Put Off Your Project To Get Off Your Ass

While some of you out there may be struggling to get inspired to create, there are some artists out there who struggle with an overflow of ideas.  While at first glance, this might seem like an awesome thing, but it can be paralyzing to have hundreds of different ideas in your head that you want to express, yet you don't know where to start.

Maybe you have a story for a graphic novel or three, as well as some character designs you'd like to do, and an idea for a film, and a photography project you'd like, as well as some t-shirt designs and ideas for your wedding invitation design, etc. etc. etc.  The list goes on, and you maybe are just overflowing with stuff you want to do, but there's never enough time to do all of it (especially if you're also doing a day job, juggling obligations to friends and family, and you know, living life.)

If you don't suffer from this dilemma, one might not understand how potentially crippling this is.  You might say "Yeah, but at least you got ideas," but the truth is it is sort of like being given your choice of being able to eat one single dish of anything you'd like in the world.  You start thinking "I really like this..but what about..this?"  You don't want to waste this awesome opportunity, so you start weighing your options.  You really want the seared swordfish with the mango salsa, but then you've never tried the sauteed water spinach with 17 different herbs and marinated tofu.  But you don't even know if you like tofu or if you'll get sick of it, because there's also that weird thing that you've never eaten because it's $200 a pound, but what if you don't like it...you know nothing about it, so you start to google everything, and then it becomes one big massive information overload and the clock is ticking and you're not even eating anything but you're starting to salivate thinking about all this awesome food and it sucks that you only get to choose one thing, but what do you choose since everything looks so good and while you might want something familiar are you really going to blow this chance to try ANYTHING over a simple bowl of mac and cheese?

Yep, that's sort of what idea-overload is like.

If you do suffer from idea-overload, you'll probably be familiar with the overwhelming sense of confusion over what to do right now.  Sure, you know that you want to do all of these things, but where do you start?  It's so daunting to have five bazillion long-term projects that you want to do.  What project do you prioritize?  You don't want to lose steam or forget an idea, what do you do?

The answer is simple, friends, what you need to do is put it off.  Whaa?  Yes, well, sort of.  The first thing you need to do is voice memo, or write, or somehow record all of your ideas and projects, however you work best. Just make sure it's someplace you can find later.  Monkey personally likes sketchbooks and google docs, but that's just him (he also makes it a point to revisit old sketchbooks every 6 months or so to find old inspiration).  So get all the ideas down out of your head.

Now, go take a break.  Walk around the block, or meditate, or watch some crap TV, or read some fiction, or otherwise take your mind off creating something.  Focus on something else.  Now, revisit your list, looking at everything at once, and whatever project tugs at your heartstrings the most, do that one, and put all your other projects away.  If you need to be more analytical about this, prior to the break you can make charts and pros and cons and how-long-will-this-take evaluations and comparisons, and all of that stuff, but I say go with your gut in this case.

Know that you'll have more time later to devote to your other projects, but not only will you be able to start, but you'll also be able to handle the project that you want to do most.  This is important, as if you try to do a little work on everything at once, you'll easily get bogged down with the lack of momentum on any one project, and you'll end up not getting anything done.  Multitasking is a myth, as we've talked about before, and every time you switch gears, you lose momentum.

At Spectrum Live, concept art hero Ian McCaig talked about how he's been working on a story for 25 years(!).  He knows the importance of working when the time is right, and not forcing a project when it's not ready.  This is the other benefit of choosing what to work on from a pure-inside-your-heart way of thinking.  Forcing your creativity when you're working on a commercial project is one thing, but if you're doing something for yourself, then really go with your internal flow and don't rush things.  Feel free to put things down and restart them.

So put off the huge bunch of stuff, and deal with one (or two) things at a time, but realize that you can always stop and start something else up.  The point is to not do that too frequently, and to not rush yourself to work on a project that isn't ready.  So let your projects simmer if they need to, and that'll get you off and going.  

How Distractions Can Save Your Life

We all get distracted while we're trying to do work - especially work that seems tedious or boring or that we aren't excited about. Instead of cleaning the studio (which might create a better environment for creating), we end up watching youtube videos or reading blogs. Instead of working on that painting we've been trying to finish for the last two months, we're on our phones playing Angry Birds or Words with Friends.

It happens to the best of us, and with smart phones and laptops, it's even easier to be lured away from our work. And if we're digital artists who are plugged into the net for important emails and looking for reference or using Skype or Gchat to communicate with clients or collaborators, there's always emails about specials, vacations, funny links to viral content, etc. etc. etc. How is someone supposed to get any work done?

The worst thing is that when we give in to our primal urges to watch the latest Gaga video, or whatever it is we're compelled to distract ourselves with, is that the entire time we're distracting ourselves we're also fighting the voice in our head that's saying "You're wasting time! Get back to work!" The same goes for many people who put in long hours to get their creativity done or entrepreneurs that are trying to get a side-business (or two) up and running. While we need breaks to stay sane, every time we decide to take a night off, or to ignore our emails for going on a date or hanging out with friends, we feel like we're failing ourselves a little bit since we don't have the dedication to keep our nose to the grindstone. Guilt and frustration at ourselves begins to well up, and we begin to not even enjoy the break anymore since we know "we should be working!"

In this way, we're not really even taking a break. If we're still thinking about that email that needs to be sent or that shirt that has to get printed, we're not taking a break, we're merely not doing work and raising our stress level at the same time.

Poo poo on this! While we're guilty of this as well (that's why we talk about it here!), we all need to get better at compartmentalizing the difference between work and play. However you do it, you have to make a break between work and non-work. Whether it's scheduling in breaks as you would an important meeting with a producer, or if it's scheduling the time that you have to do your creative work, you have to do it.

You see, if a break doesn't feel like a break, then it's really just a waste of your time. If you're not recharging and feeling good about yourself on a break, you're just distracting yourself from your distractions, so at that point you might as well just be working. But all work and no play makes people crazy, so take a break and enjoy it!

We have found that life is all about priorities. Priorities are different for everyone, but when we say "we don't have time," we're really just saying that we are not prioritizing it. If you say "I don't have time to take a break," are you really engaged every single second of every single hour with some activity that is more important than your own sanity? You can't delegate a task for ten minutes? You can't take five minutes on your bus ride to zone out and meditate? You can't waste three minutes on your lunch to watch a funny video, or tend to your digital crops?

Just as important as it is to prioritize creating, it is equally important to prioritize taking an actual, enjoyable, guilt-free break. So what do you do to rest and recharge?

Cutting Out The Clutter

The sad, embarrassing truth about Monkey's forlorn desk..

Between the crazy-fast speed of the internet, television, movies, and video games, there are more than enough distractions to last a lifetime of lifetimes. Whether your are addicted to video games (like Monkey), television shows (regardless of how good they are), or anything else, you've got to get organized.

Notice we didn't say that you need to quit these things cold-tofurkey. Our brains need a break every once and a while, and nice distractions like Facebook or board games or the newest Xbox 360 title are great ways to tune off for a while. The danger lies when these distractions really take over and suddenly you've found that you've lost three hours playing Backyard Monsters on FB.

Monkey + Seal are big fans of having outlets - while you might rise to the top quicker if you shut out all things besides your craft, we're a big fan of stability, and the stereotype of the crazy artist who does nothing but draw might be romantic, we think it only works for certain people, and at a fairly large price. If it works for you, great, but if you're like us (and chances you are if you're reading this), this is going to be unsustainable.

So, what to do when you're trying to balance your day job, your art, and all these other crazy things. Oh yeah, and a social life as well. While we've already talked about how you can't actually multitask, the idea we want to present today is that you have to cut out the clutter.

We're not the tidiest people, and especially before a show our little Monkey + Seal cave gets totally covered over with art debris. However, the type of clutter we're talking about is the clutter of life.

Whether it's too many facebook games that you feel guilty about playing, or if its a messy room that distracts you while you're painting, or if it's your email inbox getting constantly full, chances are you're feeling like you need seven hands, or possibly a clone or two, to be able to handle it all. This is the clutter of life, and if you feel like we do sometimes, it is drowning your creativity.

The way out, the lifesaver, is order. Whether that means cleanliness to you, or having a rotting piece of roadkill hanging above your desk dripping black blood, whether it means waking up at 6am to write or maybe waking up at 7pm to start painting, order is whatever formula that works for you.

What we mean is that having some sort of routine (like always painting on Tuesday and Thursdays from 7pm-10pm, or making sure you have a cup of tea ready before you sit down to write), whatever it is, is super helpful to the process of creating. The hardest part about this method is that you have to stick to it. Willpower, like muscles, need to be exercised, and if you try to block off entire days every week, it might be a bit much. But, if you have a few hours set aside every week and you stick to them zealously, you'll eventually be able to increase the amount of time set towards your craft (if you so choose).

Alternatively, you can also use a timer to gauge how much time you spend on distractions. We have a handy-dandy little timer we got from a dollar store that we keep by our main computer so that we can say "We're only going to spend 15 minutes on emails," or "We'll only spend 20 minutes watching YouTube videos" or whatever sort of limits you need to set-up yourself. This way, you can focus on whatever distraction you want and then you'll have someone else watching over you to remind you when your time is up.

All in all, it isn't necessarily about eliminating fun things from your life, but it is about finding what's the right balance for you and to cut through the clutter so you can focus on your important work.

Take a Step Forward

Here at Monkey + Seal, we think we're off to a pretty good start for 2011. We just published two free guides to help other artists sell their art, and bum-ba-da-dum! We're here to announce that a full course on how to start selling your art is in the works. It'll be at least a few months worth of materials, advice, how-to's, worksheets, and more, starting from the very beginning, assuming that you're starting from scratch.

Anyhoo, we just wanted to take a bit of time to talk about the necessity of moving forward. Often, we think to ourselves "Only if X was true, we could do Y." But in reality, we are probably making excuses for ourselves.

Sometimes the "X" seems like it's something that we could never get. Whether it's a million dollars, or job security, or more free time, or feeling less tired after work, we always seem to talk ourselves into thinking that there will be a better time to do something. "If only I could save enough to quit my job for a few months, I could finish my portfolio." "If only I had more energy after work, I could work on my art." Phooey, we say.

Like we've said before, it all comes down to a matter of priority. If money is in the way, then I suggest you take a good hard look at your budget. How much do you spend on coffee, or eating out or on drinks? If a lack of energy is your issue, what sort of behaviors (like staying up late, or going out to party) could you cut out so you'd get more rest?

Often at Monkey's retail job, when he starts talking about the opportunity for people to take workshops, if they aren't interested, they usually give the excuse "I don't have enough time." Well, while this may be true for some people, Monkey seriously doubts it. How many hours do you spend on facebook, or watching TV, or playing video games? How many movies do you watch? The truth is not that they don't have enough time for workshops, but that they choose not to make time for workshops.

One thing to note is that while we highly endorse prioritizing your art (that's what we're here for, after all), we understand and recognize the need for a life as well. Sometimes you need that coffee, or need to take a break and spend an hour (or two) playing video games. We just hope that if you're really in pursuit of a more artistic life that you learn to strike more a balance between your art, other fun stuff, and the stuff that pays the rent.

That said, when you're going to sit down to work on your art, how many times do you let something (a phone call, or a text message, any sort of interruption, really) distract you? Now think about when you're hanging out with your best friend or you're on a date (an enjoyable one, that is), how often do you let something interrupt you in the same way? Chances are, not as often. While we don't endorse necessarily putting your art over the rest of your life, we do want you to analyze your priorities.

It is an amazing human quality to be able to somehow find a way to make things happen if you really want them to. If you can see your dream in front of you, all you have to do is take that first step, and you'll start setting things in motion that will make it easier for you to progress.

If you start managing your priorities today, you'll start to rewire your brain in order to make new habits and new routines that will be more conducive to your art. And if you think it's too late, you're wrong - it's never too late. It'll just be later.

Let us put it this way. If we could guarantee that if you worked hard for 5-7 years to chase your dream you would get it, would you start today, or wait a few years? You always need to start sometime, so why not today?