Fractal Plans
Dec. 15th, 2006 01:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
morslaSo. I finished work for the year yesterday. The book isn't going to the printers this year, as we have been asked to wait while the family puts together a family tree... it won't take long to add, but the printing deadline passed yesterday. Still, it's all finished bar the final page. There are no new projects starting until February, so that means I'm free for about six weeks.
The downside, of course, is that my income has now dropped to zero again. I'm going to finish the current sculpts (which fortunately were paid in advance), and when my desk beigns to clear I'll start looking for more work.
It's been an interesting year, as work goes. I've designed a magazine, three newspapers, two books, and a few eBooks. I've also started putting time into painting and sculpting, which is likely to make up about half my income in future. I'm also putting together a plan to cover the next couple of years... the trick lies in making a structure that's flexible enough to take anything thrown at it, but robust enough to give some form and direction to what I do.
My plan looks like a fractal. It has some very simple rules that make up a complex picture, and it can be extrapolated on any scale I need it. It's also a conscious attempt at a lifehack.
Goals: I want to constantly learn new things, which expand the range of things I do, while supporting the existing areas.
Phases: Focus on something new. Consolidate it until it becomes reliable. Keep an eye on changes in the work environment. Explore new directions. Assess progress in context of the new environment. Pick the next direction. Rinse, repeat.
The mid-range perspective for planning is a three month timescale: annual quarters, which fit nicely into a financial year. The same rules apply on a weekly basis, or a three-year cycle, though.
* 2006 Q4: I've been setting up the basic structure of a sole-trading business, and getting it to the point where I can use it without thinking about it. I've also been working on my editing and design skills, and watching where to go next.
* 2007 Q1 and Q2: Focus on painting and sculpting, to take advantage of a market that's currently strong, but has an uncertain future. The skills there are part artistic (improving my sculpting), part marketing (finding and entering international markets), and part technological (setting up an e-business). I will be watching the market for wargaming products, and exploring eBook RPG publishing.
* 2007 Q3 and Q4: Focus on eBook publishing. Draw on editing and design skills, e-business marketing, and develop a roleplaying imprint. The aim is to have limited hardcopy prints (electronic print-on-demand), with a full backlist available as PDF. It's a project management area, and a way of helping people get their work in print.
By keeping things modular, I can work around dead-end paths by starting a different area or falling back on the existing ones. Focusing on transferrable skills means that if specialised markets (e.g. sculpting) vanish, I'll still have learned enough from that area (e.g. e-business setup) to have it support future areas. Placing skills into context with others helps me to see them from different angles, and monitoring changes in my work environment (market, etc) helps me to deal with changes as they occur.
Coincidentally (if you believe in coincidence), it's exactly the same process behind learning a martial art. Identify the basics, drill them until they become second nature, watch for areas to work on, find ways of combining strengths more effectively. Analyse the context in which a technique is likely to be used, and recognise how to employ them when you inevitably come up against something you haven't seen before.
The downside, of course, is that my income has now dropped to zero again. I'm going to finish the current sculpts (which fortunately were paid in advance), and when my desk beigns to clear I'll start looking for more work.
It's been an interesting year, as work goes. I've designed a magazine, three newspapers, two books, and a few eBooks. I've also started putting time into painting and sculpting, which is likely to make up about half my income in future. I'm also putting together a plan to cover the next couple of years... the trick lies in making a structure that's flexible enough to take anything thrown at it, but robust enough to give some form and direction to what I do.
My plan looks like a fractal. It has some very simple rules that make up a complex picture, and it can be extrapolated on any scale I need it. It's also a conscious attempt at a lifehack.
Goals: I want to constantly learn new things, which expand the range of things I do, while supporting the existing areas.
Phases: Focus on something new. Consolidate it until it becomes reliable. Keep an eye on changes in the work environment. Explore new directions. Assess progress in context of the new environment. Pick the next direction. Rinse, repeat.
The mid-range perspective for planning is a three month timescale: annual quarters, which fit nicely into a financial year. The same rules apply on a weekly basis, or a three-year cycle, though.
* 2006 Q4: I've been setting up the basic structure of a sole-trading business, and getting it to the point where I can use it without thinking about it. I've also been working on my editing and design skills, and watching where to go next.
* 2007 Q1 and Q2: Focus on painting and sculpting, to take advantage of a market that's currently strong, but has an uncertain future. The skills there are part artistic (improving my sculpting), part marketing (finding and entering international markets), and part technological (setting up an e-business). I will be watching the market for wargaming products, and exploring eBook RPG publishing.
* 2007 Q3 and Q4: Focus on eBook publishing. Draw on editing and design skills, e-business marketing, and develop a roleplaying imprint. The aim is to have limited hardcopy prints (electronic print-on-demand), with a full backlist available as PDF. It's a project management area, and a way of helping people get their work in print.
By keeping things modular, I can work around dead-end paths by starting a different area or falling back on the existing ones. Focusing on transferrable skills means that if specialised markets (e.g. sculpting) vanish, I'll still have learned enough from that area (e.g. e-business setup) to have it support future areas. Placing skills into context with others helps me to see them from different angles, and monitoring changes in my work environment (market, etc) helps me to deal with changes as they occur.
Coincidentally (if you believe in coincidence), it's exactly the same process behind learning a martial art. Identify the basics, drill them until they become second nature, watch for areas to work on, find ways of combining strengths more effectively. Analyse the context in which a technique is likely to be used, and recognise how to employ them when you inevitably come up against something you haven't seen before.
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no subject
Date: 2006-12-15 02:36 am (UTC)Enjoy :)
Also, if you're looking for another commission after your desk has cleared, Mikee is still looking for someone to paint his Remote Control Car shell....and you can always say "No" if it doesn't tickle your fancy ;)
no subject
Date: 2006-12-15 04:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-15 04:12 am (UTC)I just thought I'd braindump some of the method behind the madness...