Congrats! You’ve made it to step three of the Create Room Journey. You discovered your creative purpose in Step One and your creative barriers in Step Two. Now you clearly know why creating is so critical for you, and why you’re not crafting as much as you’d like. Next, we’ll remove those barriers to get you back to crafting.
C.R.E.A.T.E goals to remove your barriers
Well-written goals with a clear vision and specific results ensure success. When you know where the end zone is, you know how to score. Our CREATE method is a framework to compose goals that are recipes for success.
Here is an example of how to improve your goals by using the CREATE method:
Now it’s time to write your own CREATE goals using our template. The CREATE goal method will ensure you overcome your barriers. Turn to page 20 in your Create Room Journey WorkBook.
The workbook will give space to write three CREATE goals, but you can set as many goals as you like. Before you start, review our goal setting tips for overcoming each of the eight barriers we discussed in Step 2. Focus on the tips below for your toughest barriers.
Solutions for setting CREATE goals to overcome barriers
Creative Barrier: Time
"I have too many other important things that need to be done. I can’t get started because I’d need too much dedicated time to get set-up. I can’t justify the time."
Our Solution: Maximize your time with a designated craft space
You can save 20 minutes when all of your supplies are ready when you are. Make a CREATE goal to set up a designated place, your time-saving craft haven.
Creative Barrier: Tools
"I don’t have the right tools and materials to create what I want."
Our Solution: Reverse engineer it
Search the web for crafts by material type, by materials you already own. If you keep all of your supplies visible in clear totes, you can quickly take an inventory of your stash. Make a CREATE goal to organize your supplies and tools in clear totes.
Creative Barrier: Energy
"I find that when I do have time to create, I lack the energy and motivation."
Our Solution: Identify the root cause
The two most common causes for lack of energy and motivation are:
- A fear of failure – Take small steps. Make a CREATE goal to improve your skills
- A lack of inspiration – Find a project that touches you deeply. Perhaps you need to make a CREATE goal to craft something for someone you love.
Creative Barrier: Confidence
"I am judgmental of my creations and lack confidence. This makes crafting stressful and often disappointing."
Our Solution: Stop comparing yourself to others
It’s easy to compare in the Pinterest world we live in. We all do it. Remember, for every beautiful craft posted, there were two or three failed attempts. Make a CREATE goal to keep your successes in view. Display them in your designated craft space.
Creative Barrier: Skills
"I want to create more, but I don’t feel like I have enough skills or knowledge."
Our Solution: Start small
Learning new skills can feel overwhelming. Break down your big goal into smaller ones. If your goal is to learn to sew a dress, start with learning a basic hem and seam techniques. Make a CREATE goal to watch YouTube tutorials or attend classes to learn all of the essential techniques.
Creative Barrier: Storage
"I am disheartened because my supplies are scattered all over my house. I don’t have a dedicated place to store everything."
Our Solution: Gather it all up
Before you can overcome this barrier, you’ll need to first assess what you have. We’ll walk you through this in Step Four. Then we’ll help you find the optimal storage solutions that will serve you now and in the future.
Creative Barrier: Organization
"I don’t really know where everything is; what’s in different bins and drawers. Hence it takes too long to set-up a new craft project."
Our Solution: Hang tight. More to come in Step Four.
We have deep expertise here—enough to make it a whole step of the Journey! We will share all our best practices for long lasting organization in step four.
Creative Barrier: Workspace
"I don’t have a dedicated place to work that is big enough and/or my workspace isn’t in the same area as where I store supplies."
Our Solution: Start scouting it out
We’ll go deep here in Step Four as well. For now, start scouting out the room or space you will do your crafting in. You need one set place - a command central, where your workstation and supplies will be. If it’s going to take a good deal of maneuvering, set a CREATE goal to clear out the space and prepare to move in.
Share your progress
You’re well on your way to more creative joy. Can you feel it? Now is a great time to share the CREATE method with someone you love and invite them to join the Journey. Comment below to let us know what goals you set!