Creative Focus
For a creative mind, ideas often flit through our brains like butterflies—exciting, beautiful, and impossible to catch all at once. The challenge is figuring out which ones are worth pursuing and which are best left behind. Left unchecked, unfinished projects accumulate, creating clutter that clouds our decision-making and weighs on our sense of self-worth. When your brain and workspace are full of “maybes” and “almost-dones,” it’s hard to feel successful or even motivated.
Trying to force yourself to finish everything you start through sheer determination and self-control may seem like a solution, but for the creative individual, it can backfire. It can lead to missed opportunities, a negative mindset, and frankly, a life that’s not very fun.
This is where commitment comes into play, but not indiscriminate commitment. We are rightfully committed to our spouses, our families, our children, our jobs, and our faith. But do we need to commit to every person who asks for our help? Or to every idea that plants itself in our minds?
Using The REAL Method with Creative Focus
The answer is no. Instead, we can approach our ideas, tasks, and opportunities with a simple, REAL method: Review – Evaluate – Ask/Answer – Limit – List.
- Review: Take a careful look at the idea or task.
- Evaluate: Determine its value, feasibility, and alignment with your priorities.
- Ask/Answer: Ask yourself honest questions—Do I really want this? Can I realistically commit?
- Limit: Set boundaries for what you’ll take on.
- List: Keep track of the projects and commitments you decide to pursue.
By applying this approach before making promises, to others or to ourselves, we can increase our percentage of completion without sacrificing creativity, joy, or sanity. It’s not about finishing everything; it’s about finishing what truly matters.
We’ll be talking about starting…. and finishing… as creatives over the next few blog posts! I hope you’ll come back and read more about the hows and ways of being a creative who starts and finishes.
