I just got back from a six week trip to California. I like these long trips because they get me out of my usual routine and give me mental space to think about things in a different way. It wasn’t a vacation, although I did take some time here and there to visit with friends, see a decent amount of art, visit some new places and learn new things.
The main thing that I did was to plan some big changes in how I spend my time and try to support myself. I’m still trying to figure out the details, but it’s going to involve a big leap – not quite as big a leap as leaving Atlanta and quitting my Creative Director job at IBM – but a big leap forward in the balance between art and design in my life. The changes I’ve been making in small hops over the past decade or so have moved me slowly in the right direction, but now I feel the need to take a much bigger leap if it’s truly going to happen.
One big first step I took was spending the afternoon today working on this mind map. Prompted by a creative challenge I’ve been doing all month with Creative Live, I did this brain dump of all of the things that I’m currently working on and need to start working on in the next few weeks. Now I just have to organize them, figure out which to focus on, which to get rid of, and which to put on the back burner for now. I’ve got my work cut out for me!
