Creative goals of 2016 – how to stay organised and creative in the new year.

As a creative person it is sometimes a challenge to stay organised and come up with new ideas at the same time. Some people have superb abilities to do this, I’m not sure how, but I would love to get better at it! Ideas float in and out of my head like a yo-yo sometimes, so I need tools to make them stay, because I have a superbly short memory :-S So I use lists & notebooks, digital as well as paper ones. Around my home and workspace I probably have 10+ notebooks lying about. Some are full, but I keep them to be able to go back and glance at what amazing ideas I had 5 years ago, that was never accomplished! OK, so some of the projects have been completed, of course. My notebooks mainly resemble an extended key-wording system, as key words are instrumental to selling creative work online, and together with bullets it cuts down the amount of space needed. So I have a project idea, and then list the most important “keywords” – which are really just a few words describing the project that somehow made it from my brain to actual paper (or “paper” as it is sometimes, i.e notepad on my phone). I’ve recently learned of something called a “bullet journal” which I think I will try this year. Its basically a system like I’ve already been doing, but more organised. Just try a search online and you will see many great examples of this technique!

Actually writing down your tasks and goals is a good way to remember them in the first place, so I thought I would make a short list of some of my creative goals for this year, 2016. And it is more probable that my goals or projects for this year will be accomplished if I actually remember I wanted to do them in the first place?! Makes sense right? So here goes;

My Creative Goals of 2016

Photo Group Project. As a member of a very small, local photography group, I thought it would be a great idea to start an ongoing photo project with different challenges throughout the year. This is very popular in the photography community – everyone on twitter & Instagram seem to be doing it! 365 photos, A photo a week etc etc.. So now our group has one too! We are going to have a new theme every other week, and the goal is to get more creative & learn new/old techniques. Think I might share some of the photos on here, for sure?!
Quote posters. Prints & posters is something I really love doing, as you might have noticed over in my shop. There is literally a quote, affirmation or phrase for every event in life, and I intend to find all the best and make art from them!
Long exposure landscapes. I started doing some more of these kind of pictures last year, but then kind of stopped. This type of photography generally requires some planning and location scouting, so that you can just go when the weather is looking great!
Street photography. On the streets of any city is where you find impromptu portraits of every day life, but taking photos of people in public can be daunting! Mostly it is about training your eyes to see what goes on around about you, and to not be afraid of documenting it.
Food photography. I have done a lot of food related photography, but want to do more! It is fun to play about with different backgrounds and find the perfect light for that particular dish or ingredient.
Website galleries. It is definitely time I updated my galleries!
Self portrait. Yes, definitely a type of photography that is harder than you might think. But, also easier than you might think! And I do not mean a standard “selfie” that floats about people’s social media, because they appear to more for showing of ones new hairdo or what have you. And because I don’t really do selfies… No, I have been planning for a series of self portraits, which display various sentiments of a particular topic. What that topic is, you will have to wait till later in the year for!
Get organised. As this is what this post is about, I can’t very well get away with not having this on my to-do list could I?