Less Stress, More Joy: Adventures in Creative Entrepreneurship

RE: Introducing the Weekly Peep Show

emilycline — 2009-11-21T09:44:47-08:00

wow. I love the "NO COMMENT ON ANYTHING YOU SEE" rule. I'm posting it in my studio. I once got so jammed up at a Sabrina Ward Harrison workshop that I hung a "IN SILENCE" sign around my neck the whole weekend. I missed meeting some really creative unique souls because of it, but it enabled me to get quiet, focus, and have a wonder-filled breakthrough. I'm going there again! Thank you.

RE: Journal Peek: Hundertwasser

collagediva — 2009-11-14T03:16:02-08:00

Thank you for sharing your journal pages and some of the background. There are times when I struggle with being imperfect, with just letting go and getting messy with my journals, with the possibility of making bad art. I love journal �pages like yours that show an organic feel to them - the torn tape binding, the loose handwriting, etc.

I just posted my Creative Entrepreneur Mandala on my blog,�http://collagediva.typepad.com/collagediva/2009/11/aedm-14.html.

I'm having a great time working through your book!

Many thanks,

Kathryn

RE: J'adore Voyager: A Peek Inside My Barcelona Journal

Charlotte A. Vitale — 2009-11-12T11:04:15-08:00

First time visiting you. Your link was put on the webliography through my Creative Energies online class at the University of Denver. My class has only a week to go and I thought that I would never journal again -- to many things to do and so little time left to do them (I'm 75). But you have changed my mind. I am going to journal so that my children and grandchildren have something other than physical keepsakes and dim memories of me and how much I loved them. thanks for sharing your thoughts and journaliing. - char

RE: Project Journals: A Creative Way to Get Things Done

Virginia — 2009-11-11T06:58:58-08:00

This is a great article. It's a keeper. Meaning, I will print it out and put it in my notebook with my other "keepers".

I keep journals on everything. This has some good pointers that I had not thought of.

Virginia

RE: Journal Peek: Hundertwasser

Patrick — 2009-11-10T16:17:35-08:00

Thanks for the encouragement of sharing your struggles with us. I know for me, I tend to just put them inside and fight on and not admit to having any struggles.

Always fun to see your ongoing work and work along the way to becoming ongoing.

Journal Peek: Hundertwasser

Lisa-Sonora — 2009-11-10T14:06:55-08:00

Journal Peek: Hundertwasser in my Green MBA Journal

In this week�s Visual Journal Peek Show, I�ll show you some pages of the visual journal I made during business school with some ideas on how to work with an altered book as a visual journal.

These pages document the a-ha moment I had when I re-read some of the manifesto�s of Friedensrich Hundertwasser, an Austrian painter and architect born in 1928. I had been a fan of his since ever since I discovered a monograph of his work years ago at a used bookstore in Chicago.

I copied out parts one of his manifestos about ecology and creativity.
He writes:

"Nature, art and creation are a single unity. We have simply separated them. If we rape the creation of nature, if we annihilate creation is us, then we destroy ourselves.

Only nature can teach us creation, creativity. Our true literacy is in our ability to be creatively active...�

Hundertwasser goes on to describe his proposed peace treaty with nature which includes ideas such as tolerance of spontaneous vegetation, living in harmony with nature and becoming a wasteless society.

Among Trees You Are Home
is a poster (shown of right page) Hundertwasser created circa 2000 (the year he died), and donated to promote the Afforestation of the Negev Desert in Israel. This was the image that facilitated a creative breakthrough.

My journal entry reads:

�Last week I spontaneously picked up my Hundertwasser book which had been in storage for 3 years. Suddenly, my whole question about how the Green MBA was relevant to being an artist and a poet was answered.

Hundertwasser did it. A painter and ecologist who designed fantastic green-roofed buildings, who published manifestos about being a zero-waste society in the early 1950�s.

Re-reading Hundertwasser gave me a kind of permission to admit, to commit to my true passions again. Nature. Poetry. Writing. Art-making. Being an artist for social change. Hundertwasser did it.

I am inspired not to care what anyone thinks of me. Reading Hundertwasser helped me see all the patterns woven throughout my life. Ever since childhood, my passion has been for Art, Nature, Writing�all in the service of healing myself and the world I love.�

About the Green MBA Visual Journal
In 2003, I documented my experience of getting a �green� MBA by turning an existing book, called The Working Girl in a Man�s World (1963) into a visual journal by altering the existing pages and adding some of my own. I suppose it was a way of rewriting an old story (not so long ago, and in many ways not so different) of being a woman in business.

Some How-To Ideas: Transforming an existing book into a visual journal

Add some new pages: In the first page spread, I pasted in kraft paper and a photocopy of another journal page.

I collect leaf skeletons, and this one is from one of my friend�s houseplants, almost a whole page big. I pasted it over a map of my beloved Mt. Tamalpais hiking trails and towns. The pages were painted with Golden Fluid Acrylics.

Metallic tape is used to tip in the extra kraft paper pages.

Strive for Imperfection
I like to work quickly and spontaneously in my journals, so don�t bother with trying to be too precise or neat with my writing. I just get it all down in my own messy handwriting. If I had to take steps to make the writing look better, I�d never get any journaling done at all.

Extra pages from magazines. Using a glue stick along the crease in the page fold, it�s easy to add pages from magazines, books or other sources.

Visual Journal as Documentary
This is a quick and easy way to capture moments in time or current events. Pages that include the publication date and/or name provide an instant reference to where you are in time and space.

As the owner of a design and marketing firm, I�ve always collected adds, especially documenting the proliferation of green business ideas going more mainstream.

Adding this sort of ephemera in your visual journal can help document what you are experiencing in the context of history. In this journal in particular, I can see just how quickly the world of green marketing has changed since 2003.

All journal pages and writing copyright Lisa Sonora Beam.

RE: Minimalist Lifestyles + Artistic Flotsam. How To Deal?

rachel — 2009-11-07T12:09:10-08:00

Hi Lisa,
This is such an interesting post--as Americans, we've been taught and encouraged to consume and to define ourselves by what we buy and how much. It's really challenging to break away from that and distill your possessions down to the most essential things. I look forward to reading about your breakthroughs in your next post.
Reading this one, though, I was struck by how our mental "possessions" can clutter up our brains just as extraneous clothes and furniture can clutter up our houses. I wonder if you'd be interested in a podcast on our site, http://www.skycastleinnovate.com/wp-content/uploads/podcast/SkyCastlePodcast-Free%20Writing-1.mp3http://skycastlepodcast.tumblr.com: it's an interview with Mark Levy, who wrote Accidental Genius: Revolutionize Your Thinking Through Private Writing. In this interview he shares his tips for "clearing your mind of the clutter" by using free writing. I hope you'll check it out!

RE: Minimalist Lifestyles + Artistic Flotsam. How To Deal?

ABCcreativity — 2009-11-06T12:20:12-08:00

thanks lisa. here is where i described the visual affirmations:
http://abccreativity.com/2009/09/14/visual-affirmations-for-interior-design-creating-happy-homes/

RE: Minimalist Lifestyles + Artistic Flotsam. How To Deal?

Lisa-Sonora — 2009-11-06T09:19:50-08:00

@ABCcreativity: thanks so much for stopping by: I am intrigued by your "visual affirmations", and I bet others are, too. Would you be willing to share some links to those with us?

For creatives, it does seem like systems that simplify, that work for us are what is needed. Would love to see some pix of your spaces, too!

@Kelly Kilmer: Hey! You are so generous to share so much of your experience with this. It's like you invited us into your home, and we got to sit down on the floor with you and your journals while you shared your philosophy on this.

Glad to know how you feel about shopping! I love Anthropologie, too. But it's a dangerous place to go with a credit card. I love how each store is designed differently, and they are always changing. I make it a point to visit them whenver I'm in a city that has a store.

So when we go out later today...we're just gonna look. Right?

@Traci Bunkers! How wonderful of you to stop by, girl! I loved your phrase "normal people"...

When I try to make my way through organizing systems/books and the like, I feel just like I did in school. The world is pretty much designed by right-brained people for right-brained people. We are the square pegs of organizing.

This is just the dialogue I was hoping to have on this subject, so many thanks again for sharing your experience.

RE: Minimalist Lifestyles + Artistic Flotsam. How To Deal?

TraciBunkers — 2009-11-06T06:15:22-08:00

Interesting subject! Organizing/decluttering is always on my to-do list, and so far I feel pretty unsuccessful at it. And you're right--all of the books I've read on the subject are for "normal" people--not for artists who have lots of stuff for their creativity--not only supplies to work with, finished & unfinished projects, but also inspirational materials. And for me, if I can't see something, I forgot I have it. But I can't everything out. So what's an artist to do? I want to know! My house and studio keep getting smaller & smaller for this reason. I keep thinking the answer is just to have a bigger space, but I don't think that's REALLY the answer.

So, I have no answers here--but I'm looking for some and am curious to see what other people have to say.

RE: Minimalist Lifestyles + Artistic Flotsam. How To Deal?

Kelly Kilmer — 2009-11-05T21:26:03-08:00

I'm always purging and finding new homes for things. Your words sound like something that could have come out of my mouth. My husband, son and I live in a tiny one bedroom apartment. Whenever something new comes in something has to go out. I don't believe in throwing something away (unless it can't be recycled or if it is broken) so I am a big fan of donating things.

I don't care about new shoes or new clothes or new accessories. My money is spent on-
shelter (rent)
food and essentials
bills
art supplies
books

I've learned that just because there is a new toy out there that it doesn't mean I need it.

I've learned to make art and not have to bring the kitchen sink. I can fill a ziploc bag with scraps, a glue stick, a rag and a pen or two. That's it. I don't need much.

I don't feel like I need to shop to make myself feel better or to fulfill anything. I hate malls. I love visiting Anthropologie but I can't afford anything there nor do I need anything there. I love walking and visiting new places (even if it's a new street that I've never walked down). I hate shopping. I really do. I always have. That being said, I do love used bookstores and secondhand stores. If I do feel the need to buy something, something that's been loved already is more likely to go home with me than something brand new.

If I have to choose between going shopping and staying home and making art. Guess what I choose?

I don't live in a big house. I live in a tiny apartment with one bedroom. My art stuff lives in the living room. I have more "stuff" than most and it's really because I also am an art teacher. I supply what my students need and am always bringing goodies to classes for them to use.

My husband and I often have discussions on money and STUFF. How Americans are obsessed with STUFF, their stuff. I don't want to be one of the Joneses. I could care less about having the latest and greatest. I drive an old car. I didn't get a converter box so we don't watch TV. I would rather spend my time making art, reading, walking or just being with my family. I'm a firm believer in not having to work work work to buy STUFF. I want to work with what I have and not have to BUY anything to MAKE ART. I want to work with what I have and work when I want to work so I have enough to pay bills and take care of the basics but not have to work two or three or four jobs so I have to pay off my credit cards from a weekend off and full of retail therapy.

As far as wardrobe goes, I have learned less is more. I have 2 or 3 black skirts that I love. I have a couple of pairs of shoes that I swap back and forth with. I have a 17 year old pair of Doc Martens for winter. I have a few shirts in favorite colors. I have a summer bathrobe and a winter bathrobe. I have more panties and tights then I have t-shirts or skirts. lol. I have one dressy dress that I haven't worn in 2 or 3 years. I'm not a dress up type person. I love working from home in my pjs!

I am honestly at my happiest when I am sitting on the floor working in my journal in the living room with my husband and son in the same room each doing their own thing. I am least happiest when I am at the mall.

RE: Minimalist Lifestyles + Artistic Flotsam. How To Deal?

ABCcreativity — 2009-11-05T07:32:46-08:00

i don't know if i am truly minimalist, but i feel like i have simplified my life and that it is easy to manage. like clothes - i love clothes, i love makeup, i love having glitter eyeliner in every possible colour. so i have a dressing room in my house, a whole room lined in shelves and racks with clothes, makeup and accessories neatly put away. i can go in there and see everything i've got and really play with fashion. i love it. not minimal but it feels clean and simple and gives me great joy. art room is the same, i have been collecting cute vintage containers to store supplies in and have a wall of shelves in there that holds it all.

i do have a lot of empty space in my home too though, which makes it feel more minimalist. with all of my clothes in the dressing room, my bedroom only had a bed with a fantastic canopy and a big bookshelf and lots of candles.

when i was studying interior design i made up a concept i call "visual affirmations" which i sometimes share about on my blog. creating rooms that feel the way i want to feel, all working together to create a home that supports me in living my happiest posible life. and for me that does usually mean simple, but my own personal definition of simple, which does not sacrifice any of the things i really want.

Minimalist Lifestyles + Artistic Flotsam. How To Deal?

Lisa-Sonora — 2009-11-04T15:36:40-08:00

How do you live and create well, with less stuff bogging you down? This is the subject of most of my google searches these days. Clutter clearing, space clearing, de-cluttering, minimalism, frugality, traveling light, living with less. I do a decent job of this in certain areas of life. But not the main area: my creative work. So this is a problem for me.

Regarding the sorting and care of three-dimensional objects, I asked a friend about trying (yet again) to find just the right system for organizing my mixed-media art supplies:

Am I attempting the impossible?

Or am I just going about the impossible in the wrong way?

That pretty much sums up my ongoing dilemma of being an artist who wants to live with less. When it comes to stuff, I simply just suck at keeping it organized. Maybe it�s because I�m a classic creative type. I call it being three-dimensionally challenged. Strangely, when I do finally figure out a system, it works for me. But it takes a lot of trial and error and trips to the container store to waste money on organizing solutions that don�t end up working for me.

As I pack up my life to head back to the SF Bay Area from my artist residency in LA, I�ve been thinking a lot (code phrase for obsessing) about how much stuff I have. There�s nothing like packing and moving to inspire an episode of de-cluttering mania.

For the most part I�ve always lived rather simply, at least according to the standards in the U.S. This has looked like:

living in small apartments or lofts (from 300 to 725 s.f.),
not having a car,
using my bike for transport (even in Chicago),
not having a TV,
and not collecting a bunch of stuff.
Except for books and art supplies. Therin lies the bane of my existence.
Oh, and I also love clothes and good design.

In my 20�s, my minimalist lifestyle could also be called: the starving artist lifestyle.
Let�s be real. It was my financial reality, more than a philosophical ideal, that introduced me to minimalism. This was before blogs and during the 80�s, when spending and hair were big.

Sometimes, when all I really wanted to do was to go on a retail therapy bender at Bloomingdales, I would get out my dog-eared copy of Walden. It was some solace, but then I'd be sort of pissed that this was a dude doing this simple living thing, who didn�t care about clothes. Or matching bath towels, or day vs. night time facial moisturizers, or cocktail-appropriate glassware. Not to mention shoes.

Sometimes I went Bloomingdale's after all. OK. Oftentimes. The search for salvation has happened at the mall more often than I care to admit. Thus, too much stuff buildup. Less space, less money, less traveling light.

My creative work was always the number one priority to me, so I ~~easily~~ made sacrifices of comfort, convenience and at times, calories, in order to have the time and space I needed to earn my living as an artist. My books and clothes were bought used. My art supplies funded by contract gigs in advertising. All was well enough. (Except for when I fell off the wagon and went shopping, noted above.)

It doesn�t help that I have a lot of interests. Workwise, for example, I�ve always been a writer, visual artist, graphic designer, then creative director. For a while I also designed a jewelery and accessories line, indulging my fashionista side. I've also taught workshops in addition to the above. Each of these vocations requires supplies. Plus wardrobe changes. Thoreau, I am not.

A funny thing happened as my career became "more successful". I earned more money. I spent more money. And acquired more stuff. A hell of a lot more stuff.

Somehow, I even managed to acquire a small building, which used to be a warehouse. For me, a dream house for an artist. Over the years I�ve slowly renovated the place on a shoestring budget and turned it into two separate live/work spaces. I live in one, and rent the other out. Tools and building materials entered my life. So did furniture that I could not move myself. Oy!

When I had the opportunity to come to LA, I rented out my SF Bay Area space. As things unfolded, I sold most of my stuff, so I wouldn�t have to pay for storage space. This was a great purging, as I easily unloaded half of my stuff. If not more. I kind of wish I had tracked it better, just for the documentary value.

My main categories of purging stuff were clothing, art supplies, furniture and household stuff. Now I am left with mostly clothing and art supplies. And I find that I just want to have lots less of it all.

But how? I�ve been reading several blogs* that are talking about minimalist lifestyle design, mostly as a way to have freedom from debt, or a job you don�t like, or to be able to travel the world. Or all of the above. But as far I as I can tell, except for maybe my friend Colleen Wainwright, who just did a wonderful series on clutter-clearing on her blog, none of these folks are artists/designer types who have supply-intensive creative work.

Are there any artists out there who are moving toward a more minimalist lifestyle? If you�re out there, give a shout! I�d love to know what you�ve done to address these dilemmas. Or what you have tried, or are thinking of trying.

The questions I am asking myself:

How do I minimize my art supplies, so that I have what I need to do my work, but not so much that I am overwhelmed by stuff?

How do I then organize the remaining supplies, so they are easily at hand when needed, stowed when not.

How do I have less clothing and not look like a dork? Now, French women seem to have figured this out. Apparently, less is more. They buy quality, not quantity. And they also ride their bikes in high heels, which is reason enough to hang out in Paris, just to see.

No offense to guys, but I�m jealous that you have it so much easier being minimalist, especially when it comes to shoes. I especially want to hear from women on these issues. If you are a women who doesn�t only want to run around in Keen�s or Dansko�s, how have you minimized your wardrobe?

When I mean less clothing, I mean, like a suitcase full. Is that even possible? Considering you need wardrobe changes for different weather, casual/business, athletic activities (I swim, surf, do yoga, dance, hike, bike). Also, I do not iron. Ever.

Reminds me of the shortest poem I ever wrote:

Never iron.

In the past few days, I have had some breakthroughs about these issues, which I�ll share next week. But I�d like to combine them with your ideas, and links to blog posts, and articles, if you�ve got �em.

Meanwhile, tell me your strategies for living and creating more, with less.

*Here are links to my some of my favorite blogs that talk about living well with less stuff.

mnmlist.com (Minimalism is the end of organizing.)

Is a site by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits. If you don't know about Zen Habits, and you are interested in this stuff, you'll want to go bookmark that, too.

In Leo's words, about mnmlist.com:

It's about minimalism, and why it's important today.

It's about stuff, and how it has come to overwhelm us.

It's about distractions and commitments and a neverending task list.

It's about the culture of more, of bigger, of consumption.

It's about how less is the answer.

ManvsDebt.com
Not just a man, but a family who is living and working abroad. Adam Baker is the man in Man Vs. Debt, and I appreciate his transparency and honesty about the taboo subject known as money. As Adams writes in his about page: "This blog is a real-time chronicle of my journey not only to �get out of debt,� but to �get into life.�

thistinyhouse.com
A blog about living in tiny spaces. Says Hillary, the author:
My desire to own my own tiny home (and not go into debt) led me to buy a used lightweight fiberglass travel trailer in January of 2008. (I can tow it with my fuel efficient car!) Michael and I have been fixing up this 50-square-foot space and customizing it for traveling and full-time living.

EarlyRetirementExtreme.com
What I love about this site is the "extreme" part. Meaning, all of the ideas are not for everyone, but it gives such good food for thought, that you're brain is bound to stretch into some new territory that previously seemed impossible. At least, that's what happened for me. Good stuff!

RE: J'adore Voyager: A Peek Inside My Barcelona Journal

collagediva — 2009-11-03T03:27:15-08:00

Hi Lisa,

I just started working through your book. Here is a link to my first blog post:

http://bit.ly/EcVIe

RE: Project Journals: A Creative Way to Get Things Done

Lorelle — 2009-10-29T14:53:34-07:00

Thankyou for this idea. I'm going to try this as it might take away the fear and worry that sets in each time after I take on a new assignment.

I bought your book and have found it very hard to put down. It has helped me a lot. Thankyou.

RE: Project Journals: A Creative Way to Get Things Done

Lisa-Sonora — 2009-10-29T12:42:37-07:00

@Debbie
That's great! Feel free to share your progress -- would love to know how it works for you.

J'adore Voyager: A Peek Inside My Barcelona Journal

Lisa-Sonora — 2009-10-29T12:37:18-07:00

This week's Peek Show: Between the Covers of My Visual Journals, takes us to one of my favorite cities: Barcelona.

Writing in cafes offers an antidote to the isolation of the writer's life. So I recommend doing this, even in your home town. Bring your camera and take some snaps of your table. I have a mild obsession with doing this -- and these shots go in the journal, eventually. These are the type of photos that are generally only of interest to the writer, even more reason to take them.

Here's a quick tutorial on an easy way to add some visual elements to your journal: no art experience required.

Supplies: Blank page (or a page you don't like and want to paint over), any old cheap paint, an old credit card or expired gift card (that you don't mind wrecking).

Painted Backgrounds: Pour some paint out on a paper plate or scrap paper, and use the credit card to pick up some paint and wipe it over the pages. Experiment with mixing different colors right in your journal. Make a bunch of pages. Try adding borders, strips, scribbles.

Voila! No more blank white page!

In this example, the rubber stamp image was already on the page. It's an old journal I had lying around from the year 2000, when I was really into my set of Mexican Icon stamps -- so I stamped a bunch of pages and then never did anything in the journal.

I have been committed to recycling my old work, and using up supplies I already have, so no new journal was bought for this trip. Thus, this one came in to play.

Any sort of cheapie craft paint will do. If you are someone who paints, your acrylics will work, too, if you make the layers very thin.

In this example, I was cleaning up my paint for the day, so just the dregs left on my palette were scraped on to the page. The numbers on the right page edge are from cleaning off my rubber stamps.

I love the random nature of just slapping paint down on the paper and not trying to make it look "artistic". It's part of my creative practice. A way to limber up and stay loose.

Once you've got some painted backgrounds, you can go anywhere and not have to travel with paint. Just a pen is all you really need take with you.

Here's a finished journal entry. I made a bunch of date labels before I left, which I stamped with my trusty date stamp. A gift from my local librarian when the hand-stamped due date went the way of the dinosaur. She knew of my fondness for date stamps. I'll try and keep them alive in my own small way.

In this entry, I made a sketch of my wine bottle. My selection of wine was based entirely on the beautiful typography on the label. It unfortunately didn't taste that great to me. I'm sticking to Rioja.

All photos by Lisa Sonora Beam.

For a little background on this weekly series of Journal Peeks, you can read all about it here. Enjoy!

Connecting Creative Women Entrepreneurs

Lisa-Sonora — 2009-10-28T13:12:45-07:00

Jennifer Lee, Kimberly Wilson, Britt Bravo and I were on a call the other day talking about how fun it would be to put together an event for creative women entrepreneurs to connect, create, and learn together.
We came up with our own description of what an event like that would look like, but we want to hear your thoughts and opinions, too.
We put together a six-question survey to find out what your ideal creative women entrepreneur event would look like.

By providing your feedback, you can enter in a raffle to be one of four winners to receive either a half hour social media consulting with Britt, a copy of the Right Brain Business Plan e-Book by Jennifer, a copy of Creative Entrepreneur by Lisa, or a copy of Hip Tranquil Chick by Kimberly.

Click here to take the survey

Thank you very much for your input! We'll be designing an experience that caters to you and is what we wish we had along our journeys. That's why we're excited to create it!

RE: Project Journals: A Creative Way to Get Things Done

DebbieRodgers — 2009-10-28T09:40:59-07:00

What a brilliant idea! I love journaling and I can see immediately how this would focus me on a particular business project that keeps getting sidelined.

I haven't been reading your blog for very long, so I hope I haven't missed other similarly inspired ideas.

Thanks!

P.S. And I don't even have to have to find the perfect book - it's a gift from a friend that's been sitting here & waiting for a special use. I'm starting today!

Project Journals: A Creative Way to Get Things Done

Lisa-Sonora — 2009-10-27T21:09:59-07:00

If you've ever struggled with completing a creative project, you probably don't have a big hang up about commitment or finishing what you start. You probably just get stuck somewhere in the middle.

Here's my tried and true method of project management. I call it the Project Journal. If you come up with a sexier name for it, please let me know. Enjoy.

What is a Project Journal?
A Project Journal documents the both the process and the production of any type of new creation or goal, from initial idea to completed product. It�s a visual and tactile project management technique that is especially helpful for creative thinkers.

Think of it like the logbook a ship�s captain makes for a long voyage. There is a daily record of weather, direction, encounters, notes about the crew, supplies consumed/purchased, creatures, flora, and fauna. All of this information is used to navigate the unfamiliar more successfully and help plan future trips.

Since taking on a new creative endeavor is a lot like voyaging in unfamiliar territory, I�ve come up with Project Journals as a way to navigate and demystify the experience of creating something new. But their real value is that they help me be more accountable and get things done, without going too far off the deep end when the going gets tough.

What kinds of projects?
The word project is used broadly. All sorts of things benefit when tracked in a Project Journal.

I�ve used Project Journals for:

Travel planning
Writing a book
Working on a new series of paintings
Going back to school
Developing workshops and classes
Moving house
Budgeting and financial planning
Tracking goals set in my annual review

Why keep a Project Journal?
Getting from A (where we are/our initial idea) to Z (where we want to be/a product we are happy with) is not only a long, strange trip, but there are myriad attractions along the way to divert our attention and focus.

Not to mention potholes, flat tires, sick days, delays and other potential derailments. Or the fact that it�s tempting to skip over a bunch of steps to get to Z faster. Which usually backfires.

In between beginning an important project and a successful completion, lies a vast and largely unmapped territory: the middle.

It�s pretty easy to begin something new. Recall those New Year�s resolutions and best laid plans. It�s not so easy to bring something�especially a creative project, or a goal spanning many months�to completion. It�s not because we�re bad at finishing what we start. It�s because we don�t know how to navigate the middle. The part in between starting and finishing.

A Project Journal is a way of mapping your way through the middle as you go. Once you�ve done this with one project, you�ve got some very potent information about how you work that you can use to inform other projects.

How to Make a Project Journal
A project journal is simply a notebook of any kind, separated with specific sections. It�s what goes into the Project Journal that is most important. First you�ll get your notebook together, then you�ll add your project content.

Supplies:
Notebook of choice (see hints for choosing, below)
Sticky notes in various sizes
Clear tape
Glue stick
Highlighter pens (I use these primarily for coloring)
Paper clips 
Types of notebooks to use for your Project Journal:

Hints for selecting your notebook:

Where to find notebooks
Composition-style books can be found at office supply and department stores, and sometimes at the local dollar stores.

University bookstores sell a wonderful selection of lab books designed for math and science projects with some interesting visual elements. These appeal to the geeky side and are a nice alternative to plain or lined paper.

Other types of notebooks that make great Project Journals

Spiral notebook
Sketchbook (if you�re a moleskine fan or have another favorite brand)
Ring binder with loose leaf paper

The perfect notebook does not exist
If you are a procrastinator/perfectionist like me, you might be tempted to seek the perfect notebook for your journal. I�ll tell you now: the perfect notebook/sketchbook doesn�t exist. I�ve been creating using journals for about a million years now, and I have not yet found the Perfect Solution.

So use what you�ve got 
Chances are, you�ve already got a 3-ring binder or spiral notebook laying around. Or some very beautiful journal you�ve been saving until you had something important to say. Use one of those.

It�s empowering to use the tools that we already have on hand. It interrupts the part of us that thinks we need the right something or other to make a start.

You�ll learn by doing
By working in any old notebook, and by making Project Journals for various projects, you�ll find you�re own way of working. It�s by doing the work that we find our technique, our voice, our own process.

A Project Journal is a perfectly non-threatening way to makes these discoveries, as it�s not for commercial use or for someone else to see. It�s for our own information only. You�ll figure out the best form for your project journal by working in any old notebook, and evolving to a different one for the next project.

How to Prepare and Use Your Project Journal

Get a notebook that will be used just as your project journal.
Use some sticky notes as tabs to create some sections in your notebook. Reinforce the tabs with tape, to make them more durable.
Fill in the three sections with content related to your project.
Decide on how often you will chart your progress.
Keep going until the project is complete.
Make a final entry on main take-aways and key points to remember for next time.
Have fun and enjoy the journey!

The following sections with help you organize your Project Journal.

Section 1: Project Notes
This section describes the project and serves as a place to catch ideas and brainstorm. Since creativity is non-linear, you�ll have a place to capture ideas as they flow.

The tabs in this section will be specific to your project. For a writing project, they will be things like chapter ideas, structural ideas, characters, topics. For a health/fitness project you would have tabs for menu ideas, supplements, workouts, inspiration.

Section 2: Progress Goals
The more you can quantify the project with a series of measurable goals, the better you will be able to objectively track the progress.

Quantifiable measures include: time frame, duration, quantity. (Stuff you can measure.)

So you may have tabs that mark things like:

Project Timeline/Key deliverable/Deadlines
Your daily/weekly/monthly quota of some deliverable, i.e. 1 drawing per day, 1,000 words per day, 3 workouts per week, amount and type of calories consumed.

If you like spreadsheets, charts or checklists, these will give you at-a-glance info about your progress, and can be glued or taped in to the journal.

Section 3: Process Notes
This is where we document what happens in the middle, en route from A to Z. Process notes are journal entries that document our thoughts/feelings/actions that happened as you worked. It�s like a diary, except that it is specific to the project.

This is especially helpful to keep the momentum building. You�ll immediately spot when the project is lagging. For longer, ongoing projects this is normal. Momentum ebbs and flows. Circumstances and life impose themselves upon our good intentions and best laid plans. That�s OK.

Commit to making a weekly process note entry, or even daily, depending upon the type of project. It�s important to take some notes, even if you are just checking in to write, �I�ve been sick as a dog. Not doing anything.� or �For some reason, I just don�t want to be working on this. I wonder what�s up with that?� or �Well, the holidays are here and I�m not only stressed, but eating my body weight in simple carbs�. You note taking will help you unravel what sorts of scenarios help or hurt your focus and momentum.

A little bit of history
I got the idea for process notes from my days, long ago, when I was a therapist working in psychiatric hospitals. Every day, we were required to chart on (make process notes about) our patients. We learned an objective way of writing about our interactions with, or observations about, our patients, and this went in to their medical record. Doctors, nurses, and other therapists all added their notes.

This way, there was a coordinated narrative that informed the treatment plan and filled in details about medications, treatment goals and progress/setbacks. This was the only way dozens of people on a team could track dozens of patients through their hospital stay. Chart notes were made a minimum of every 4 hrs., or twice per shift.

Process notes allow you to chart on yourself -- and you can be as subjective as you want. The more you talk about how you feel about what you are experiencing, the more information you�ll have to inform your way of working.

Mapping the mysterious
The whole reason behind making and keeping a Project Journal is to begin understanding our own creative process. Your notes and observations provide clues and facts that you can sort out and, gain insight from, and use to make going through the middle of any project easier, faster, and more fun, next time.

When we do something challenging, we often forget what exactly the steps were that helped us navigate the hard parts, or make our job easier. The Project Journal has it in there.

That�s more than enough info for you to get started. Try this at home. Let me know if you have any questions. Tell me how it�s going for you. What are you making a Project Journal for? How is it helping you navigate the middle, that place in between here and there?