As we closed this year, I started to look back to see what I accomplished in 2022. For one, I started to noticed that I’ve grown a lot in my interpersonal skills. How I deal with feedback, tough conversations, and communicating my feelings and needs (as odd as it is to put a benchmark on progress) have improved. I picked up a passion in cooking. My love for people, God, and myself have deepened. Lastly, I noticed better emotional and mental health. What’s funny is that none of this was due to the pandemic. In all honesty, because of my introverted nature, the pandemic really settled my mind with the alone time. I started to notice the shift when life started to pick back up. It’s like thinking you’re in decent shape, then going to a cross-fit class. I’ll go more in-depth at another time.
All of these are amazing things that I’ve been blessed with this year! As I looked at my creative outlets, I realized I haven’t done that many creative projects outside of my job (beside a senior photoshoot every once in a while). I mean, the last time I posted on my NH Media Instagram was a Lawrence concert May 2021.
It’s easy to brush it off and say “I’m creative at my job. I can just relax and do chores/life in my free time” which, as valid of a statement as that is, is crap. I’m a creative person. I create. The question came to mind How can I push myself creatively this next year? I have resources available. I have friends (both creative and logistical). I have platforms to post to. So how do I make this doable? How can I set myself up for success? Enter Malinote:
Malinote from Nov. 20th. It’s been updated A LOT since.
Yes, I like plans. Yes, that’s contradictory of usual creatives. Yes, Malinote is my merging of my left & right brain. Heck, I even put a SWOT analysis in there. I love it.
The main goal is to have one project every week that I’ll post on a platform. The secondary goal is to post an update three times a week. I know I have the skillset for it, and I’m setting up a “creative breezeway” for it. What is that you may ask.
One of the weaknesses I identified in the SWOT is that I’ll lose creative investment when set up is required. I’m in process of setting up a fast and effective creative workflow that minimizes the need for set up/tear down. This is where the breezeway comes in. A way to set up the least amount of stuff to maximize creative bursts.
This first month, that’s going to be my big project. Creating an effective breezeway for the next few months. There will be a few tests, failures, and experiments to get this up and running (again, mix of my left and right brain. I love it). I’m excited for this next year and what it will bring up in me!