Tips for Flexibility of Thoughts on Projects

One thing that is often difficult for anyone to do (and this is normal) is to understand when you've made a project too ambitious. You always think the project is a great idea...and often it is....but there are some aspects that seem more problematic than others. It's often hard to change one's mindset. For example, the other day, it finally occurred to me that my latest project was way past the needs of my intended audience. That would most likely make it fall flat. I was trying to do too much with it which made it a bit of a mess. So, I've been working on scaling it back and making it more appropriate for the projected audience. Wanting to experiment as an author, made me want to try a different audience than I have catered to in the past. I may do more editing of what I am thinking as I move forward. It gives me a chance to try a different type of project, a different type of audience and a different genre.

Another real life example of this is my husband (the other human half of the A & J PEI Treasures team) had made some decisions with some sheds on our property a long time ago. In the meantime, he had changed his mind on what he was going to use them for. He still stuck with the original plan. It did occur to him that he was making a really big project. Then I asked one question which turned the project around for him. The question was, if you aren't going to use it for the original purpose, why do you need it to be one building? At that point, it all made sense and he scaled back what he was doing to fit a modified purpose. Though he still had a large project that he is working on, it was much easier to deal with the buildings separately than try to make them one. Sometimes all it takes is thinking about the intended purpose or audience to turn a whole project around. So, now he has his project on track and is likely to have it mostly finished before the end of the fall. I have my project on track and can continue on.

Sometimes we get so involved in a project and our original concept, we don't consider that our knowledge base may be good, but we need to have someone help out with another aspect of it or change our mindset about it. Sometimes more eyes or a few days and fresh eyes or feedback on our project can make them turn out much better than the original plan. My realization that my latest project would not fit the audience that I was hoping for helped me change what I intend to do. It is also easier to work on it as I have better direction. My husband's change of mindset about his project helped him to see a better way to complete the project a little more easily.

Sometimes it is good to take a few days and look at the strengths and weaknesses of your intended project and incorporate the ideas differently to find the best solution to your project. That may mean having someone proof read your work because you know your subject field well, but sometimes grammar is more of a challenge and easily fixed with a bit of shine put on it. Sometimes it means changing entirely what you are going to do, like with my latest project.

Remember, always be realistically unrealistic and find the best way to give your project the best chance of success.

Thanks for reading my blog post and your interest in A & J PEI Treasures!