How to Tackle a Big Scary Project
I have a lot on my plate right now prepping for two virtual shows with Art Star Philly and American Craft Council in April. In addition to making stock for these shows, I’m also preparing to move my studio to Bozeman MT for the Spring! It feels daunting to try and make enough work for both shows and pack everything up in time to leave (I only have 8 days left!) Luckily, I’ve learned a few tricks over the years that work well for me when I have a seemingly overwhelming project to tackle. I thought I’d share them here.
1) get realistic: take a hard honest look at the time you have and the scope of your project. What can you hope to really get done with the time you have? Laying out a calendar and visually taking stock of your time and energy for each day can be helpful. Don’t be too lofty with you goals and try to build in more time than you think a task will take. Better to have more time than not enough at the end.
2) break it down: A large project can feel overwhelming and prevent you from even starting. Tackle this problem by breaking down the larger project into simpler smaller tasks and focus on finishing one small task a day. For example, I have to create 75 pieces for a single show, so each day I am focusing on making 3 designs with 5 pieces each. It’s much easier to start working on 5 pieces than thinking I have to make all 75. This alleviates the stress of starting by making the steps to completing the whole picture seem easy to accomplish.
3) set timers: using timers is a great way to get you started on your tasks for the day. I like to set 25min timers and 1 hours timers. Any length of time will work as long as it gets you to begin. Timers make starting easier because they provide a clear end to the work. These are especially helpful for difficult tasks that you are dreading or have a hard time starting. Everyone can do something for 10 min right? :)
5) be flexible: be prepared to change your plan and change your mindset. Many times the stress and pressure we feel comes from internal goals and metrics we have set for ourselves. Thoughts like, “I need to have 75 pieces done today or it won’t be perfect” are an internal set point we make for ourselves. Aiming for doing the best with what we have and not beating ourselves up if we miss our arbitrary goal is a better way to operate. If we aren’t more flexible and forgiving with ourselves it can lead to feeling like we have failed. The reality is often far from that, aim high but be kind to yourself and be prepared to change your internal goals.