How to Plan Ahead and NOT be Overwhelmed

Making a plan to realize your big dreams can be overwhelming! As artists, we have SO much freedom in how we structure our studio practice, but what happens with that open structure becomes daunting?  In Episode #17 of Thriving Artists, Podcast, How to Plan Ahead and NOT Be Overwhelmed, we talk about how to dream your biggest dreams, and create achievable goals to get you where you want to be! Jamie and Kaylan’s 5 steps for how to plan ahead and NOT Be Overwhelmed are: Time Travel: Mentally fast forward to the end of the year you are planning and ask yourself what are the dreams I have that I would be the most proud of if looking back at the end of the year. We suggest sticking to 1 or 2 dreams to aim for! Plan In Quarters: Quarters allow enough time, 3 months, to get so much done but not such a huge amount of time we can get lost in the plan and not know how to start making action steps. Set your goals in 3 month chunks! Plan 4 Goals Max: Be realistic with your goals and your time. Your big dream for the year will have multiple steps and parts and often we don’t take the time to map these out and get clear on what our dream or goal truly entails. Keep things to 4 goals per quarter as you work toward next year’s dream! Have a Parking Lot: A parking lot is a metaphorical place to write down and record all of your dreams, plans, hopes. Yes, limit yourself to 4 goals per quarter but add a “parking lot” section where you can write down everything else you hope or want to get done. Get it out, park it there for the future!! Don’t Go At It Alone: Whether you join our community and our year long Thriving Artists Map or not… a tip for planning ahead but not getting overwhelmed is to have accountability and community so that you actually put that plan into action!  We hope these steps will help you achieve something big next year! We hope you will join us on the Thrive Together Network as we navigate the Thriving Artists Map in 2023! If you want to join the TTN community and sign up to the Network at www.thrivetoegthernetwork.com.