Motivation/Productivity
Vicki asked me a few posts back the following question:
How do you get and remain productive?
My answer isn’t short and this question was the motivation to finally move my blog some where that had categories. Now I can answer this question across multiple posts and keep them all together in one easy to find place. So here is post #1 about the topic and you’ll see a new category in the sidebar “Why - Motivation”.
My first thought when I read this question was that I was just born this way. I’ve always been very productive, it’s just part of who I am. And as I was reminded of again, during my dad’s visit last month, it’s probably hereditary. He is extremely productive also, never sits around, always doing things. [Which was great for me as a lot of things that needed done got fixed around my house during his visit - thanks dad!]
I get jumpy sitting around doing nothing. It’s boring. I don’t have a TV and when I did have one I only used it for watching movies as regular TV is waste of time. I don’t play games on my computer. Generally I’m only interested in doing things that are “productive”. It’s very rare for me to be sitting around doing nothing.
So then the question is - how do I turn that motivation to my artwork vs cleaning my house or paying bills, or doing something else “productive” as there are certainly a lot of distractions around the house.
I spent the majority of today cleaning my unfinished basement and installing some more lights (look for photos of my dye studio soon). I came across a bunch of 3 ring binders from my traditional quilting days (1980-1993). I have notes and sketches and patterns for many of the quilts I made during this period and towards the end of this time and into the first part of moving into original artwork, I kept a list of quilting goals for each year. I also had a list of things I had accomplished for the year.
So part of the answer to how I turn my motivation to quilting is that I have goals. More in the next “motivation” post about my goals - what are they - what format are they in - etc…
Posted by Lisa in: Motivation
Vikki said,
November 28, 2005 @ 4:56 pm
Thanks so much Lisa! I’ve started to make goals for myself in all areas of my life (hubbie, kids, etc..) and I realize that I must let this idea flow into my art. I’ll keep checking back to find out about your goals.
Frances said,
November 29, 2005 @ 10:15 am
interesting Lisa, I too do not have a tv, won’t dream of a computer game and hate doing ‘nothing’ my art sometimes comes after my garden depending on needs and weather, I also love films and so do have a few dvds which I occasionally watch on my computer, love reading blogs too but that is interest and inspiration, thanks for an insight,