Lilla here. Today I want to share a FREE worksheet that I’ve created for you to help you decide what to focus on next.
I’ve worked with creatives for decades and I know how hard it can be to pick sometimes. You want to do all the things!
Markets! You want to illustrate children’s books, and also maybe finally write up that kids’ story idea that’s been hanging around the back of your head, and you want to design for home décor and also maybe your own toy or game, and you want to look at getting into magazine illustration, too.
And art supplies! You want to use all the toys! Like your gorgeous smudgy pastels, and also that amazing new fountain pen you just bought, and also your dreamy Japanese watercolors and maybe a little bit of gouache …
And what to draw, what to draw – maybe some florals while the garden’s in bloom (in the northern hemisphere anyway) or you’ve heard about this new whatever you should get into, or finally approach agents. or animals are always popular, right, or perhaps you should work on your figure drawing?
Argh it’s so hard to choose one thing to do! How do you pick? Where do you start? We creatives are so full of fabulous ideas. That’s the gift! But it creates overwhelm, and then we get stuck.
Some of my career highlights so far, including my illustrations, my first book, my regular column in Uppercase magazine, my craft jewelry line, speaking and teaching gigs, my classes with Make Art That Sells. Yeah, I like to do all the things.
I get it. And don’t get me wrong, it’s great to have many revenue streams. More revenue streams means more money for you, and a more varied and interesting career. But sometimes the decision making can be overwhelming, right?
That’s why in my courses, I break everything down so you never get paralyzed by decision making: I just give you a simple focus so you can dive right in. It’s one of the reasons why my courses have been so hugely popular.
What about the bigger picture stuff though? How do you choose what to focus on there?
Let me show you what I use.
The purpose is to gain some clarity.
Rather than compiling a long and overwhelming list of everything I want to do, this blobby worksheet is about the qualities of each thing I want to do.
Give it a try! Make your own blobby page or fill in mine. I’ve made a blank version for you, here, for you to fill in, using my prompts.
Download your blank copy of the FREE worksheet here, then fill it in using the prompts above.
I hope you find it helpful.
- Was it helpful to get all the stuff out of your head and on paper?
- Did you get most excited about one or two ideas that you now want to pursue?
- Did you realize that there are ‘shoulds’, things you feel you should do but really don’t want to and don’t need to?
- Are there things that feel overwhelming still and could be broken down into smaller chunks?
We really weren’t going to do a salesy newsletter (it’s the truth!), but now I’m thinking that I don’t want to leave you high and dry. I want you to have tools for achieving your goals so I’m thinking that if you want more help with this, you could dig into my Money BadAss course (MBA) that I co-wrote with Beth Kempton.
People have told me that the MBA course is life changing. That is my true hope for you, because a successful creative career is a wonderful thing. You are the boss of your life. You get to be who you fully are. You get to find opportunities and thrive. I am rooting for you.
If you’re happy to share, I would really love to see what you do with it! Share it on social media and tag @makeartthatsells so I can find it.
Yours in art,
