Today's Post is by Lori Woodward, Regular contributing writer for FineArtViews. She is also a contributing editor for American Artist's Watercolor and Workshop magazines and she writes "The Artist's Life" blog on American Artists' Forum. Lori is a member of The Putney Painters, an invitational group that paints under the direction of Richard Schmid and Nancy Guzik. Find out how you can be a guest author.
I just returned from a month long visit to Tucson, Arizona. While there, I realized that hanging around people who are organized tends to rub off on me and I become better organized without having to work at it. The folks who own the B&B where I stay keep their accommodations in tip top shape and flawlessly clean. Although their office quarters do get a bit cluttered, every important piece of paper is filed and their accounting books are always up to date.
Organization Skills Rub Off
My best friend Kim, who lives in Tucson, is highly left-brained, but even she has begun to embrace and exercise right brained thinking through designing and making art quilts. Another friend, an abstract artist, grew up with deaf parents and learned organization skills during her childhood. So here's what I found out: It's much easier to be an organized person when you're surrounded by people who have their act together when it comes to putting stuff away and keeping up with daily tasks. I actually began to think like they do. I am finding that forcing my daily activities to mimic Kim's left-brained techniques for living in an organized way is not only possible, but life changing.
Cutting down on clutter and organizing my activities is like going on a diet. I get things under control for a while, but then return to my old habits (like gaining the weight back). So how does one do a lifestyle change when it comes to organizing things and activities? I'm convinced
the only way to do this is to train my brain to think differently. When I'm around well organized people, I take on their way of thinking.
Visualizing My Goal Path
Kim came up with a visual idea that has helped facilitate goal-keeping. Since I like to walk and hike in the desert, I picture my goal at the end of an upward trail or path. Usually, I let new ideas take me off course. Nothing is wrong with brainstorming, but I've come to realize that while some brainstorms help me move forward and upward towards my goal, others are clearly a diversion.
I took the path "visual" one step further...when a new idea or opportunity comes along, I determine whether it is a small rock or stone that I can easily step over on my way up, or whether that new task is a boulder that blocks the path and impedes my progress. Now, when a new opportunity comes along, I decide right then and there whether it's a boulder or a stepping stone. It's amazing how this type of analyzing makes my thinking clear without a lot of mental work.
But what if the "boulder"
is a great idea? Then I create another pathway, but separate from the one I'm on. When I reach my current goal, then I can hike the next path. Realistically, I can't do more than one important thing at a time. I've tried - it hasn't worked. I end up with too many "important" tasks, trying to please too many people and never reach my intended goal. Ultimately, I jump from one goal to another while feeling overwhelmed and confused.
Working towards one main goal doesn't mean that I can't work on other goals at the same time, but I need to make sure those other things are easy enough that they don't impede my progress on more important interests. Just like with any topic - there will be artists out there who identify with me and others who are more organized than I am. It's OK to be who we are in either case, but the important thing is that we can help each other.
Related Posts:
20% Dream and Scheme, 80% DO
Running With The Pack
Charting Your Artistic Course
Chasing the Sweet Embrace of Success by Developing Habits
Messy, You Say?
Organization Overhaul
via fineartviews.com