Dream It, Do It: How to Develop Effective Creative Goals
Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly. Langston Hughes
Follow the Heart by Alicepopkorn
What do you dream for yourself as an artist and for your creative career? My dream is to make a life and a living from my creative work.
Whatever your dream is, there are concrete ways to make it happen, and making it happen begins by developing creative goals.
What is a Creative Goal
A goal is a purpose or aim towards which an endeavor is directed. It is an intention, an end point in a journey, or for sports fans, it’s that “big score.”
But the significant qualifier for a goal is its objective nature, and as such there are concrete ways in which to achieve it.
A creative goal, then, is one that encapsulates our dream and directs us, through concrete steps, towards making it a reality.
In order to make our dream a reality, we must look at it objectively, believe it is doable, and develop goals for achieving it.
Challenges and Benefits
It can be challenging to unwrap our creative dreams and look at them objectively, but this is a necessary step to making our dreams realities.
Sometimes, we may hold our artistic dreams so closely that we won’t even admit them to ourselves, much less to other people.
In a world in which art is devalued and in which “success” is measured by the relatively limited notions of “fame” and “money,” we may fear that by admitting our artistic dreams, we’ll seem foolish or crazy to others. Or perhaps, we daydream about a particular artistic accomplishment, but let our inner critic stamp it out.
But it’s well worth articulating our creative dreams. Not only will we learn more about ourselves as artists, but we’ll be able to turn our dreams into more than just fantasies or wishes. And by creating objective goals for our dreams then we’ll be able to stretch and grow in our creativity.
If you’re dreaming of artistic success and you can articulate that dream to yourself, then you’ve already taken the first step in making it happen.
But it also requires diligence, faith, direction, and ultimately action to make your dream a reality.
Creating Effective Goals
If you can articulate your dream, then the next step is to “get real” and to create some objective goals that will bring you closer to making your dream a reality.
So, parse out your dream and start thinking about concrete goals. Ask yourself: What concrete actions can I take to achieve my dream?
For instance, in order make my dream a reality, I’ve identified a few creative goals for this year: to start and maintain this blog, to complete my second CD, and to publish some of my poetry and other writings. These goals are objective and concrete in the sense that there are specific steps I can take to make them happen.
Here are a few suggestions that I use for further developing effective creative goals:
- Make it SMART. SMART stands for specific, measureable, attainable, realistic, and timely. Hone in on your goal and make it specific. Determine concrete ways in which you can measure whether or not you’re meeting your goal. Make an attainable goal—one you can definitely achieve. Related to making it attainable is making it realistic and doable. And finally, put a time limit on it.
- Write it down. Writing down your goal is the first step to making it real. Be sure to be specific and to include when you will achieve it and how you will measure your progress and success. For instance, here’s one of my goal statements: By November 1, 2010, I will have completed the recordings for all the tracks of my CD by setting up my recording equipment by July 15 and by working on one track every Saturday from August 7 to October 30.
- Create a plan of action. Basically, a plan of action includes the various tasks required to complete your goals and a schedule for completing those tasks.
1. Create a task list. For your action plan, break your goal into various tasks. For instance, some tasks that I must complete in order to meet my goal for the CD are to set up my recording equipment, to evaluate the recordings I already have, to record new tracks, and to send tracks to my co-producer so he can add music.
2. Create a schedule. Once you have your tasks written down, create a schedule for completing each task. How I achieve this is by ordering my tasks according to priority and to what steps must come first. Working with calendars, I go back and forth between working forward from my begin date and working backwards from my end date. This method works for me because it helps me to see when I might hit a time crunch. But after you’ve prioritized your tasks, choose whatever method for creating a schedule that works best for you.
- Start small. In order to make your creative goal both attainable and realistic, be sure to start with small, simple steps by breaking down your tasks into even smaller tasks. For instance, in order to set up my recording equipment, I will need to make a space in my study (which means moving some stuff around), read the instructions for connecting the equipment to my computer, connect the equipment, and install the software. Note that all of these smaller tasks will need to be scheduled before my completion date on July 15.
- Build up your time slowly. I complete tasks by starting with a goal of working at least 15 minutes. Even when I’m not motivated or inspired, I can always manage to do a task for 15 minutes. Then, after a short 5-10 minute break, I’m usually inspired to work another 15 minutes. After several rounds of this, I soon find that I’m not paying attention to the time anymore and I’m working well past the 15 minute interval. But start in small increments of time and build from there. Even if it seems silly to only work for 5-10 minutes, do it anyway when you’re just beginning. In addition to establishing a concrete goal you can achieve for the day, this strategy will keep you from burning out before you’ve even gotten half-way through your task list.
- Make it SMARTER. Schedule a time to also evaluate and re-assess your goal. For yearly goals created in January, June is a great month to evaluate and re-assess your goals. For instance, this month, I evaluated where I was on completing my CD, and basically I’d made no headway, which meant that I had to re-assess what is possible from now until November and shift my goal from having my CD printed by the end of this year to simply having it all recorded. If you want to see this kind of evaluation and re-assessment in action, then check out this article by Joanna Penn at The Creative Penn.
- Have fun. If you’re not having fun completing your tasks, then something is seriously wrong. Perhaps, you’re trying to do too much or maybe that “dream” was really just a good idea and not something you’re really passionate about. Sure, in order to get what we want, we often have to do things that aren’t fun; but creative goals are different from having to pay bills or do several piles of laundry. Creative goals are the stuff of our dreams and desires, and if you’re not having fun, then you definitely need to re-evaluate your dreams and your core desires.
The Importance of Diligence and Faith
Engaging in and completing a creative goal requires diligence. It requires you to stick to your plan of action, even on those days when you don’t feel inspired.
But if you’re having trouble being diligent, then that’s good information to have. It gives you an opportunity to really look at your dreams, desires, and goals, to shift them, tinker with them, and re-articulate them in ways that help you to achieve them.
Finally, achieving your goals requires faith in your creative abilities and in your skills and talents, which means that you must flex your creative self-esteem. Without the deep belief in yourself as a successful and talented artist, then you’ll have trouble with any goal.
This deep belief may begin in doubt, but as you find yourself directing your actions, doing your tasks, and achieving small, doable goals, then this belief can grow. And you must let this belief grow by giving yourself kudos for each small success along the path towards your dream.
If you’re diligent, then your dream will become creative action and your actions will make your artistic dream a reality. So, have some faith in your creative journey and live your dream.
What tips can you offer for developing effective creative goals?
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Flickr image courtesy of Alicepopkorn
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[...] – Dream It, Do It: How to Develop Effective Creative Goals by Ami [...]
This post ia an entire life’s plan. Very clear, very challenging.
I wanted to become a good art teacher—–and I have become that—and am still learning how to become an even better teacher. The hard part, of course, is marketing my art—very colorful abstract oil paintings that people either LOVE or HATE. I know the steps I need to take to begin getting the work out. I just don’t know if i am willing to give up painting time (since teaching itself takes up a tremendous amount of time) to do the marketing. Right now I am leaning toward using a limited venue which will sell a few pieces every -once-in -awhile. It is always a choice to give up your creative time to do the marketing. The one thing I do use is bartering. I am bartering a painting to get the publicity done for an up-coming show. Hummm—-perhaps that idea could be expanded.
Thanks for helping me think about possibilities.
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Ami Mattison Reply:
June 26th, 2010 at 5:26 am
Hey, Jean. I’m glad that you found this article useful in thinking about the possibilities for marketing your art. It’s true that marketing takes valuable time; and it’s difficult because as artists we’re often not equipped with the skills required to sell our work. But of course, it’s necessary, especially in today’s art and publishing scenes. I think you may be on to something by bartering for someone else’s services to help you with promotion and marketing. That’s a very clever solution. Good luck!
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I think it’s important to reward yourself in some way when you’ve completed a series of steps or actions leading to a goal. Celebrate every milestone!
I think it’s also helpful to have if not a mentor then someone to whom you can turn when you begin to feel de-motivated or strung out. Sharing the “roadmap” and getting feedback can be helpful.
Allow yourself to do everything right and still not achieve your goal. Getting a show in a gallery, getting a manuscript published, etc. — this kind of thing does not depend on you alone. Others get to weigh in. Accept what you can control and let everything else go.
Use every experience as a learning opportunity.
Maureen´s last [type] ..All Art Friday
[Reply]
Ami Mattison Reply:
June 26th, 2010 at 5:43 am
Wow, Maureen! These are fantastic suggestions for creating effective goals! It’s true that we need to reward and celebrate our accomplishments because that’s how we come to feel empowered to do more.
Also, you highlight a really crucial point that we can do everything “right” and still have trouble meeting our goals because they’re dependent upon other people. I think this is precisely when we must focus on building relationships and on having faith in our journey. I really do believe that if we are diligent in doing what we do best, then opportunities arise–sometimes as if by “magic.”
For instance, I decided not to focus on booking gigs to tour this spring only because it takes valuable time to promote and market, and yet I received enough unsolicited invitations to do so. And my goal has been to publish more of my writing, and suddenly I’ve been invited to submit to two journals. These events remind me of Julia Cameron’s notion of “synchronicity.”
Anyway, thanks so much for the insight! Very helpful! I think I have a new idea for a blog post!
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Thanks so much for mentioning my post Ami. I am a compulsive goal setter and I love to see what I have achieved in a year. A blog actually acts as a great tool for looking back as well. Writing goals down is important, but so is review, so putting them on a blog makes you accountable and you can look back easily. I am excited to think how my goals will be different in a few years time, and I can see look back to see that I aimed to finish my first novel! (obviously, I will have a few by then!)
Thanks, Joanna
Joanna Penn´s last [type] ..First Novel Update- Pentecost
[Reply]
Ami Mattison Reply:
June 27th, 2010 at 6:49 am
You’re welcome, Joanna! I also love setting goals and seeing how much I’ve achieved over a period of time. And blogging about one’s goals is an excellent tip. As you suggest, it makes you accountable and gives you a way to review and look back; also, I think it’s a great way to simply solidify one’s commitment. There’s something about the declaration of it and seeing one’s goal in print that makes it more real. Good luck with you novel!
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What I really like about this post is how it de-romanticizes creative work. When I worked with students in a digital media and design program, there were many who felt that they had to be inspired to work. Or, who just lacked some concrete tools to develop an effective creative process. They mucked around a lot–which I wanted to honor, as mucking around is really important to creativity–but had trouble getting beyond the mucking. There is this idea out there that art just magically happens, but the truth is that it happens through diligent work. (Same with publishing/marketing, etc.) I think SMART goals and doing task analyses are great tools. They not only give you a plan for getting the work done, but they can help you feel a sense of accomplishment whether the parts of your plan that depend on others come through or not. As always, your post makes me wish I were still teaching!
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Rita, you raise an important issue for many beginner artists who want to “muck” around creatively but have no direction.
Interestingly, I think being without any direction actually hinders creativity. It means we wait around for inspiration to happen, rather than doing our creative work. At least for me, having a clear goal, even something as simple as working on a poem for 15-30 minutes, actually produces inspiration.
While I don’t believe that inspiration can be forced, the artist also needs to create a context in which it can happen more frequently, and goals and diligent work towards those goals creates such a context.
So, I know for me the key is to have clear goals, to diligently keep a schedule, and to give myself plenty of time to do creative work. Perhaps ironically, it’s the limitations imposed by goals and schedules that creates a context for exploring more creative possibilities in my work.
Thanks for sharing your experience; it’s inspired another blog post idea!
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