Process Makes Perfect

 
I’m a creative person. We all are in different ways. Around this time last year I was perusing the web in search of videos to spark some sort of creative juices, and after almost an hour I realized that I had nothing to show for it. Was I better in anyway for watching 60 minutes worth of videos on Vimeo just to stay up with the trends? Personally, I do not think so. Aren’t good ideas supposed to be changing, going against the grain? Perusing the web for an hour just left me assessing my own portfolio with nothing to show for it. Everyone’s process is going to be different and by looking at the countless books on honing creativity, it seems that the ways most people work varies.
I decided I was going to try to organize my time, so I needed to develop a real process. Before embarking on personal work, I was going to allot myself twenty minutes of web surfing. The content had to be quality.  Reading something that was interesting, but not surfing the latest camera reviews or shopping for gear I know I will probably never buy. After that twenty minutes was up, I was to write or draw out any ideas that came to mind.  At least then, would I have something to show for my time.
So, I bought a few un-lined notebooks and tried to diligently stick to my plan. Of course its harder to stick with when projects are exciting to work on, but for myself realizing that ideas come easier and more freely then, rather than in a slump.  I’m sure my process will evolve more over time, but so far I have built a hands-on library of ideas for inspiration when in a slump. Many times I don’t have a full hour to do this.  So, I try to keep my notebook with me, jotting down ideas or drawings as they come to mind.  The key to all of this of course, is to revisit the notebooks often.