Finding Time to Make Intentions Reality

Flicker time

"Scary and difficult and painful don't have to stop you. Scary and difficult and painful are the very things that transform you into your best self."
- Sally Hogshead from her book "Radical Careering"

Since probably sometime in high school, my life has been set on high gear with prospects of college, life, studies, work, family, etc.. At times (sometimes quite unintentional) these things that make up my life pull away from what really matter: dreams and those intentions I never seem to have time for.

I have tried to find every way to bring back the focus to what I really want to later accomplish in my life, those goals and those dreams, those intentions that seem miles and miles away. What I have initially done to combat the distractors is making lists in my free time of what really matters in my life, a personal "mission" statement if you will.

There are essentially three parts to this type of this modified mission statement.

Focus
First, identify what is it that I want to focus on. I keep the list at five or less to make to keep from overwhelming myself. The following is a sample of a list I composed.

I want to focus on...
1. writing
2. graphic and web design

Purpose
Second, I ask why and what do I want to accomplish with these goals. What benefits will I derive from making these intentions a reality. This part can be divided into two lists.

I want to accomplish this because....
1. I enjoy writing and it helps me relax
2. I'm interested in this field and wish to make a career out of this
I want to...
1. Write stories and poetry, have a better mastery of the English language
2. Create a better portfolio, be more aware of various choices in design

Game Plan
Third, I ask how I want to accomplish this, keeping in mind that I want to be realistic and brief when I'm writing these down. Keep in mind that all this "mission" statement is in list format to provide a clear, more concise view of these intentions.

I will accomplish this by...
1. Writing at least an hour a day
2. Keeping an idea sketchbook and studying various designers on the web and in print

My whole plan with this statement is to later make these goals an essential part of my life. Starting simple is more realistic that trying to dramatically change your life overnight and therefore making the change come more naturally rather than forced.

Also, it's tough knowing that listing these goals, intentions, and dreams is one thing but actually accomplishing it is another. I found that cutting out bad habits that consume much of my time helped me redirect that focus onto what matters. Time can't be bought or wished into thin air but it can be cultivated and worked on.


A cool suggestion I found on Steve Pavlina's site called the 30-day trial period. It basically sets your goals or intentions on a 30-day trial period. Check it out!

Until next time!

Taking a break with a book...

This past weekend my brother came up to help me move my stuff into my new apartment. But, as it always happens in the moving process, we got tired so we took the Saturday off and explored Barnes & Noble.

I, myself, have a lot of reading to catch up with so I mostly flipped through potential books that I might want to read in the late, late future and admired some of the trendy cover art. And then I got a bright idea: Why not look for design books?

To say the least, I am disappointed at this particular Barnes and Nobles lack of anything related to graphic design and slightly upset at the misleading sign with the words 'Architecture & Design' which really meant 'Architecture & Interior Design.' I found a grand total of 4 books that were solely dedicated to graphic design, but fortunately, one was a must have: 'Design Basics Index (Index Series)' by Jim Krauss. The book is actually straight forward and simple about most design concepts. It's jampacked with so much and have exercises for all kinds of things that it's gotten me all kinds of excited. My apartment now includes a specific section in the living room dedicated to design and web design just because I'm all kinds of excited.

As I'm fixing my spiffy little section along with the rest of my living room, I heard myself asking yet other questions: Why buy design books when there's so much on the web about it? Why buy books when there's so much more out there?

Problem with searching the web for design as with anything else on the web is that one can easily lose themselves in a sea of information and it's quite easy to get sidetracked with yet another cool interesting article/blog/image/etc. that may or may not have anything to do with what you were learning. With books there's hardly any chance of something popping out at you or have highlighted words that are just itching to be clicked to take you away to something absolutely different. It's just you and that page. It's a beauty that most people do not seem to appreciate enough and an incredible feature when you want to focus your energy on learning a single aspect well.

However, I am not denying the fact that there is a beauty to the internet as well. Internet magazines for one; forums, social networking sites another. The internet has opened doors to meet others with similar minds and create communities that otherwise would be impossible. So in that, I cannot deny the power and potential that internet has to build yourself from. But sometimes, one needs that simplicity, that piece of paper and pen to start from, that book that you found tucked away in a library or discount stores. Starting out simple isn't always a weakness but can be a great strength and will leave you in a clearer state of mind when approaching design and learning from it. It doesn't hurt to keep your eyes open and take in the day, a notebook at hand or a camera close to heart. Most of the time, you'll never know what hit you.