5/15/2018 8 Comments Starting Your Personal ProjectOne of my favorite things to discuss with others is the personal projects they're working on outside of their job or school. In this post, I've collected some of my favorite suggestions that can turn an idea into reality. Keep in mind that all of these suggestions are geared towards personal work! It doesn't need to be perfect. It just needs to exist.
People appreciate output more than ideas, |
Do you have a dream project, but you're not sure how you'd even start? There's a chance that you may need to break it down. Take that hundred page epic comic, that beefy novel, that giant mural, that home redecoration station, and turn it into:
You don't have to give up on the bigger dream, be it a movie or book or startup or Youtube Channel. Breaking this dream into chunks will make it more achievable! |
Identify what might be holding you back.
Perhaps you're jumping into an area of media you haven't touched before and going outside your comfort zone. I certainly struggle with this. As a competitive person and a lover of routine, I get unreasonably perturbed at anything I'm not instantly good at.
Solution:
Don't say: "I'll do this project once I'm good at screenwriting."
Say: "I'll do this project to learn how to screenwrite."
The problem may be finding the time you need to commit to your idea. Solution: If you have limited free time and tend to fill it up quickly, make a pre-scheduled block of personal time to set aside for this project. This will discourage you from over-booking yourself. It will also take away the urge to only work on it "when you feel like it" or "when the moment strikes." |
Don't create in a cave.
Tell your trusted friends about it.
For this reason, I really enjoy telling people about my personal projects. Afterward, someone might say, "This sounds really cool! Keep me posted on this!" or even better, "I'd love to help out!" It's a wonderful, encouraging feeling and it helps me remember that my work doesn't have to exist in a vacuum.
Choose how much you share.
Share your progress with a trusted friend or family member.
Want an impartial but professional third party?
Take a class, join a workshop, or take private lessons!
Want a global location to share project updates on the internet?
Start a blog, dev log, or social media account!
Learning to bake!
YOU CAN DO THIS!
Whatever it is, I believe you can make it happen!
Breaking a new endeavor into small segments always helped me get a larger project off the ground. I think positive feedback to yourself on progress is very important to keep the ball moving so to speak. I am also a big fan of outlines as a tool to break up the project into manageable segments and helps arrange your thoughts. Love the blog
Thanks so much Dad!
This was actually really helpful to see (at this particular moment), I've been stalling on a painting and this just reaffirmed a lot of what I knew and assuaged my fears.
I'm so glad to hear that!! Feel free to share your work with me if you ever need some encouragement.
This is really encouraging! I'm hoping I can start up some sort of adventure blog just to have a platform to share some travels with everyone. I think one of the trickiest blocks when it comes to creating is making time so blocking time is something I will try to practice!
Love you!
JANIIIIINE DO IT!! I want to read about your travels!
Great encouragement to keep working on projects. Always daunting, but gets easier (and rewarding) as you break it down into tasks like you suggested.
Thanks so much AJ!!