself. So far this year I've written AND edited two novels. All without burning myself, without rushing, and while taking the time to appreciate life.
Take that for what it's worth. 🐰🌻
