Get your Sh*t Together! 10 Ways to Organize Your Creative Life
You’re a creative professional. You’ve got a lot going on. Your hours are irregular, you’re usually juggling multiple projects at once, and even if you have a routine it can get thrown off with every new contract (or script idea).
Whether you’re a screenwriter, director, or producer, incorporating some organization into your life can help you get your sh*t together. It can give you greater creative focus, faster movement toward your career goals, and give you a bit of balance in what can be a very crazy life.
But getting organized isn’t just about filing scripts on your desktop and making a ‘to do’ list, it’s also about organizing your thoughts, and ‘cleaning up’ your daily actions so you give yourself the best shot possible at reaching your greatest potential.
Here are 10 tips to help you get organized, maintain it, and get more work done:
1. Discover What Drives You
Before you can get organized for success, you need to define what’s driving you to pursue a creative life in the first place. If you know what you’re fighting for and believe it’s worth the effort, you’ll be more likely to create and maintain the order and habits that help get you where you want to go. So, what motivates you? What does your definition of successful look like?
2. Create and Commit to Goals
After you decide what success means to you, create some goals to help you get there. Goals can always change, but creating a few to shoot for (even if they’re small) can help get you on right track to the creative life you want.
3. Try a Minimalist Mindset
Minimalism can relate to so much more than how much stuff you own. It can also be a great approach to take when you organize the people and situations in your life. Only keep what you really want and need. If you have friends who suck your energy rather than energize you, or responsibilities that don’t get you closer to what you want in life - ask yourself if it’s time for them to hit the road.
4. Start Small
Good habits come from organization, and organization can lead to good habits. But creating and maintaining new habits can be easier said than done. Keep things easy. Start with some small “mini-habits”. Maybe 20 minutes of exercise or meditation between your writing sessions, or spending 10 minutes cleaning your desk each night so you can start fresh the next morning, even committing to drinking a glass of water every day. Small habits can have a big impact over time and inspire you to take on other good habits that might seem more daunting.
5. Write it all Down
One of the first places creative people can feel disorganized is inside their own heads. Holding multiple artistic ideas in your brain at the same time takes a lot of energy. Write your ideas down. Whether it’s in the notes app on your phone, or in a notebook - write it all down in a place devoted to new ideas. That way when you want to return to that blockbuster movie idea or genius plot twist, you know where to find it.
6. The Early Bird…
I know getting up early isn’t for everyone, but I do think it’s a practice that’s at least worth a try. If you get up early you get more hours in your day: more time to plan your schedule, eat healthy, fit in some exercise, and definitely more time for your creative pursuits. If you got up 30 minutes earlier each weekday (and balanced it by going to bed 30 minutes earlier, just put down that phone) you would have 2.5 extra hours each week to devote to yourself and your success.
7. One Minute of Planning Saves Ten Minutes of Action
Chances are, the more successful you become, the crazier your schedule is going to get. Get in the habit of planning now, so it will be easier to keep up with your life as things gets busier. A lot of successful creatives I know will make a daily “to do” list the night before so they have a clear picture of what they want to achieve that day from the moment they wake up. Personally, I do mine in the morning and I color code the different tasks – makes it more fun.
8. Keep it Clean
Organization is definitely about more than cleaning up, but I definitely believe there’s a connection between ‘outer’ organization and ‘inner’ organization. Clean your apartment, clean your workspace, clean your schedule. If you want to stay organized and maximize the time you’re putting toward your career you need both mental and physical space.
9. Set (and stick to) Deadlines
If you want to lead an organized life, you need to learn to be on time - with others and also with yourself and your work. Try to set realistic deadlines that push you to reach your goals, and make a practice of respecting and sticking to them.
10. Backup Everything
This one’s simple, but often overlooked until it’s too late. Backup everything: scripts, photos, websites, video footage, your phone, anything that you need now or might need one day in your creative professional life - just do it. Period. The alternative will make you cry.
Get the F*CK UNSTUCK
I'm excited to announce that, In August 2021, I'll be offering my most popular workshop, Getting the F*CK Unstuck©, over Zoom for the first time. If you're interested, click here for more details.
Have a look at my free e-book, Telling Your Story In 60 Seconds. And, if you think you'd benefit from one-on-one coaching with me, I'd love to connect with you. You can find more information on my private coaching packages here.
What do you do to stay organized as a creative professional? Let me know @CaroleKirsch!