It’s time for some honesty. I have never been great at goal setting no matter how many times I google “How to achieve my goals”. None of the techniques have stuck with me consistently and I have now accepted that. I recently have stopped trying to fit to what they say works and instead started creating something that works for me. I am a creative mum with many ideas and projects, but I also have many kids and little time. It is hard to work on my goals but golly gosh it is necessary, and it feels sooo good when I can achieve them!
Here is how I am going to achieve my goals for 2024 and I hope this gives you some inspiration too!
- Find Common Grounds
If you’re like me and you can’t just work on 1 project and want them all going at once, then create some common ground. I paint, draw, sew and sculpt and I know I can’t paint where my fabric is or even my Sculpey! So, I group my projects based on materials i.e. My painting projects get worked on all at once, then my sewing ones and so on. This helps me make progress without falling down the rabbit hole of all the things and then making big mistakes.
- Bite sized deadlines.
The step is not to finish your project within a week, but instead have 1 part complete for it. Maybe it’s having all your designs sketched out and finalized by Friday or having your base coats painted on all your canvases by Sunday. By doing it this way, it alleviates overwhelm and stress as well as procrastination! When our projects feel too big, procrastination sets in and then nothing gets done (am i right?)
- Pick your zone and stick to it
I learnt this idea about zones from Mel Robbins. She explains that we have 5 zones throughout the day.
1 – Morning zone – When you wake up and BEFORE you touch your phone
2 – After you check phone/emails/tv zone
3- Work zone/ Mum zone/ School run – this is the busy day stuff that we do
4 – Arvo 3-4pm – that afternoon early evening part of the day
5 – End of day zone – when the kids are in bed and its mum time!
Mel Robbins says the BEST part of the day that is just for you is the morning zone. Personally, I happen to agree. The morning zone is when my brain is working the best and my focus is on point. This is the time before kids wake up and I can start the day with my thoughts. This is also when I work on my goals because I know my brain just won’t compute in the evening after the mad rush and getting kids to bed. I used to be a night owl and early morning riser. I could create at night and early morning on little sleep but nowadays with 4 kids, I just can’t do it. Find what zone works for you with time, mental capacity, best focus and use that time to work on creative goals.
- Environment
For me, the best place for me to work is on my deck out the back. Inside is too chaotic and I am hearing “mum, mum, mum”. I can’t ignore the call, so I go to the call despite my hubby being there to handle and juggle because that’s just how I’m wired. I need outside, headphones on and listening to instrumental music or ambience music if kids are outside playing and my bottle of water. If I’m not home, depending on what I’m doing, I love going to cafes and working.
Work out what environment of the house works best for your focus and what tools you may need to help. This will make your goal working time more efficiency and effective and less distracting.
- Give yourself permission
Creative projects are our self-care. Yes, it can also be our business, or sidle hustle, but it all helps our minds and spirits, which makes us better mothers, wives and better to ourselves.
I know the difference of how I show up when it comes to having creativity in my routine VS no creativity and just doing the life stuff. When I started to give myself permission and stopped guilt tripping myself to take 15 mins out to draw, I felt more patient, present and happier to tackle the rest of the day.
- Accept that it’s going to take a while
Achieving my goals is always a journey, but when you’re also a mum’; it’s an even longer one! And that’s not a bad thing when you can accept it and embrace that. Take it from someone who lost their house in a housefire start of 2023. I had to start again from scratch, as well as everything else that comes with motherhood and work and rebuilding. I was so sad and angry that I had just gone backwards in my goals. Rightfully so too. We didn’t ask for this. But I had to accept it. I had to have radical acceptance of my circumstances and to keep going despite it! Your circumstances are never roadblocks to achieving your creative goals; you just might have some obstacles to overcome and perhaps a few potholes here and there.
Don’t fight your reality, get creative in how to make it work!
Creative Mumma bears NEED to create so let’s make 2024 the year of more! Add more creativity to your routine and do it! You deserve to achieve your goals! We were blessed with these gifts and learnt the skills, so why not practice it?
If you have made the decision to add more creativity to your routine in 2024, have a look at our services here and see how we can help you bring more art to your day.
In Love and Light
Amy
