How to turn around a dwindling day for peak creative output.
3 buttons to activate - crisis-crushing mode
To turn around a dwindling day for peak creative output, you're going to press 3 buttons.
I'm a Children's illustrator, but also heavily involved in the day-to-day raising of a two-year-old. I love to plan, but quite often the day gets away from us. When days spiral out of control, I tap into my start-up rollercoaster days, shifting gears into a turbo-charged, crisis-crushing machine. There are three buttons to press to activate that mode.
Here are the buttons so YOU too can turn into a turbo-charged, crisis-crushing machine.
BUTTON #1: Do Less, time is such an easy thing to waste.
Do less.
If you feel your day is getting away from you, you probably have more on your to-do list than hours in the day. The 80-20 RULE, states that 80% of the outcome comes from 20% of the activities. Learn to ignore everything except the most important things. You can only do one thing at a time, do the most important one (or two). List your top 2 priorities for this moment, and do those, one at a time.
The first button destroys all but the top priorities on your list for the day!
Button #2: Take what is there and make it work
Use the unexpected as fuel for creativity.
When unexpected things happen in your day it could be a goldmine for creativity. It could be the secret ingredient to transforming what you're making, or it could prompt a new kind of problem-solving. "The Obstacle is the way," say the Stoics. Instead of fighting with unexpected circumstances use it as part of the solution. Take what is there and make it work.
The second button transforms problems into gold and turns obstacles into paths!
Button #3: Lean on the science
Use data.
To optimize creative output, we must combine imaginative thinking and methodical approaches. Use data to find out what people are responding to. Commercial art is about creating change - this could be changing a mood or teaching a concept. Quickly test ideas and get feedback. Apply these discovered principles to your own work. Use principles that have worked for you in the past, i.e. play your greatest hits!
Press these buttons to activate your own turbocharged crisis-crushing mode! Let me know if these buttons worked for you, or if you have discovered other ways to turn around a dwindling day!
Love this, Adam. "Learn to ignore everything except the most important things."
Number one gets me all the time - at least in terms of me feeling bad that I haven’t done more. I consistently think I can get more done than is at all possible when multi-tasking. I’ve been working on 3-4 different types of work at a time. When it’s just book work, I’m pretty solid at mapping out my time and expectations. Life with a 2yo is all about the flexibility! Although life with a 12yo and 14yo has its moments too! 😅