My Creative Year: A flexible, printable planner for artists

My Creative Year - a flexible, printable planner for artists

“Plans are useless, but planning is essential.”

Dwight D Eisenhower

We artists can be a resistant bunch. 😁

So much about being an artist can trigger those fun limiting beliefs we all carry around with us, which is both frustrating and a great opportunity to recognise them, unpack them if we can, and finally let them go.

We all know that, counterintuitive as it feels, limitation is a fertile ground for creativity.

But we resist limitations because they feel…. well, limiting. 🤷‍♀️

And then it’s all too easy to end up floundering about with All The Ideas, not knowing where to begin, wanting to do everything, and feeling like there may be something wrong with us – that we’re just too scattered to be ‘real artists’.

For me, one of the things I resisted vigorously and for a long time was planning and scheduling. {Truth be told, I still do, just not as much as I used to!}

And when you’re making art for fun and pleasure, it’s certainly not essential to plan or think strategically about anything.

But I’ve noticed two things can – and often do – happen to artists as they continue along the artist path.

ONE/
They start to become curious about the self development aspect of being an artist. They notice that there’s an intrinsic connection between who they are their core, and how they express themselves most truthfully in the world. They are typically curious about self development and spirituality, and find that their art is a vehicle for deepening their connection with themselves and something greater/the universe.

TWO/
Many artists reach a point where they find their ambitions for their art growing beyond making purely for their own pleasure. They want to share their work more widely; they may wish to start selling it, whether to replenish art supplies, develop it into a full time career, or anywhere in between.

There is no judgement {at least not here!} on where anyone is on their artist path.

That is the beauty of our uniqueness; we are all a complex recipe of different qualities, experiences, and desires, and tapping into that is what brings our most honest art to the surface.

Both those things I noted above have been a part of my own artist path, and that deeper dive into my artist life and self are why I’ve become increasingly interested in planning.

I started off by creating very basic planners for myself several years ago.

I called them ‘non planners’ initially, because I wanted to be able to create a shape for my artist life without feeling trapped by too much commitment!

Over the years, the non planners became more substantial, as my fascination for process and artistic self development grew, and so did my dreams of earning a living from it.

Now that art is my full time gig – containing various income streams within teaching and selling – I have learned the hard way what happens if I don’t plan!

🤯

But I still like my planning to be flexible, adaptable, easy to pivot quickly, and spacious enough to allow for new projects to come in at a moment’s notice.

I also like being able to track things, month to month and year to year.

Seeing how far you’ve come in black and white can be very encouraging.

It’s so easy to forget and feel like you’ve accomplished very little, and tracking can bring that much needed self trust and confidence that is such a huge part of being an artist.

So for next year, I created a new, updated, upgraded version of those non planners of yore.

This one is a planner, but it adheres to my needs for flexibility.

It’s got planners, trackers, and other fun pages for supporting you on your artist path – all things I use myself and find to be helpful.

You can print as many or as few pages as you like, and of course can reprint as often as required.

I believe that the things that serve us best are the things that fit who we are, and that means they’re unlikely to have been made entirely by someone else.

So, just as with all my courses and my approach to teaching, I made this planner with that in mind.

It has some key features to support you in your uniqueness, whether your art is your work, your passion, or both.

Flexible

Un-numbered pages to move around in an order that makes sense for you
Print as many or as few of each page as you like
Reprint the ones you find most useful

Adaptable

Use the Collection Planner page if you work in collections, or want to try it.
Use the Project Planner page if you want a flexible framework for any creative project, from writing to painting to
Plan and track any challenges you take part in
Keep note of art supplies you want to try
Record the things you know can remotivate you when things get stale or stuck
Map out days, weeks, or months as you wish
Stay inspired in the studio with your guiding words

Printable

Print it at home and keep in a folder/binder, or at a local printer. Some will make a spiral bound book for you
Three sizes available – A4, A5, and US Letter