Chris Campbell Posted December 28, 2010 Report Share Posted December 28, 2010 Can you imagine starting out on a road trip to Alaska without any map, guide or reference? Would you just head in the general direction and hope for the best? Not likely, yet how many potters will head into 2011 with no clear idea of where they would like to end up on December 31st. Take twenty minutes to sit down and WRITE out exactly what you would like to accomplish next year. It can be as huge or small as you like ... getting into a premier show, mastering handles, selling one pot, learning how to mix glaze, getting good photos, throwing thinner ... anything you really want to do. Write down the goal, list the steps you need to take to get there then post it in your studio In a place you see every day. Cross out each step as you do it to give yourself a positive sense of progress. If you are tempted to do something else it will remind you of what is important to you so you can decide if it takes you toward your goal or not. I know a lot of you are thinking ... "What's the point? I know what I want, it's right there in my mind." Well, if you can't even take the time to write down what you want, do you really think you will do the other necessary steps? How often do we all wander away from our dreams? I wish you all a very happy and productive New Year!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arnold Howard Posted December 28, 2010 Report Share Posted December 28, 2010 Take twenty minutes to sit down and WRITE out exactly what you would like to accomplish next year. It can be as huge or small as you like ... Chris, that is an excellent idea. For the last two years I have written my annual goals on a sheet of paper that I taped to my home office door. I have found that the more time I spend deciding what to include in my list of goals, and the more often I read them, the greater the likelihood that I will achieve them. It is also nice to add an easy goal near the top to create momentum. Sincerely, Arnold Howard Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasoned Warrior Posted December 28, 2010 Report Share Posted December 28, 2010 Great suggestion Chris! I have always been a great fan of business plans and make rather detailed plans which I thne spread in a chart format known a Critical Path Method. Many peopl make business plans and then are frustrated when something doesn't go the way they planned intially. Most of us revise our plans and just as your analogy to the map on needs to check regularly and see how you are progressing and whether you've hit your milestones. I finid it helpful to revise the plan so that it is a true map of what has gone on and where I want to go. The critical path metohd is a way of making a time-based chart with start and end points so that you can see which item becomes critical by seeing where you path is. It sounds much more complicated than it is. Without a concrete plan that is updated and revised regularly one is merely blundering through the landscape. Regards, Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Campbell Posted December 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2010 Well, it's not always a 'business' plan ... sometimes it's just a goal, a challenge. Your plan can be as simple as ... make one mug you really like to use. OK ... that's not so simple... but you get what I mean. Staying on course is really difficult ... I don't care if you're a newbie or a veteran .... It's really hard to keep remembering what YOU want to do. It's easy to play solitaire on your computer instead of heading into your workspace so it pays to have a posting on your wall to nag you ... Easy steps to encourage you ... And the first item should always be ... Make a list ... so you can cross off one item right away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mossyrock Posted December 29, 2010 Report Share Posted December 29, 2010 I'm a huge fan of list making and have been doing it for years.....whether it's in the studio, or projects I want to do in my house. No matter what the cost or how big or small the job is. If I want to get it done one day, I write it down. Then on days I'm at a loss as to what to do, I look at my list and find something I can accomplish. By marking things off as I get them done, I can look at my list when I feel like I never get anything accomplished and see that I really have. It's also interesting to look back over the years to see what was 'important' then. I have a white erase board hung just inside the door to my studio where I jot down ideas and 'want to makes' so I see it every time I enter the studio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay lover Posted December 29, 2010 Report Share Posted December 29, 2010 I usually have a weekly-monthly 'to do' list, but I think a goal is something more lofty. I know I need to make more test tiles and have them ready ahead of time, I have the new extruder to hang, ect. But goals, that's different, more like what I want my end point to be, and maybe the 'to do' list contains the steps to meet the goals? I wish it wasn't so Dam#### cold in the studio, I hate the start up while I'm waiting for the heat to take over. This year is the year to narrow down my focus and start doing a more cohesive group of work. I get so distracted by all the wonderful idea I haven't tried yet. I want to get my work in some better galleries, and stop depending on the school's production sales for income, that is a false sense of security anyway. I want to find a large outdoor show that isn't too far away and draws a good crowd, in the fall. I want to take some uninterrupted time and look at some things I did earlier this year that were very out of my box, and figure out how to get back into that 'box' of inspiration. Pieces that were the results of a rainy Sunday and a bottle of wine in the studio, googd stuff resulted. I can get too tight. Those goals will keep me busy, I'm sure. I would love to hear other's plans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Campbell Posted December 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2010 >I want to get my work in some better galleries, and stop depending on the school's >production sales for income, that is a false sense of security anyway. I hope you don't mind if I use this goal as an example 'clay lover'. It's a good, do-able goal but it might help if we all thought about the steps one would need to take since it is also a fairly big goal too. It begins with organizing your work into sales friendly groupings. Then you need to price them. Then you might need good images. Then you locate galleries that carry work like yours. Then you check them out, make an appointment to show your work. See how breaking the goal down further took it away from being a vague wish and made it something that could be done? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted December 29, 2010 Report Share Posted December 29, 2010 ...Write down the goal, list the steps you need to take to get there then post it in your studio In a place you see every day. Cross out each step as you do it to give yourself a positive sense of progress. If you are tempted to do something else it will remind you of what is important to you so you can decide if it takes you toward your goal or not.... Oh I LOVE this forum! So many New Years I have thought "I really must be more organised" or "I ought to be more focussed" ..... I'm off to get a studio noticeboard and I WILL use it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meisie Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 Can you imagine starting out on a road trip to Alaska without any map, guide or reference? Would you just head in the general direction and hope for the best? Not likely, yet how many potters will head into 2011 with no clear idea of where they would like to end up on December 31st. Take twenty minutes to sit down and WRITE out exactly what you would like to accomplish next year. It can be as huge or small as you like ... getting into a premier show, mastering handles, selling one pot, learning how to mix glaze, getting good photos, throwing thinner ... anything you really want to do. Write down the goal, list the steps you need to take to get there then post it in your studio In a place you see every day. Cross out each step as you do it to give yourself a positive sense of progress. If you are tempted to do something else it will remind you of what is important to you so you can decide if it takes you toward your goal or not. I know a lot of you are thinking ... "What's the point? I know what I want, it's right there in my mind." Well, if you can't even take the time to write down what you want, do you really think you will do the other necessary steps? How often do we all wander away from our dreams? I wish you all a very happy and productive New Year!!! You make a very good point but I have to say as a motorcyclist I often let the road take me where it will without any idea of where I am going. Sometimes that's part of the adventure. Happy New Year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pent19 Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 Thanks for the encouraging words! I have had an amazing year this year (purchased my kiln, changed to cone 6 glazes, began to sell my work). I am overwhelmed with options of where to take my work this year and putting some goals on the door may help me focus and reflect on where and what I want to do with my pottery. And it may help me finish the last few pieces of 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Michael Kline Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Thanks Chris! Great suggestions. Being a wood firing potter, I am usually at least 6-8 months in advance with planning. By New Years, the year is pretty well mapped out! The details get filled in the closer I get to the goal. But I also leave a little flex in the calendar for new directions, or the roads less traveled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pres Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 Can you imagine starting out on a road trip to Alaska without any map, guide or reference? Would you just head in the general direction and hope for the best? Not likely, yet how many potters will head into 2011 with no clear idea of where they would like to end up on December 31st. Take twenty minutes to sit down and WRITE out exactly what you would like to accomplish next year. It can be as huge or small as you like ... getting into a premier show, mastering handles, selling one pot, learning how to mix glaze, getting good photos, throwing thinner ... anything you really want to do. Write down the goal, list the steps you need to take to get there then post it in your studio In a place you see every day. Cross out each step as you do it to give yourself a positive sense of progress. If you are tempted to do something else it will remind you of what is important to you so you can decide if it takes you toward your goal or not. I know a lot of you are thinking ... "What's the point? I know what I want, it's right there in my mind." Well, if you can't even take the time to write down what you want, do you really think you will do the other necessary steps? How often do we all wander away from our dreams? I wish you all a very happy and productive New Year!!! I have been considering some form of web presence for several years. After reading your post here, and others on subjects related to the web, I decided to start small and begin blog. It is up and running, and I hope to cover things of interest to me when dealing with the clay there. A beginning at any rate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conniefi Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Here are my goals for the year: 1. To develop my skills I will do 100 tea cups 2. I will work on all my experimental projects 3. Finish developing my BBQ make 12 this year 4. Make a set of dishes 5. I will learn to fire a kiln again - it has been 30 years 6. I will finish stringing all my dolls in order to make my movie 7. I will have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pres Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Here are my goals for the year: 1. To develop my skills I will do 100 tea cups 2. I will work on all my experimental projects 3. Finish developing my BBQ make 12 this year 4. Make a set of dishes 5. I will learn to fire a kiln again - it has been 30 years 6. I will finish stringing all my dolls in order to make my movie 7. I will have fun! About 8 years ago I took a crazy job-2000 vessels. Basically a small mug without the handle. I took the job because I had been having problems with throwing mugs off the hump and having the proverbial "S" shaped crack. I took the job to see if I could conquer the problem-It did, and I was able to throw much quicker, and more efficiently. Sometimes taking a nutty job like that can be a goal in itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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