We all have creative talent in us, creative things we aspire to accomplish. What we tend to do is overthink and overanalyze, leading us to never create anything, ever.

Your first word, drawing or book is likely going to be a rocky start. I know that after hundreds of my own little creations, I’m still finding that rhythm. What has helped me progress at least an inch every day has been to create something, anything.

With scheduling functions, you can cheat a little bit on this one. Batch a dozen creations in a day, to be scheduled for publication weeks in advance. This leaves you no excuse, especially if you aspire to blog or vlog. Now you can take any deep creative burst of energy you have and just create a bunch.

What should you create? Could be a paragraph of writing, a cool photograph, even a little video of your bedroom wall. Anything goes, but the important thing is you have to go.

I did this for awhile. One month I somehow got into a groove and created 30 children’s books. Another month I somehow made 100 comedy videos for YouTube. I somehow found spare moments of time to self-express and share my personality with the world. You can do this too, whether you’re waiting in the coffee shop line, or waiting for your bus to arrive.

Determine where your lulls are – with 24 hours in a day, I bet you could find a minute. Form a habit of filling those lulls with production, not consumption. Maybe you’re noticing that your feed browsing moments happen at 5pm. What can you create at 5pm instead?

Find those pockets of time and create what you’ve been anxiously thinking about creating for years. You might not finish it in one day, but compounded over time, you may finally make that special something.

Special.
Mechanical.
Actionable.
Rational.
Timeless.

Okay let me explain, especially since I whole-heartedly endorse the regular SMART technique. Mine looks more at the mental preparation behind your goal.

Your goal needs to have a SPECIAL feeling associated with it when it comes to mind. There should be a SPECIAL energy inside you that wakes you up. This energy will drive you forward when times get tough and inevitable missteps take place.

Your goals need to have a very MECHANICAL, process-driven structure around them to prevent any chances of you actually failing. It may seem boring at first, but having a strict structure around your goal will likely make you more successful in the end.

ACTIONABLE goals have processes that are achievable. If the mechanics are broken or the tactics are not defined, you will get discouraged and never take the action necessary to make it happen. Having daily tasks that wrap into the goal are critical.

We are dreamers, us goal-setters. In our minds we need to be RATIONAL about our goals. If we can rationally say that the goal is doable in our heads, then we are mentally prepared. Sometimes we ought to look at our past selves to see if our thoughts align with our behaviours.

Think about the feeling you will have once you achieve that goal. Is that feeling going to be TIMELESS, where the world stands still as you savour the accomplishment? Aim for a goal with outcome that will potentially be written in your obituary and remembered forever. This is where big dreaming comes in.

Here is the original SMART goal list, for comparison:
Specific.
Measurable.
Attainable.
Relevant.
Timely.

Choose any method that works for you, as long as you see results. Have fun with your next goal-setting exercise. Hopefully it will motivate you on your next creative journey.