We don’t know about you, but sometimes all the hype of a Whole New Year can just be a bit too much to handle. Whether you partied a little hard the night before, went to bed early, or worked a night shift, the first day of the New Year isn’t exactly the most important bit. It’s the stuff that comes after that counts. So what do you want to achieve in 2018, and what steps can you follow, to help make that happen? Whether you’re one of our wonderful creative providers, or one of the great schools looking to work with our practitioners, read on to discover small steps you can follow to engage with your creative goals in 2018…
Little Steps
Big goals – they’re the dream. Maybe you’d like to work with 20 schools this year, or you’re a teacher and you’d like to get 100 kids engaged with The Culture Challenge. It’s great to aim high, but once you’ve set your goal, take time to step back, and look at the smaller things you need to put in place in order to meet that bigger goal. If you’re a teacher, do you need to schedule some time in to have a look through our Directory (https://www.culturechallenge.co.uk/the-culture-challenge-directory/) and decide on which creative providers you’d like to work with? If you’re one of our practitioners, you might like to think about diarising some time for a bit of emailing, or researching potential opportunities – our News (https://www.culturechallenge.co.uk/news/) section is good for this.
Talk
Do you need to get yourself out there? Creative work can often be isolating, so getting out and meeting people when you can, can help you feel connected again. Who knows who you may meet, and what may come from an initial conversation with a stranger? Creative Bedfordshire (http://bedfordcreativearts.org.uk/creative-bedfordshire/) holds networking meetings every month. Sign up for one and see where it takes you. If you can’t get out and about easily, we’re on Twitter (https://twitter.com/BedfordCulture) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/culturechallenge/?ref=settings) so you can keep up to date with what we’re doing, opportunities we’ve got, and stay in touch this way too.
Assess
If, by the time January 31st rolls around, you realise you haven’t managed to stick to your plan, don’t panic, don’t give up, just think. Maybe you set your goals too high? Maybe you thought you had more time available than you actually do? Don’t just stop after one month of not meeting your goals; re-assess what you can achieve and how you plan to achieve it, and start again.
Take Time Out
Step back. Take a break. Come at it afresh. We all get burnt out, so make sure you schedule some down time in to your creative process. Then, come back to your work with fresh eyes, and you may well spot errors, issues, and areas for improvement that your old, tired eyes just couldn’t see.
Celebrate
When you’re working on your own projects it can be hard to appreciate, and value what you’re doing, and the things you achieve. If you don’t have someone singing your praises, or chivvying you along, you have to do it for yourself. Celebrate the goals you achieve, the deadlines you meet, the work you’re really proud of. You’re doing this – no one else – so give yourself some credit for it. And, teachers – when your students have engaged with The Culture Challenge, you can celebrate too. To help with that, we’ve got certificates you can download here (https://www.culturechallenge.co.uk/downloads/) – just scroll to the bottom.
So… onwards into 2018 creative folk! Here’s wishing you all the success, opportunities, and energy to achieve your creative goals. We look forward to working with you all…