Tag: creative mind

Back on the Bullet Journal Wagon….. Again ;-)

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If you know anything about me at this point after reading this blog, it’s that I LOVE planning! It doesn’t matter that I’m not really that busy of a person, or that it doesn’t really help me be all that more production, but I love to put my weekly tasks and appointments down on paper and decorate it with stickers and washi until it looks like Lisa Frank threw up on the page. Yup, I have a problem.

I love to flit from planner to planner and try ALL THE THINGS, but when it all comes down to it I always end up coming back to where it all started, a bullet journal. Some people like the minimalistic bullet journal, but I love the flexibility it gives me to just let my creativity loose on the page and see what I come up with. I’m not particularly amazing when it comes to artistic skills, but I can draw enough to make myself happy generally. I sure as hell can put some stickers and washi tape down, but the whole point to the process is really no more than getting my tasks and appointments down on paper and keeping them all organized in one place along with whatever thoughts, journaling, and doodles I come up with along the way.

So back to my trusty bullet journal I go this week, but this time I’m approaching it differently. Before my weekly and daily layouts were very routine and I didn’t change it up much. This time I want to challenge myself a little more and more. So…..

Not too bad for a 40 year old wanna-be arteest!

Between today and tomorrow I played with a couple of new daily layouts – I love using my Hourly Washi from Erin Condren, so of course that’s always in there somewhere (nevermind the fact I have zero on the calendar for tomorrow, that’s just icing on the proverbial cake) – I wanted to leave room for my daily journaling, but still be able to place my hourly schedule and tasks on the same page. When I did that, however, it left a blank page before I wanted to start next week’s weekly spread so I decided to go ahead and draw that Lighthouse I have been wanting to draw for a while.

Way back when I first started bullet journaling it would have bothered the heck out of me to put a monthly cover anywhere other than the first of the month before any weekly or daily spreads had been started. Thankfully I’ve evolved to where I don’t care about that anymore….. much. šŸ˜‰ I had a spare page, and I used it, and I’m happy with it, and that’s all that matters!

Next I decided to work on a weekly spread that was a little different than my usual go-to. I wanted something crisp and clean looking but still fun and pleasing to look at. I looked around on Pinterest to gather some ideas and ended up going with this one – It has the month top left, with the current week highlighted, then beneath that is a weather tracker that I plan on putting little weather illustrations along with the high temp of the day. I drew myself a little plant underneath that because, well, I wanted to. There’s 8 lines beneath each day of the week to allow for plenty of calendar items, and a section for next week’s highlights, finally followed by a notes section on the left-hand side for me to jot down to-dos or things I need to remember.

I’m not going to lie, that drawing of the lighthouse, followed by the weekly spread took me probably 2.5-3 hours, but it felt good to spend some time doodling and doing things just for me for a while. My husband always thinks it’s weird that I can sit in the same place for hours jacking with a paper book, but for me it’s my time to organize my thoughts for the day and decompress – plus I spend a little time each evening journaling about the day’s memories. My hope is that some day when I’m older or gone, myself or my kids can look back on each of these books and remember/learn a little more about how good life has been to me and my family, and enjoy a little peek into the past. I know I love to look back over the memory keeping I’ve done so far for sure! <3

Planners Gonna Plan…

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Planners Unite Party by Washi Tape Warrior

I went to my first “real” planner event this weekend, and I have to tell you I got some weird reactions to that from a bunch of my family and friends. I had asked my hubby for a ticket for my birthday this year and I was super pumped about going. My hubby told me “I don’t know why you’d want to do that, but if it’s what you want then go for it!”

So I was thinking to myself last night, how to explain to the non-planner WHY exactly I love planning. Brace yourself for the shocker, it’s NOT primarily organizational based like you would think. Far from it (though it is a nice side perk!) I enjoy planning because for ME, it is a creative release.

I am not particularly artistic when it comes to drawing/painting/etc. I’ve never had, nor will I probably ever develop that particular skill set. My stick people look like maybe my 4 year old drew them. I’ve always wanted to be super artistic, and I’ve tried and tried to draw/paint/sketch, but the reality is… it’s not going to happen.

When I’m working on a spread or layout for the week in one of my planners, not only am I reminding myself of the things I need to do and appointments I need to keep, but I’m creating a visually appealing way to look at my life the next 7 days. I thoroughly enjoy putting stickers, washi tape, and colorful pens/markers down in a collection of thoughts that speaks to me. It’s soothing, and it’s fun.

That being said, sometimes I am also like a squirrel surrounded by shiny objects when faced with the sheer collection of planner stuff I’ve acquired when trying to plan out my week. When that happens I try to sit back and look around for something that inspires me. I have a lot of stuff hanging around, and generally there’s always something I can create an idea from.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I headed off to this planner event. I consider myself somewhat of an “Introverted Extrovert”. I love people, love meeting new personalities and experiencing moments from their point of view, but I also get nervous and a little anxious at the beginning of a social situation, especially when I don’t really know anyone. I tend to cling to people I DO know like a rat to a sinking ship until I can get comfortable enough to be myself.

I really shouldn’t have worried at all. Planner people have this “You can sit with us” mentality that is truly refreshing in this socially stunted world. Everyone is open and friendly and excited to share. I also THOROUGHLY enjoyed the speaker, Heather Kell, from @kellofaplan on Instagram! She took a fairly mundane, everyday object like a sticker book full of icon stickers and transformed it into a glorious assembly of creative ideas, and her excitement and passion for what she was doing was infectious! I couldn’t WAIT to get home and start creating things using the creativity she had inspired!

So that’s why I plan – it’s a great group of people, and honestly, they’re on to something! I find organizing my thoughts and getting it down onto paper centers me and soothes my anxiety, plus the added bonus of rarely (I’m not saying it never happens) forgetting some thing I’m supposed to do or somewhere I’m supposed to be. =)

That being said…. it’s been a month since I posted here. Maybe I need to start planning out my blogging a bit better!! ha! <3

I can… and I will.

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It’s been a hot minute since I posted here, almost two months in fact. What’s been holding me back, you ask? ME. I’ve been holding me back.

A friend and I were talking at lunch today, and we were discussing motivational issues (mostly mine). She was giving me some tips and tricks on things that helped her stay on task, and it really started to perk me up. “That sounds pretty easy”, I was thinking to myself, but in reality it’s not. Focus and discipline are hard work, but if you put into it what you want to get out of it, then it will become as natural as breathing.

While we were tossing ideas about, we both kind of stumbled on a phrase I found really important, and I think this phrase can apply to ALL creative types, regardless of genre: Creatively Overwhelmed.

I think this is an important phrase to describe where I frequently find myself in life. I have all these great ideas floating around in my head, and I KNOW the things I am good at and COULD be GREAT at if given the chance, but especially as a mother I frequently find myself distracted, straying away from those ideas, or even forgetting them entirely in lieu of something else that popped in at the last minute. Can anyone else relate? It happens to me all the time and it’s really starting to get me down.

I Can… and I Will…

People made a big deal this year about “One Word.” One word that describes your plan for the year. I feel like ONE word for the entire year may be pushing it for me. Maybe smaller goals, some that will push me a little but are otherwise easily achievable, might be MY answer.

So starting August 1st (well, if you want to be technical about it, August 2nd), I’m going to focus on “One Word” a month. One word that showcases or encompasses the goal I have for myself that month. One word for one goal that I CAN, and I WILL achieve. One thing at a time.

This month’s word is “MOTIVATION” – and this weekend will see me writing down and brainstorming answers to the question: “How do I MOTIVATE myself each day to get both the tasks I NEED to get done for both my business and personal life, as well as a couple tasks from my WANT to get done list?”

How do YOU get your MOTIVATION in check? I’m a planner by nature, so my first thought is better scheduling for my “free” time. Even though I don’t have a “real job” per se, I need to schedule myself hourly as if I do. Plan a set amount of time to focus on ONE task and not get sidetracked. Treat both my craft business AND my blog like a “real job” (because I WANT IT TO BE, so why shouldn’t I work for it?) and prioritize my day.

I’d love to know, though, how my readers get it all done! What have you found helpful in scheduling both your personal and professional life? What tricks do you use to MOTIVATE yourself to strive to be your best? Leave them in the comments, and I can’t wait to hear!