Death by Idea

Ideas are fabulous, but they are also hazardous to your health.

Unorganized, unfulfilled ideas are a great source of stress for me. Sometimes my head gets so full that one more random thought that hits at 3 in the morning may as well be a sniper shot to the head.

I told you before that I'm a "notebook" girl--a notebook girl who likes to make lists. It is the only way that I feign sanity. But now my notebooks are running amok and have threatened my husband's sanity.  As my brain overflows, I drain the excess thoughts into a notebook. I have a notebook to capture each topic.

I keep them in an "orderly" stack on the coffee table until my cats jump up and knock over the stack. So honestly most days they are strewn around in a hot mess. What can I say, my surroundings reflect my emotional state.

Clean house = calm mind.
Chaotic house = chaotic mind.

So technology to the rescue. At least a for a test phase.

I "inherited" an iPad when my husband upgraded. I've adopted it as a high-tech notebook. Right now, I'm using the standard Notes app to keep lists on different topic areas -- one for blog ideas, one for my guild's challenge themes, and a couple for different product ideas.

Sure I could have been doing this on my laptop, but typing on a laptop feels too much like I'm at work. Ideas don't flow well in that type of environment. The iPad feels like my notebooks. Plus it is really easy to take it with me.

So if anybody has any tips on cool productivity or creative apps that I may want to check out. Let me know.

Storing Ideas

How do you store ideas that hit at inconvenient times? I'm  a big fan of notebooks! I've got tons of them going, each with a slightly different purpose.

Ideas marinating in notebooks until I can get to the creativity kitchen

The big sketch pad in the back is one I've been using for about 20 years to sketch out quick doodle project ideas. The first sketches were of ideas for dog bandanas that my mom and I sold at craft shows when I was in my early 20s. 

The tiny one captures blog topics.

When most of these ideas popped into my head, they were so detailed that the post almost wrote itself, but since I didn't have the time then to actually type it out, I jotted down the essence which of course I would remember later. Yeah, right!

Item Number 74 is "Creativity Lessons Learned from my Cats." I bet that would have been good, but now, as I watch them napping on the couch, I have no idea what the thought was behind that post. 

Many of these ideas, will never come to fruition, some will marinate for years first, and others, like the vampire bunny and the fleur-de-lis light switchplate sketches push so hard at my brain that I create them right away.

If your peak idea time lines up with your available work times, I ENVY you. My ideas hit at 3:00 a.m. on a weekday morning or when I am in the shower getting ready to head off to my day job. That's life I guess.

20-year-old product sketch from my first business venture--doggy bandanas

Pinterest: 5 reasons you should be pinning

My Pinterest Halloween Inspiration Board

Pinterest

My new addiction and five reasons why it should be yours

This week I discovered a new blog and a new addiction when I visited It's All About Creating by Marlene Brady. She showcases lots of great projects, some her own and some by other artists. I liked what I saw so I decided to click on this image in her sidebar to more tutorials.

http://pinterest.com/arteveryday/

The link took me to her Pinterest boards. I've been reading about Pinterest, a site where you can create virtual bulletin boards and "pin" items that you like onto them. It sounded cool, but nothing motivated me to invest precious time there. Nothing, that is, until I saw how Marlene used it. She has boards sorted by tutorials, craft type, holidays, and even marketing and display ideas. The closet librarian in me started to take over. I HAD to pin something. Pinterest is invitation only right now, but I saw a place to request an invite. That same evening I received an e-mail inviting me to join and I've been pinning ever since.

Here are 5 reasons you should be pinning:

1. Visual Brainstorming
How many times have you seen a link or a photo on the web that inspired you? I find myself downloading photos and bookmarking endless links, but frankly those great finds get buried on my laptop. Most never see the light of day again. Pinterest is a visual way of organizing things. It works great for projects because you can set up individual boards for each project. One of my first boards was a collection of fire pit ideas that I can share with a landscaper once I am ready to redo our backyard.

2. Order your world
My dream would be to take a label maker and label everything in the universe. Sick right? I am an order freak, not that my life lets me take it to the level that I would like. I've tries so many systems to organize things. I have folders on my computer that are divided into sub-folders and I still can't find anything. Pinning is a simple way to file things on the fly.

3. Explore Google-free 
I love the ease of a Google search. Frankly, I don't know what I did before Google. Yet Google groups things using algorithms. It thinks mechanically. When you explore Pinterest, you see things grouped organically by a complex and individual human mind. That leads to some pretty interesting finds. If you want to make sure Google doesn't feel left out, you can google "Pinterest 101" to find lots of great articles on how to get started.

4. Accumulate stuff, no closet space needed
Pinterest is great if you are a minimalist neat freak with hoarder tendencies. The boards let you amass tons of cool stuff without filling your house to the rafters. It is the ultimate couch potato window shopping experience. It can also serve as a virtual shopping cart for when you are ready to buy the real thing. I have a board filled with dining room table selections. Soon, when I make up my mind, one of them will find its way to my home.

5. Promote your work
While your role on Pinterest is to curate the great stuff that you find out on the World Wide Web, Pinterest does allow you to pin things of your own as well. Many artist have a "My Work" board along with their other items. I think the key, like in any social forum, is to be subtle and keep the good karma flowing outward.

5 Tips to Avoid the Project Graveyard

Do you finish what you start?

I haven’t met a creative-type who didn’t have a stash of “half-dead,” or more politely referenced, “half-finished” projects. While I think it is in our nature to follow our creative muse to newer things, I think there are ways to try to keep your projects out of the project graveyard.

1. Plan It

Some people respond to a disciplined approach, but frankly if that were my strong suit, I probably wouldn’t have a project graveyard to begin with. That being said, planning can be a useful tool in your resuscitation kit.

• Check your supplies. An empty bottle of glue can forever derail a project.
• Make a to-go box. I like to fill a box with supplies so if I feel like working outside I can.
  
• Chunk it. You know the saying, “You can’t eat an elephant in one bite.”
• Dedicate some time. Treat the project as special. If possible take some time off work, get a sitter, do whatever you need to do to focus.

2. Shine It

We all fall victim to the shiny object syndrome. New things capture our attention, but instead of letting new things divert you, let them inspire you.

• Read articles. Check out ones about knitting, quilting, or whatever you’re working on.
• Look at eye-candy. Great examples can reenergize you.
• Re-envision it. Use new ideas to evolve the project if it is still malleable.
• Buy something new. (such as cool buttons for the sweater you are knitting)

Note of caution: At some point inspiration seeking turns into procrastination. Couple your active inspiration seeking with designated work time without distractions.

3. Master It

I find things start to stall if my skills don’t match my vision. There are a couple of options here you could try if that seems to be your issue.

• Put it on hold. In the meantime, pursue the skills you need.
• Simplify the scope. Try finishing it by using a technique you do know.
• Practice. Work on a similar, but smaller project, so you don’t have the fear of “messing it up.”
• Get help. I have a bracelet on hold until my next visit to Mom’s house.

4. Flank It

Sometimes projects become die because we try to go it alone. Team up, and you stand a much better chance.

• Enter an artistic challenge. When I was working on a recipe scrapbook for my mom, I did it as part “Art Every Day” Month.
• Host a “Zombie Project” party. Invite your friends over to work on projects they’d like to raise from the dead. You could even give a prize for the oldest, most out-of-date project. Read my how-to post on Girlfriendology.

5. Salvage It

Sometimes a project sits way to long. Trends change. Take a good look and see if there is any part of it that could be repurposed. If not, do the humane thing and pull the plug.

Hope these tips help. Let me know how you manage to keep things out of your project graveyard.

About the photo: I'm trying to use more of own work to illustrate posts. This is a miniature gravestone that I created out of polymer clay.

Coffee: My Muse, My Addiction

I never liked the taste of coffee. A stolen sip from Mom’s coffee mug confirmed it for me. Yet tastes change: they evolve.

Early in my professional writing career, I was reintroduced to coffee.

After college, I took a reporting position at a small town newspaper. I spent my evenings covering long meetings; exciting stuff like school boards and sewer authorities. And every morning, I hauled my tired self into the newsroom at 7:00 a.m. to type up my story, some police reports, and a couple obits before my 9:00 a.m. press deadline.

Becky, my mentor, started every morning with a piping hot cup of coffee. It transformed her from a surly bear into a one that was just mildly grumpy. She thought it was pretty weird that I didn’t drink coffee. Peer pressure, as it usually does, got the best of me, and I took up the habit. Thanks to her, I will forever associate coffee with writing.

Now more than 15 years and two jobs later, coffee has become an integral part of my creative process. The smell of the first cup, the feel of the hot mug in one hand as I type hunt-and-peck style with the other; they bring my muse. The words don’t flow anymore without coffee.

Many times I have tried to free myself from the grips of my coffee mug. For a short time I succeed. But eventually my muse calls again, and I answer her.

This post was inspired by Tazim Damji’s “The Favourite Things Project.” This week’s theme was “Things to Drink.”

Dear Crayola, A Plea for Productivity

You can’t imagine how much productivity is lost through crayon inefficiencies. The problem is so bad that my coworker’s son, Owen, posted a plea on his Facebook page asking Crayola for help.

“Dear Crayola,

I think you should make a color called blue white swirl. I think you should make blue white swirl because I don't want to keep switching crayons when coloring the sky and clouds. I feel the same way when coloring an ocean with icebergs. And I feel the same way when coloring Penn State stuff.

You may not think it's that bad, but I think it takes too long to switch back and forth between crayons.”

Owen is a busy writer, artist, musician and structural engineer. That's a roller coaster in the background that he has been building in the living room for the past 6 weeks. His mom has given the construction crew a July 1 completion deadline.

Is there hope?
Maybe Crayola will hear Owen’s plea, and we can all save tremendous amounts of time when we have a sky to color. But what will we do with our new-found free time? Fill up again with something else?

True productivity goes beyond the capacity to check more things off your to-do-list. It is the productivity you find when you simplify your life. It is the productivity of entering “the zone” on a project you really care about. It is the productivity you feel when your life is in perfect balance, if only for a moment.

There are two blogs that I find really helpful in refocusing my energies on healthy productivity.

Zen Habits
Zen Habits is a blog by Leo Babauta, writer, husband and father of six. As he puts it “ Zen Habits is about finding simplicity in the daily chaos of our lives. It’s about clearing the clutter so we can focus on what’s important, create something amazing, and find happiness.

Productive Flourishing
Productive Flourishing is written by Charlie, a former philosophy professor and a logistics officer in the Army National Guard. His blog talks about the art of meaningful action that he describes as that sweet spot between incessant daydreaming and mindless doing.

What are you favorite ways to move from assembly line productivity to something that truly feeds your soul?

Love at Sea

Living a Double Life

Some days I feel like a superhero hiding a secret identity, minus the superpowers, cool gadgets, and nifty lair.

By day, I am Marie Young, bespectacled mild mannered writer, working with an amazing creative team at Penn State. By night, I am Young Creative, artist and small business owner.

My story isn’t unique. Many creative people lead a double life. We work 40+ hours in our “real job” and then put in more hours nurturing our creative baby. Some of you even throw real babies into the mix. Amazing!

Working full-time while you pursue your creative passion is exhausting. Both jobs need your full attention, and yet you can’t neglect your family, health, or happiness either. Since I can’t create more hours in the day, I have to find ways to pep up productivity. Here are a few of my favorites:

Know your creative clock.

Mornings are my most creative time. By evening my brain cells are dying off. That’s good news for my day job, not so good news for my creative baby that is relegated to the night shift.

To minimize the creative drop off, I try to set aside Saturday morning for major creative undertakings and use the evenings to do more task-oriented things that don’t require as much thought.

Take time to make time.

Set aside time to plan for the upcoming week. What do you want to do? What supplies do you need to do it? When you are stressed you forget things. If everything is written down, you have a better chance of getting it all done.

Do something that matters.

This is really hard. Everything about the creative process is seductive. I love reading inspiring magazines, visiting artist forums, looking at eye-candy. There are so many rabbit holes to slip though. I have to remind myself, “You can’t have sales without products.”

Oh, that’s right. No products, no sales. I really should go and finish some inventory.