ONE THING

CAN
IMPROVE
YOUR
CREATIVE
CAREER.
As Guns N’ Roses once told us - ‘All we need is
just a little patience’. Achieving a goal is, more
often than not, a numbers game. One plus one
adds up. Often it’s the little things you do that
accumulate over time and will eventually show
you the results of your efforts. Reading one
page of a novel doesn’t take you far, but when
you add one more, then another, and another
the story starts to unfold. You need to write
your own creative journey story, one page at a
time. You’re the author of your creative career,
it’s up to you to keep adding to the story to
make it something memorable and fulfilling.
Here's a few 'ones' you could consider.
Rodd Chant

@roddchant
@chantcreative
@nothinglikeacreativeschool

© Rodd Chant 2019

1. One new connection per day.
It takes two to tango, more to
make a dance party. If you
connected with just one new
person per day, relevant to your
career path and vision, that will
add up to a lot of new people in
your career story very quickly.
One connection can lead to
another connection and from
there one thing leads to another.
You may be reading this on
LinkedIn, so that's a good place
to start.
© Rodd Chant 2019
2. One new idea per day.
An idea for a new piece for your
folio, or some art, a photograph,
a story, a script, anything that will
keep your creative juices flowing.
I have a ritual of coming up with
twenty new ideas a day, it not
only keeps me on my idea toes for
those times I need to generate
ideas fast it also keeps me
creatively stimulated and
occasionally a keeper of an idea
will pop up.

© Rodd Chant 2019

3. Listen to one inspiring podcast.
Find one or more that resonate
with you and listen when you can,
once a week or more. You may
just stumble across some new
ways of thinking, some new ideas,
some new inspirations.
Personally I love listening to
podcasts, so much so I have
decided to develop my own.
Do a bit of online research,
you're sure to find something to
fill your ears and mind with.

© Rodd Chant 2019

4. Read one blog a day.
Put together a reading list of
blogs, pick one per day and
peruse it for some stimuli, ideas,
insights, and new information.
I have a long list saved that I check
out daily when I want a break.
Mine cover art, design, literature,
photography, travel, food, music,
film, business, fashion, street
culture, trends, and more.

© Rodd Chant 2019

5. Read one book per month.
Some people manage to read more
than that, but one a month is not a
hefty goal. Find books that inspire
your creativity, ones that look like
they could offer up some new
thinking. Don't cheat and do the
audio books, instead set aside time
to get between the pages.
Books don't need a power outlet or
batteries, and if you spill your
coffee or wine on them they won't
be destroyed.

© Rodd Chant 2019

6. Write down one goal.
Have goals of varying scales and
complexity
Write one goal on Monday that
you want to achieve by Friday
and do that every week.
Write one goal on the first of the
month that you want to achieve
by the end of the month and do
that every month.
Write down one goal today that
you want to achieve in 365 days'
time.

© Rodd Chant 2019

7. Make one change to your
routine. Routines can be the
mortal enemy of creativity.
Rituals are good, routines can be
bad. Change some of the basic
things you do on a daily basis,
be it how you walk to your office,
or where you get your coffee,
or what you read every day.
Make some changes so as to
stimulate your mind. One little
change could help trigger one
new idea.

© Rodd Chant 2019

8. Start one new ritual.
As mentioned one of my daily
rituals (not routines) is to develop
twenty new ideas daily, I do this
in different locations, at different
times, and develop ideas for
different things. Last year I also
embarked on a daily B&W
personal photo challenge and
posted a daily B&W photo to my
Facebook every day from January
1st til December 31st. I love
developing creative rituals, it
keeps me thinking.
© Rodd Chant 2019
9. Learn one new skill.
It's impossible to know everything ,
but it doesn't hurt to know a little
more than you do now. It's always
good to add something to your
creative arsenal. It doesn't need to
be technical, it could be craft
based, or even a more productive
and efficient workflow process or
system, or even some new business
skills to help grow your small
creative business into something
a little less small.

© Rodd Chant 2019

10. Write one page per day.
You know that book you want to
write? Well, it won't write itself.
On average there are 300 words
per page in a book. You can write
300 words in a day. So in 365 days
you would have enough for one or
two books. Or maybe it's a film
script you want, again one page a
day. Or a book of poems, again
one page a day. One plus one
eventually equals a finished piece
of work.

© Rodd Chant 2019

11. Do one thing for yourself, every
single day. Your career is nothing
without you, so make sure you
look after you. Take time out every
day, step away from the desk, the
computer, the office, the email, the
phone, the meetings, and anything
else work or career related and
focus on you and do that every
day. You're the only one that can
do this, so make sure you do.

© Rodd Chant 2019

12. One more thing.
Have fun. There's no point doing any
of the above, or even your job or
career if it is not fun. If the company
you work for is not fun make it your
mission to find a place that is. If you
work for yourself then make sure
you inject some fun into your work
day. The worst thing we can do is
take ourselves too seriously -
sometimes we just need to laugh at
this crazy ride we're on.

@roddchant
@chantcreative
@nothinglikeacreativeschool © Rodd Chant 2019