I recently came across Lisa Jacobs through Bonnie Christine, a talented artist, pattern designer and businesswoman I’ve also recently come to admire. In a podcast, Bonnie Christine mentioned Lisa to be one to look to for creative marketing advice. So, I followed her lead and headed on over to Lisa's website.
Lisa generously shares great tips in a free marketing e-book for marketing creativity, alongside a couple of more materials when you sign up to her mailing list (definitely worth it!). Among Lisa's words of wisdom, I got fixed on “there are only so many units of attention you have during your working day” and “Just like time, you can’t waste your attention and use it productively at once.”.
AS CREATIVES WITH LOTS OF IDEAS, IT'S ALWAYS TRICKY TO FOCUS ON ONE THING
Attention. There is so much on a daily basis competing for our attention. If you don't go down the rabbit hole of social media, it's everything else that makes up our days that can easily snatch it. It can be exhausting and through us off route. It can also be exciting...
On one hand, as creatives with lots of ideas, it's always tricky to focus on one thing!
NOTES HELP ANCHOR MY ATTENTION; THEY HIGHLIGHT THE STUFF THAT WILL HELP ME ARRIVE CLOSER TO THE PERSON I WANT TO BE
On the other, and in my particular case, as a mom of two, working from home and on a mission, I need to jot everything down to manage routines; these notes help anchor my attention. Visual reminders, from “to do’s” to quotes or sayings (the latter very much part of the parenting tools my parents and their parents used), help me stay the course, reminded, and not wander off into non-productive thought or activity. They highlight the real stuff, the important stuff, the stuff that will help me arrive closer to the person I want to be for myself and for the people I love most, especially my kids.
LIFE'S SPEEDBUMPS: "OBSTACLES EN ROUTE TO YOUR DESTINATION" ~LISA JACOBS
Over time, I seem to get less side-tracked by the curveballs of life for long periods, getting back on course of the path worth paving sooner rather than later. I believe these curveballs are similar to what Lisa Jacobs calls our life's speedbumps, “obstacles en route to your destination”. As you get older, you learn to move beyond the distractions, like Jack, with nimbleness and speed, while being more selective of what or whom will grab your attention. I think that as you age, your perception of time and how much of it you may have, changes drastically and you become committed to making the best of it. You also come to know yourself better.
My post-its are filled with the thoughts that resonate with me, they are or derive from my values and beliefs, they keep me uplifted and motivated and remind me to do more of what I want to do, have more of what I want to have and be more of whom I meant to be.
SHINE A LIGHT ON YOUR INNER-CHILD AND LET IT GUIDE THE WAY
I’ve found that when trying to achieve goals - reach my destination - it’s when I’m aligned with my beliefs and values and, most importantly, with what I find best coined as my inner-child, that the magic happens. Getting your thoughts and ideas out of your head, onto paper and into the world helps to stay connected to yourself and your ultimate purpose or the "why's" of where we place our efforts.
TAKE THE TIME TO KNOW YOURSELF
I love this quote by Dolly Parton: “Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”, just to show that everything in life seems to circle back to whether or not you’ve taken the time to know yourself, or better yet, to reacquaint yourself with that essence that was very evident when you were a kid.
Journaling helps... And, on that note, if you want to give journaling a try, I’d be more than happy (and honored) to send you my illustrated journaling pages with notes and prompts to help you get started, clear your mind, best place your attention and keep you inspired (you can let me know where to send them by joining my mailing list on my home page).
I share my #sweetreminders over on Instagram, hoping they resonate with you and help you to just do your thing.
See you, here or there, next time.
xo,
Christine