I'm thinking about how I will continue to work on all the project ideas that I have.
I want to make meaningful progress in each project and i want to find ways to focus so that I'm not spreading myself too thin. If I do, then projects won't ever get done.
I know that I have a two-fold problem of:
1. Letting a project get so big that I feel overwhelmed by it's magnitude
2. Feeling like there's too much to say to let a project be too small
So if this is true, I can find ways to work around these blocks.
I like the idea of chopping them up, or starting to make progress on a project and then choosing a cut-off. This will be volume 1. Or part 1. Or chapter 1, or some other designation. That way, when I'm ready to come back to the project, I'm starting on part two. I can keep things small and manageable, but still allow myself to fully explore a topic. I can release some piece of it, knowing that I'll come back to add to it.
So as I move forward with my main plans, I can continue to look at my project ideas master list and promote the coolest ones to the top. Those will be the candidates to be the next project I start. This can be a list that I continually sort. And as I make more notes on each project, I may move projects around on the list. As things move out of the abstract and get more clarity and detail, they become better candidates for the top of the list. Then when I have an open slot, I can look at the top three or five projects and choose from there.
I'd like to give things time to marinate. Time for me to peel back layers. Build up layers. Find metaphors. Poetry. Meaning and depth.
I like being exploratory. I like gardening the ideas. I like working fast and loose, but I want to make sure I always push myself to do a second and third draft. I want to stop stopping at the first draft and trying to pass it off as final.
I’ve had the conversation before about quality vs quantity. Raw and honest art vs polished art. I think there's room for both. And I would like to release both always. But, I can always push a little harder. If I'm shooting from the hip on something, I can always take another pass. Part of it is giving myself limitations, and that's good.
But also, I want to remember that every day I’m getting better at this stuff.