E11 | Gentle Goal Planning for Introverted Artists

In this New Year's episode, I talk about setting goals for the year and share my views on why traditional planning can sometimes frustrate introverted artists. I also share my alternative approach that will ignite your creativity and leave you feeling inspired and accomplished.

00:00 Introduction to the Quietly Thriving Artist Podcast
00:39 Rethinking Traditional Goal Setting
02:17 The Problems with Traditional Goal Setting
04:32 An Alternative Approach to Goal Setting
07:39 Practical Guidance for Flexible Planning
10:10 Shifting Your Focus 
14:50 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Mentioned Episodes

E1 - Four Quiet Marketing Strategies for Introverted Artists

E4 & 5 - Quick Start Guide to Pinterest for Artists

 

Transcript

[00:00:00] Welcome to the Quietly Thriving Artist Podcast, a podcast designed for sensitive and introverted artists who are looking for alternative ways to build a flourishing business that works in harmony with who they are. I'm your host, Patricia Vargas. Hello and welcome to another episode, and happy new year! This is the time when most of us are thinking about our goals and our dreams and what it is that we want to achieve, and what this fresh start means for us and our business and our art.

[00:00:31] And in this short and sweet episode, I'm going to share with you an alternative method to goal planning. And I thought about recording this episode because I was thinking about my own “goals”, but I don't necessarily set goals in the same traditional way that a lot of us have been taught, because I don't find it helpful or inspiring, to set goals in that way.

[00:01:01] It kind of puts me in a bad space, and let me tell you why. And then I'll share what I do instead. And if you also find traditional goal planning to be, you know, somewhat of a difficult process, hopefully, this episode will be helpful. 

[00:01:16] Okay, so let's start with going over what I mean when I say traditional goal setting. This is when you have a goal or desired outcome and then you break it down into smaller actionable goals that you do every day or every week, every month, or whatever until you reach that goal. It's usually quantifiable or trackable.

[00:01:38] For example, let's say that your goal is to make a $100k this year. You would then say, I need to make $8,333 per month, or roughly $277 per day. And then you figure out how you're going to do that. So you might need to sell five $1,500 paintings every month, or sell 50 prints, or get a certain amount of collectors on your list.

[00:02:05] Again, it's something that is going to help you keep track of your progress.

[00:02:10] Then you can see how far off you are from your goal, and you can see if you're getting closer or if you are falling behind. And there lies my problem with traditional goal setting. There is such a heavy emphasis on the destination. 

[00:02:27] So if you hit your goal great, you did amazing. It's a great achievement! But if you don't reach your goal, it can make you feel like a failure, right? I know I've definitely experienced that, maybe you have as well. And it's especially disheartening when you've worked really, really hard, and then you didn't make that goal.

[00:02:50] And even if you're just shy of reaching that goal. So, going back to our example, of making a $100k, let's say that you make $99,000 there's this sense of disappointment that sets in because you didn't make that last thousand dollars. But when you really think about it, making $99,000 from your art is an amazing feat, and that should be celebrated.

[00:03:16] But not making that last thousand dollars just puts this damper on your achievement.

[00:03:22] Again, there's this massive emphasis on the end goal, and to me, that feels unyielding and heavy. And I have found that when my focus is on the destination, I'm constantly looking ahead or craning my neck to see how far I am from the finish line, and it becomes an unhealthy obsession.

[00:03:44] For me, it causes a lot of anxiety around the goal. I'm questioning myself, “Am I doing good? Am I making progress?” And then if I'm falling behind, I'm totally freaking out because I didn't meet my monthly goal or whatever. And then on the opposite end of that spectrum, I feel relief when I do meet that goal.

[00:04:05] And so it's just this constant rollercoaster of emotions that adds a layer of stress to my life that I don't need. You know, it doesn't allow me to enjoy the process, because it feels so rigid and I am a person who needs a lot of flexibility in my life and in my choices. And that's why I don't like traditional goal setting and focusing on the goal itself.

[00:04:31] Instead, I like to create a list of projects that I feel excited to possibly work on. almost like creating a menu filled with the most delicious meals with my favorite foods. And then from there, I get to pick and choose what I want to put my energy towards.

[00:04:52] And that part is important because my energy can change from month to month, sometimes even from week to week. Or, you know, maybe there are external factors that I need to take into consideration that maybe I didn't think about in the beginning. 

[00:05:06] And so when you think about things in terms of projects or like a menu of sorts, then it moves the focus from the destination to the journey itself. And when you fill it with projects that you're genuinely excited about, the journey becomes a pleasant experience, and there's a sense of ease and fluidity to it.

[00:05:29] And I have found that when your mind and your body are at ease, it creates this signal to the universe and opportunity start to flood in and present themselves. And I know that this sounds super woo-woo, but I have experienced this time and time again. When I'm a happy little clam going along and creating my art and working on things that feel great and exciting.

[00:05:53] That's when the sales start to roll in without me having to try super hard. That's when emails for collaborations and licensing projects land in my inbox. And the only other way that I can describe this is that it feels like magic. Again, I know it sounds super woo-woo, so if you're not into the woo-woo, you're probably rolling your eyes at this, but like I said, some of my best financial years have been when I said fudge it to traditional goal planning and focused on the things that felt right to me in those moments.

[00:06:26] Anyways, I digress, but I do think that the energy behind everything that we do is really important and it does affect our outcomes. And that's why I like to think about it in terms of projects or a menu that I can select from throughout the year because, again, it moves the emphasis from the destination to the process

[00:06:49] And you know, am I gonna eat everything that's in that menu that I create? No, probably not. But I'm gonna let my curiosity, my excitement, and my intuition guide me towards the next right thing. And then let my path naturally unfold. And then whatever the end result ends up being, I know that I'm gonna be content because I have enjoyed the process.

[00:07:15] I have enjoyed the journey. I took in the scenery. I loved it all and I can celebrate my achievements wholeheartedly.

[00:07:23] Okay. So if you're thinking that's all well and good, but this is sounding a little bit too lofty, a little bit too dreamy. You got to give me something more concrete. Don't worry. I'm going to give you a little bit more practical guidance on how you can take this a step further. So the way that I do it is that I start with things that have a hard deadline.

[00:07:44] For example, I work with print galleries and they have submission deadlines. So those are the things that I try to give priority to because they generate passive income for me, and I love anything that makes me money without needing my constant attention. So I'm always aware of when those deadlines are approaching, and then I try to give myself ample time to work on them without the pressure of having to get it all done in one fell swoop.

[00:08:14] And then, for deciding the amount of pieces that I want to submit, I like to give myself a range rather than a hard number. Again, I thrive in flexibility. So instead of saying, “I'm going to give everyone 10 pieces” and I need to submit 10 pieces, like do or die. I like to say instead, “I'm going to submit between six to 10 pieces” and anything that falls within that range is going to feel good to me.

[00:08:43] Like I'm going to feel like I did a good job. And you know, even if I fall short. I like to give myself some grace and trust that the work that I was meant to create was created in that time.

[00:08:56] Okay, so for you, a hard deadline could be something like markets or events that you want to participate in. Maybe it's something that happens during a certain season or products that you want to create for a specific holiday, things like that.

[00:09:11] Next, think about what products or offerings you would like to work on this year. What art would you like to make? What would you like to explore? And then let those be your menu, and fill in the gaps between the things that have hard deadlines.

[00:09:30] And then also make sure to check in with yourself after each completed project or periodically.

[00:09:37] Ask yourself, “does this project still resonate with me?”. Because sometimes we continue with things that are no longer a right fit because we have “committed to it”. And that's not to say that you should give up halfway through all of your projects. But again, the point is to enjoy the journey.

[00:09:58] And sometimes, not always, but sometimes the best thing that you can do is let that project go completely or temporarily, and then come back to it later when you have the energy for it.

[00:10:10] So like this year, I'm really excited about working on offering notebooks with my art on the covers.

[00:10:17] Another possible thing that I want to offer, or might offer, is stretched canvas prints or framed stretch canvas prints. So I'm excited by that prospect, but I'm also a little bit hesitant, so I'm going to wait and see how I feel about it later in the year. So I'm going to focus on the things that I feel most excited about first, which are my notebooks.

[00:10:41] And then another thing that I would like to focus on is diving deeper into my style of art and just taking some time to explore and play so that I can grow creatively.

[00:10:52] And going back to our earlier example of having a “money goal”, you can also ask yourself “What projects are going to have the biggest financial impact?”, but again, coupling it with what feels exciting. My example for this is working with art consultants who bring me hotel projects, and restaurant projects, and all kinds of other things.

[00:11:16] And those can have very big financial impact. And so I would like to focus on building and maintaining my relationships with new and current art consultants.

[00:11:26] You can also use that question for marketing goals. “What marketing channels are going to have the biggest impact and which do you genuinely like to use?” So for my art business, I love email marketing and Pinterest.

[00:11:41] I have talked about this multiple times in different episodes already, and I'll have links to those in the show notes in case you want to dive into that. And so for this year, I just want to tweak my email automations a little bit. They make a good chunk of my revenue, but I would like to just tweak their design a little bit and then some of their written content and give them a little bit of an update

[00:12:09] So, as you can see, these are all things that I'm working towards that are going to drive my business forward. I do have a list of other things that maybe I would like to potentially work on, but those are things that I'm going to see how I feel about it. Later in the year, once I finish one of my projects, and then I'm going to look at my list and see what it is that I would like to focus on next.

[00:12:34] But the important thing is that these are all things that feel real. exciting to me

[00:12:40] If we go back to traditional goal planning, you know, like the example that we used of making a hundred thousand, like just having that number in my mind all the time just feels really hard and cold, whereas focusing on the process feels warm and comforting and something that I'm excited to do every day.

[00:13:01] And like I said before, I do believe that the energy behind the things that we do, and the way that we feel and the way that we talk to ourselves, and the way that we feel about our art and our business really affects our outcomes. 

[00:13:14] Traditional goal setting for me stresses me out and gives me so much anxiety. And maybe it does for you too, or maybe you didn't realize it. And maybe after hearing this episode, you'll notice it.

[00:13:27] But when you feel that way, when you feel stressed and anxious, it can be hard to keep going. And it's going to be hard to do what you need to do. And it's going to be hard to make good decisions because you're not in a great head space. And so running your business might not feel sustainable. 

[00:13:47] So I like to think of this alternative method as something that is more gentle. And if you resonate with this, I encourage you to give it a try this year and just see how it goes. You can also do a hybrid method where you have the idea of how much it is that you want to make or sell or whatever your goal is, but have it in the back of your mind.

[00:14:11] Like, I'm aware of how much it is that I need to make in my business in order to break even and be able to pay myself, but it's not something that I write down in my planner anymore in big giant letters “I'm going to make 100k” and then like cross off every dollar that I make.

[00:14:28] If you're a really competitive person, then this gentle planning process is probably not for you. But again, if stuff like that feels a bit too heavy, if you start getting obsessed with it like I did, and it becomes an unhealthy fixation, then making the switch can help.

[00:14:49] All right. That is it for me. I hope that you have enjoyed this episode. If you did, please consider subscribing and sharing it with a fellow artist who you think would benefit from it. Thank you so much for listening and I will see you over in the next one.