It is going to take time and will not all be easy, but I have begun to use tools (some I've had collecting digital and actual dust for months and even years), and I am beginning to notice small differences.
I thought it might be helpful to some folks if I share what I am learning and some resources and practices I have begun utilizing and implementing.
Before I begin, I should admit that I am, at heart, a procrastinator and a perfectionist. My procrastination has withered significantly, but it still tugs on me from time to time. It's last known manifestation in all it's fury took place during my last week of college. . . My perfectionism is still pretty much alive and well, but I am doing my best to learn when to listen to it and when to pull the proverbial trigger and call a project "finished" or at least draft-worthy.
Spiritual Health:
I have begun to actually force myself to spend dedicated blocks of time (sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the evening and sometimes both) to read, study and pray. In addition, I started to actually think about the things I tell people I will pray for and about, and do it. It seems pretty simple, but sometimes it's the simple things that get overlooked or neglected. Right now, I am reading through 1 and 2 Samuel and a 30-day devotional through the books of John and Acts on my YouVersion bible app.
I have also been meeting with leaders in my church on a fairly regular basis, and I do my best to request and seriously consider feedback about the work I am doing, my leadership skills and shortcomings, and anything else that might be applicable to how my attitude, behavior and communication impacts others.
My viewpoint of my actions and methods has also been shifting from support to leadership over the last 18 months or so, and I am being given new opportunities to put that into practice again.
Physical Health:
About 60 days ago, my wife and I agreed to make a 90-day foray into the world of gluten-free foods. To be completely honest, I was not a huge fan of this (right now, gluten-free has a fad stigma and I don't seem to have any health issues related to gluten intolerance), but it has not been that difficult and my wife and I have seen some pretty encouraging results. I don't know the total of weight lost (it is somewhere around 20 pounds) because I don't like to pay attention to numbers, but I can wear shirts I had outgrown and my pants are becoming clownish. My wife has experienced improved health that might have been related to gluten-intolerance and she is disappearing before my very eyes.
The thing I have neglected is regular exercise, which is one of the long-term and permanent adjustments I will make to my lifestyle. It is easy to get distracted by work, planning, preparing and Candy Crush Saga, but I know I can make the change.
Time Management/Schedule/Leadership/Creativity:
I have gathered several books and am in the midst of reading two of them simultaneously. I finished Manage Your Day to Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus & Sharpen Your Creative Mind (longest title ever, maybe), which is filled with short and to the point nuggets of wisdom and advice from some of today's most creative and successful people.
I am in the middle of reading Making Ideas Happen and Spiritual Leadership: Moving People on to God's Agenda, which will most likely take the longest to complete but I have it on good authority that it is worth the time and effort.
I have also started to create lists, goals and a daily schedule using Evernote on my iMac and phone. I haven't begun to scratch the surface of what Evernote can do and it is already revolutionizing the way I organize, update and access information.
For file-sharing and cloud storage I have used Dropbox for a couple of years and just recently began using Copy. Both of these apps make storing and sending drafts and finals to clients quite easy and allows for collaboration and group viewing/feedback much more expediently than mailing files on physical data like DVDs, CDs and even thumb drives.
The other practices I have implemented are the avoidance of social media (as much as possible) during working hours and the cessation of using my phone to read and compose email. I have also done my best to put my phone out of arms' reach and to leave it in my pocket when spending time with my wife and/or friends.
I also have a bookmark folder full of creative resources specific to what I do that I can refer to whenever I need a jumpstart of inspiration, applicable knowledge, or professional development.
For those who may be interested, here is a list of some of those websites (specific to video/animation for the most part, but some are for creative practices, generally):
videocopilot.net
aetutsplus.com
churchmediadesign.tv
creationswap.com
99u.com
Behance.net
brainpickings.org
thenounproject.com
sundaymag.tv
creativebloq.com
37signals.com
sxc.hu
churchm.ag
motionscript.com
motionographer.com
vimeo.com
creativelive.com
aescripts.com
lynda.com
fontsquirrel.com
dafont.com
What resources and practices have you found helpful?
