Last winter I realized that I don’t “strategize” before I make art. There is some organization that takes place beforehand – I gather materials, I have a general idea of what I want to create and so forth – but I don’t take a “paint by numbers” approach where it’s all planned out ahead of time. I plunge in – and when it intuitively feels right, I step back to evaluate. And most of the time I can quiet my inner perfectionist, so I stop fussing with it before I ruin it. The process is natural and fun, and results in much better work than if I didn’t allow spontaneity, experimentation and mess.

And it occurred to me that I would be much more successful if I approached business this way. DO, then step back and evaluate the big picture. Adjust as necessary. Stop before over-thinking. Experiment. Be willing to make a mess. Make another. Stuck? Set it aside, work on something else, come back to it later. Work on more than one project at a time. Be prolific – quantity is sometimes better than quality. Quantity can lead to quality.

Practice. Practice. Practice.

Turns out, everything I need to know in business about process and perfectionism – and taking breaks – I already learned in the studio.

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How do you bring spontaneity, experimentation and fun into your business?

Related posts:

1. Magpie Girl on The Practice of Administrata
2. F.E.A.R.