Projects and Having Purpose

Just Create Everyday

I have a confession to make. I wish I could build things 24/7. I do not have the mental bandwidth to do so. I have talked about my creation mindset before. I tend to make things in a rapid prototyping mindset. This means that I try to get tthings done quickly and as less than perfect as possible. This allows me to burn through project ideas quickly and test and fail. After analyzing my creative process with writing articles for 3DPrint.com, I think I have some ideas and ideologies that would help people who create things in general. I will talk about things I create in different media and how this drives my own personal results.

Pumping Station One

I write for 3DPrint.com, I run my own clothing company, I teach children chess for money, I make poems every day and music as well, I make products for fun, I am the local PR director at my local Makerspace Pumping Station One in Chicago, and lastly I travel. The benefits of my lifestyle are flexibility and crafting my own unique personal story. The thing about all of my interests though is that they have overlap and connections in unexpected manners. Firstly, all of these pursuits are creativity based. In order to produce creatively, I actually cannot operate on a whim as most people assume creative people do. I have to build creativity into my work. For example, with the various articles I write for 3DPrint.com, I typically write in terms of series. This allows me to consistently write and know exactly what I am writing about. It makes my creative process become somewhat automatic. I apply this strategy to my daily poems that I write everyday as well as musical projects that I work on. Having a tight outline of where I am trying to go leads me down the path of rapid prototyping and consistent execution.

My Daily Struggle

Now I am a human, so I am not perfect. I can readily apply these skills of organizational planning to writing, but I cannot do so as quickly when it comes to building products. I think the reason for this is simple; when I write articles I am very engaged in the learning of the content that I am studying. When I am making things, I forget to incorporate this same due diligence. Excitement is the passion of life. I also think that the best way to do things is rapidly completing them. I can research and write a good article based on an outline in 45 minutes to an hour, and even sometimes less. But sometimes a large project for a product takes exponential amounts of time. I am working on breaking my larger projects into smaller parts. This will give me a larger sense of enrichment and excitement as I am consistently “finishing” a piece.

Purpose is what helps me to build everyday. When I have a focal point of where I am trying to go, it is easier to work on projects with an end goal in mind. If we aimlessly are creating, there lies a sense of impracticality to how we operate. Frankly I would have no urge to persist when there are days that exhaust us to ridiculous levels. I have to have a reason for doing, whether this be interest, passion, genuine curiosity, etc. Without this, a lot of my work would be a waste of time.

So how can we beat things like procrastination when we want to create daily? I am a big proponent of just doing things as soon as I can. It feels like more of a drag on my day when I have a pile of things that are accumulating. It takes a lot of pressure off me when I can complete things early in my day. This is mostly oriented towards things that I may not love doing, but are necessary for the process of things I do. Also there needs to be a perspective held constantly within the mind. This perspective is that we need to enjoy the process and all of its points. The more I tell myself that I dislike things such as correcting my work or being diligent with my edits, the more I will feel despondent. When I reframe my mindset to see the value of things I do, there is less procrastination and easier completion of tasks. Doing things everyday also is great because it forces you to get into a rhythm. When things are done on a daily basis it becomes as easy as brushing your teeth. You do not have to think anymore, you are just executing in a flow.

We have to analyze our priorities. If we want to achieve certain goals, you must work consistently on them. There is no cheat code to be used in real life. Work and consistent diligence are the recipe. It is annoying because the human mind wants to be lazy. It is in our nature. So we have to fight our nature and do more to improve. The human ability to do is at a state of tabula rasu. This refers to us being in a blank state of existence. Naturally we want to be nothing and do nothing, so it is our effort that will paint the picture of how much we can accomplish.

So I will try to make more thins in very small pieces and in a daily fashion. Consistency seems to be the best thing for me as I can iterate on a consistent basis. This allows me to learn as well as anyone interested in diving into any field of interest. So I will be continuously growing soon and working on my daily output. Specifically look out for this on 3DPrint.com with my articles, and please do call me out if I don’t do so.