Project planning & motivation

[jadd]

Heya deskgenners
I always have a lot of ideas on mind but I too often struggle to make those a reality.
Like for example at the moment I want to work on a third album, a new cooler website, music streaming tech r&d, lore expanding visuals, etc.
The problem is I can never get started on the grind long enough. The project always stalls because there's this thing I wanna do but it's not perfect enough yadada.
Sometimes I don't start the project at all, by fear of not succeeding I guess. Maybe I want to do too much at once too.

How do you organize your projects so they reach completion?
What tools or mental gymnastics do you use?
How do you keep motivated during the making?
Questions are open-ended, I'd use a few tips!!
thxxxxxx

 

[ChunkOfWax]

When it comes to starting something, I think what most people will tell you is to "just get started", whether that be in big or small ways. And while that advice can feel kinda unhelpful sometimes, I generally find it to be true. Sometimes I'll ruminate on something for soooo long, but it genuinely becomes so much easier once I just start, even if it's just a really small part of an overall project. Sometimes that can just look like a little doodle, or jotting a few notes. Anything helps.

Once I get started, I find that the passion and excitement I feel regarding a project can kick in, and when I'm lucky, I can coast on that momentum until the project's done. However, that usually only works when it's a small scale project. For anything long term, I think this is where it's really up to you to figure out what works best for you. In my experience, I find long term projects to be easier to tackle once I start planning stuff. Sometimes that looks like deadlines, other times it looks like spreadsheets and shit (For example, when I used to work on long animated projects, I'd sorta make shot lists/spreadsheets and stuff, in tandem with half-assed story boards). I can be a pretty meticulous person sometimes, but even for me, the thought of meticulous planning can sound miserable and exhausting. But buckling up and committing to something like that can be worth it if you deem it worthwhile. And again, this also kinda plays into the "just get started" advice. Even if it isn't really tangible progress, planning stuff out like that is often the first step in its own way. It can be really daunting, but it's less daunting than just trying to jump in head first.

That being said though, you have be patient with yourself and realistic with your planning. In the past, I've beaten myself up pretty badly when I take too long to finish something or can't follow through, but that kinda thing just isn't good for morale. It can be really easy to burn yourself out like that, so that's why I think it's really important to figure out what works best for you. And even when I try my best to implement strategies that work for me, I still have moments where I just don't finish a project. Usually cause of a lack of motivation or whatever, and I kinda just have to make peace with that. Everything becomes easier once you learn to make peace with stuff like that, whether that be imperfections or unfinished projects or whatever. In the end though, it isn't really all that bad, cause I can at least adapt some ideas from scraped projects into new ones.

Anyways, that's usually what works for me. Again, it's different for everyone, so finding what works for you is what's best. I hope this advice helps, even if only helps just a little bit :)

 

[jadd]

Thanks for the words, Iwill think strongly about this in the next few days.