This article is the 4th in a series related to completion:

1. The Magic of Completion
2. A Quest for Completion – introducing a plan on how to get there
3. Creating an Incomplete Project List – it was harder than expected
4. More on the Incomplete Project List – categorizing, prioritizing and more – this post

More to come as I work through my plan for tackling my incomplete projects

1. Create a list of incomplete projects (spending about a week to do this)
2. Categorize them – complete vs. let go (I might have a “I’ll revisit this in a year” pile also but maybe not – I like to be clear and make decisions as it gives me momentum.)
3. Create and hold some type of ritual to let go of the projects that don’t make the cut.
4. Prioritize the projects I do want to complete
5. Work through the incomplete projects one at a time as the year goes by
6. Celebrate each completion

7. Repeat as needed when I feel my energy being drained – complete completion isn’t something I believe I will ever achieve, instead I think it is a process to be enjoyed (hence the celebration step).

The Backlog

In my day job, I work as a project manager for a large software team. To keep track of all of the work the team needs to complete, we create a long list of things that need done. This long list of things is called the backlog. It’s a todo list.

When the team finishes up their current work, they go to the backlog and get the next thing to do off of the list. Which indicates this list of items is kept in priority order, the most important thing at the top of the list.

The incomplete project list that I created the last few weeks for my art business is essentially part of my backlog – all the stuff I need to do for my art business. (The other part of my backlog for my art business are all the future projects I want to complete.)

I’ve made a decision to prioritize the unfinished projects at the top of my to do list for my art business and life. The goal being achieving some completion as too many projects have gone unfinished the last few years).

Categorize

This week I went through my unfinished project list and categorized the incomplete projects. The choices were

1) complete this year
2) complete next year
3) toss it and forget about it
4) put it on my future project list and worry about it later

You can see my categorized list here: Incomplete Project List.

It was a fairly simple task to categorize this list. I had a pretty good idea of what I did and did not want to complete.

There was 1 item that required a bit more work, and that was dealing with my draft blog posts. I had to look through them all and decide which ones were worth keeping and which I could toss.

Most didn’t have much meat to them so I tossed them and added the topic to my ongoing blog post ideas list (which I maintain on tadalists.com as it is accessible anytime I’m online).

Prioritize

After deciding which projects I wanted to complete, I put them in priority order. So when it comes time to work on a some new art or a home project, I can just go to the list and take the first item from the top.

When prioritizing these items I considered several things:

1) Duration - How long will it take to complete. Putting a few of the quicker items at the top of the list makes for some fast completion and sets up good momentum.

2) The business value. Doing the most valuable things first is usually a good idea, leaving the less important stuff for later.

3) Resources required. Some times the resources required to complete a project aren’t yet ready. For example my come as you will be party requires that I have some landscaping in my yard and more importantly, a sidewalk up to my front door, before I throw the party. So this is put fairly low down my list as it will take a while for the landscaping to be completed.

Using my Incomplete Project List

In many time management disciplines, it is recommended that a single list to kept for all outstanding projects. I don’t do this. I like to organize my list into multiple lists as creating art isn’t the same thing as working on my house.

If I put those items on a single list and tried to prioritize them, I’d personally find it near impossible, as it is like comparing apples to oranges.

I make time each week for art, art business, personal and my home. I keep a separate todo list for each of these areas so when I complete a project in one area I can move on to the next item on that list. When I complete a piece of art, I don’t want to move on to organizing my basement, I want to make more art.

By having 1 project (and at most 2 projects) current in each of these areas, I can maintain some balance in the different areas of my life.

Not that each project will get equal attention at all times, but having something to work on in each area allows me to move each forward at a speed that is appropriate at that time.

For example, my current project list at the moment is:

Art: create new artwork to enter into a big international juried show
Art Business: planning for the fall and entering fall juried shows
Home: Landscaping my yard
Personal: Helping my son prepare to leave for college

At the moment the last item on the list is getting most of my attention, as my son leaves in just a few more days. Much shopping, packing, talking and soaking in as much time with him as possible is my priority. Once he his gone I’ll turn my attention to the other areas and a new project (the one at the top of my unfinished project list for personal).

Wrap Up

How do you manage your backlog of items you want to complete? Do you even have a list?

 
I invite you to become a fan of MakeBigArt on social media where I’ll be sharing additional tips and comments.
MakeBigArt fanpage
MakeBigArt on Twitter

In addition you can also find me here:

My Blog
On Twitter
Facebook Profile
Lisa Call – Textile Paintings Fan Page

 
—lisa

Thinking Big about Art

Back in December, I wrote a blog post about the magic of completion.

I didn’t completed the setup of my studio after the remodel last year, the result being I wasn’t really using my studio. The unfinished project was draining my energy.

Taking the time to complete that project resulted in a huge burst of energy that culminated with dozens of new pieces of art within a few months for my solo show in February.

Completion is truly magical.

Unfinished Projects

Now, as my energy has returned and I’m back at work in my studio and on my life, I can feel many unfinished projects from the last few years pulling at me. Calling to me, wanting my time, my energy. They are determined to distract me.

They are fabulous projects:

I never processed my photos from my trip to South African last year. My last post on my art blog on the topic was day 6. That’s not quite completion given that the trip was almost a month long.

I’ve also never taken the “after” photos for my home/studio remodel. The construction workers walked out on the last day and I stopped posting to my construction photo site. No “after” shots. Hm. I know everyone wants to see the cool green bathroom – how hard could it be to get the kids dirty clothes off the floor and do this project?

I’ve got unfinished artwork, home projects, business projects, remodeling, etc, etc. The list is long when I think about it. So when I do think about it, it drains my energy.

It’s time to do something about it. I’m on a quest to clear up these incomplete projects over the next 5 months so I can start 2011 with a clean slate.

It May Not Need to be Finished

My first thought is to line up all my projects and dive in to get to work on them. But that thought also drains me. I want to do NEW stuff, not just finish up old stuff.

So I remind myself, just because I started a project, it doesn’t mean I need to finish it.

But I need to come to closure on them in some way. So I’m pondering a good way to do that. A ritual, perhaps, to say goodbye to a plan that won’t reach completion. A big bonfire in the backyard comes to mind, but I think that isn’t legal in my city.

Small Steps

I don’t want this quest for completion to stop me in my progress in the studio or on my art business. So I’m going to take is in slowly, doing a bit each week.

Here’s my plan for tackling my incomplete projects

1. Create a list of incomplete projects (spending about a week to do this)
2. Categorize them – complete vs. let go (I might have a “I’ll revisit this in a year” pile also but maybe not – I like to be clear and make decisions as it gives me momentum.)
3. Create and hold some type of ritual to let go of the projects that don’t make the cut.
4. Prioritize the projects I do want to complete
5. Work through the incomplete projects one at a time as the year goes by
6. Celebrate each completion

7. Repeat as needed when I feel my energy being drained – complete completion isn’t something I believe I will ever achieve, instead I think it is a process to be enjoyed (hence the celebration step).

Wrap Up

I’ll be posting my progress on my completion quest as the year goes by both here on the blog and over on the facebook page for makebigart.

Want to join me? Post your progress here or facebook (sharing only the details you are comfortable sharing). We’ll keep each other motivated by sharing our progress.

Let’s think big and refocus our energy where we want it – on our art – by wrapping up some unfinished projects.

PS – if you have ideas for a ritual to say goodbye to projects we are not longer committed to, please share.

 
I invite you to become a fan of MakeBigArt on social media where I’ll be sharing additional tips and comments.
MakeBigArt fanpage
MakeBigArt on Twitter

In addition you can also find me here:

My Blog
On Twitter
Facebook Profile
Lisa Call – Textile Paintings Fan Page

 
—lisa

Thinking Big about Art

In April of 2009 I completed a major house remodeling project that include the addition of a beautiful new studio. Within weeks I had the studio 95% completed and then moved in and started making art.

I had a huge deadline looming for an exhibit in Germany and needed every spare moment to create. The remaining work on the studio could wait.

Then a week after making my deadline I left town for a month in South Africa, with the studio still not finished.

Upon my return there was a family event that required a large chunk of my energy.

And I had artwork presold that had to be completed, so what free time I did have went to creating.

Completion of the studio was still undone.

Every time I went in my studio I saw the mess and it drained me. I thought “I never have time to finish it” and that thought drained me more.

I have an exhibit coming up and instead of working on the art for the show, I stressed about the studio not being finished. I thought “I’ll start the art for the show once the studio is done”. And I never seemed to find time for finishing things up.

And on and on it went for 4 months after my return from South Africa.

Until yesterday. Yesterday I decided I’d have enough and I completed my studio. Done.

And it is FABULOUS.

The new energy in the room is amazing. Today I jumped right in and started the artwork for my upcoming exhibit. My outlook on my art career was given a huge boost.

And of course I think – “why didn’t I just do this earlier – it was only 6 hours of work”.

Completion

Completion is huge. It’s massive and energy altering.

Completing a project can give you a boost. From big tasks like my studio. Or small tasks like mailing a collector a thank you note.

The act of getting something done, crossing it off a list, is magical. All the energy that was being used to worry about, stress over, keep track of, think about, complain about, etc – all that energy is freed up and suddenly available for new projects, thoughts and inspiration.

Completing a task or project builds your self confidence. You realize “hey, I can do this”. So the next task becomes just a tiny bit easier and your productivity increases and things are cross off the list and energy is freed up. Its the snowball effect. Next thing you know you are invincible.

Projects that were blocked suddenly become viable. New ideas are generated opening up new possibilities.

The power of completion is huge.

Wrap Up

What project or task can you complete right now, today, this week to give yourself a little boost forward and free up some energy for other projects?

What are you waiting for?

 
I invite you to become a fan of MakeBigArt on facebook:
MakeBigArt.com fanpage – I’ll be sharing additional tips and comments on facebook throughout the week and writing longer articles on the blog. I update this facebook page about once a day and welcome your comments.

In addition you can also find me here:

My Blog
On Twitter
Facebook Profile
Lisa Call – Textile Paintings Fan Page

 
—lisa

Thinking Big about Art

PS – Ironically I was going to bail out on writing this post and take a bath. But I realized I’d just wake up tomorrow and feel drained as I have set my intention to get back on track with weekly posts on