Life can be rough, and little boosts help a lot.
Little boosts come in many forms: I get them when I see my friends, enjoy a fun dinner with my family, read an awesome book, or take a scenic bike ride. Those aren’t the kinds of boosts I’ll be talking about in this post, though.
When I interviewed visual novel artist Miranda Reeder she talked about earning small wins to get her through slow periods. Because she usually had several bigger projects going at once, taking time away from them to work on something smaller that she could finish and feel good about provided a small win, which made her feel like she’d accomplished something.
There’s a certain kind of satisfaction that comes from finishing a project or doing really well on something. I’m talking about the thrill of achievement, especially when you can share it with people who appreciate it. But, if you’re working on something REALLY big (like a novel) that takes months or years to finish, you’re not going to experience that achievement boost until the project’s done…which, again, might take a few years.
I feel like a master artist with 100% confidence and ability to focus on their long-term goals wouldn’t care about going years between achievement boosts because they could feel good about their work during the process of creating it and wouldn’t need that extra satisfaction. That’s a kick-ass goal to shoot for.
Unfortunately, though, I’m not that disciplined, and neither, I suspect, are most people. If I go too long without a win, even a small one, I start to get antsy, or even depressed. And that sucks.
Day Jobs Provide Small Wins that Get Me Through the Week
I thought about this a LOT when I was staying home during COVID-19. Most of this time I spent working on a longer (as of now, secret!) writing project that I was weeks away from finishing—it was slow going with a lot of setbacks, without any small wins to balance out the frustration.
At the same time, I wasn’t going in to my Day Job, and was left with a LOT of time to self-manage. I tried working some smaller projects into the mix to keep things fresh, but found myself wanting something bigger that would still provide a sense of fulfillment—anything that would give me a win.
For my Day Job I teach at Japanese elementary schools, which most days involves playing games and coaching kids through simple activities. I like it because it’s challenging—as a teacher communicating in a foreign language, I have to figure out the best way to convey an idea, the simplest English to use, the best gestures, the best demonstrations, etc. It also provides a clear feeling of achievement: when classes go well and the kids pick up the English, I feel like a million bucks.
That million-bucks feeling, in turn, provides energy that stays with me through the day and that I can harness when I come home and work on long-term projects that don’t have immediate payout—like querying a novel, for instance.
Of course, I only get these wins at my Day Job because I have a Day Job I actually enjoy, and where I can exercise my skills with a relative amount of freedom. If your Day Job sucks hard, you’re not going to get those same wins.
When I teach I can feel in control—and that helps me earn that feeling of satisfaction.
Day Job-Related Wins Can Be Powerful, But Dangerously Addictive
Let’s go back to my example of the ideal artist who could spend all their time working on a project that takes years to complete without any small wins. Because that hypothetical artist has enough confidence and follow-through to stay on track, they can devote more of their time to the bigger project without the need for small wins.
The rest of us, though (including me), find it helpful to mix in smaller wins that keep us going through the rough times.
This of course seems fine until you consider that those smaller wins might just be distracting you from going after bigger things.
I don’t want to spend all my time living for small wins and avoiding bigger challenges—that’s the kind of thing that causes you to give up your dreams as you get older, which is kind of my worst nightmare.
Maybe part of growing up, and maturing as an artist, involves moving on from small wins and devoting more of your energy to longer-term goals because you don’t need those daily achievement boosts anymore. I think back to other jobs I found challenging and stimulating when I was 18—but I’m sure most of that work would probably feel pretty boring now.
Small wins, especially ones that come from a Day Job, might be like that too—if we keep moving forward and maturing, eventually we won’t need those small wins anymore because we’re secure enough to move on to bigger ones.
I talk a lot about the financial hurdles of reaching a point with your creative work where you won’t need a Day Job anymore, but maybe I don’t talk nearly enough about the mental hurdles that go along with that same transition. After all, it takes confidence, focus, and dedication to devote all your energy to a creative life.
And understanding that, I’m sure, is a big step toward forging the creative life you want.