Module 1 / Lesson 3: Keep learning
Keep learning
You know what you love, you know who you are, you’ve found your niche and you’ve been continually honing your skills. You’re doing amazing! Now, you need to make sure you don’t get stuck… You’re a creative mind and this means you’re forever curious. That’s one of your superpowers because you need to keep learning. Never, ever stop learning. You can always learn something new, even when you think you’ve reached the top. In this last lesson of Module 1, I’m sharing with you some of my secrets to keep myself on my toes.
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Stay open-minded
Now that you’re doing work that you love, it’s important to remember to stay open-minded. Stay curious and keep looking at what’s happening around you. Even though you love your work right now, you can always evolve and change your mind, which is great. Nothing is set in stone, you’re allowed to grow and change. You are continually growing as a human being and so will your work. On another note, as much as I want you to do your own thing and follow your gut, do stay open to what people have to say about your work. I don’t mean clients, I mean people online or in real life that consume your work. Listen carefully to them…and decide what to do with their opinions. You can discard them in their entirety or you can make changes if you agree with some of the feedback. Remember that it’s always nice to have a few trusted people around you that can guide you when you feel lost or re-energise you when you feel down. No matter what you decide to do, always do what’s right for YOU.
Take risks
As an illustrator, you’ll have to take risks in order to grow. Don’t settle for the easy route… Always challenge yourself to be the best you can be. How does that work? Well, do the stuff that you feel scared of. If you’re scared, it usually means you will grow from it. You’ll come back stronger on the other side of that client or personal project. You know the famous saying “Fake it till you make it”? Well, that’s true. Sometimes, you’ve got to fake it and trust that you would be great at that job… Why? Because it might just be a small part of your brain telling you to stay in your comfort zone instead of going for it. The thing is, you can do anything you set your mind to. All your need is to work hard and trust yourself. I’m telling you, you can do it! This applies to client work and to personal projects. Stop pushing back and embrace the fear, go for what you want and I promise you, you’ll only get stronger and better by the day.
Re-assess everything regularly
By this I mean that you have to always keep an eye on what you’re doing and if it’s making you truly happy. Each client project you say yes to must be carefully considered. Working only on projects that you feel passionate about means that you’ll stay sane and happy. I want you sane and happy because that’s how you’ll do your best work! Try not to get swallowed up by the work and find time to stop and look back on what you’ve achieved. That will help you feel proud but will also help figure out anything you’re not happy with that you want to avoid doing in the future. A really good way of doing this is by keeping your website updated… Don’t worry if you feel lost on that side, we will talk more about your online presence in the next module. I am personally going to schedule in quarterly reviews of my work (client work AND personal projects) and see what I enjoyed doing most, what I disliked, what went right, what went wrong…and what I need to do in the next quarter to be happy with everything I’m doing.
My productivity tips
•Tidy your workspace when you finish work so that it feels fresh in the morning, ready for you to take on the world
•Keep your phone away from you when you’re working
•Make a to-do list each morning and cross things off as you go along
•Always have a glass water near you
•Take a proper lunch break each day
•Deactivate email notifications on your computer so you don’t get distracted by each ping.