Deathline goals

[MikesQuest]

I am new to digital art ( started last month ) but really love it. I went to college for a bit for computer science related stuff and thought that was what I wanted to do but after doing it for years I eventually found I wasn't as interested in it as I hoped. I really want to make art a career for myself and have thought about it a lot.
As I never really tried to study and learn art to improve myself before I know it will be a long, hard road but I am committed to doing it.
My current goals include working through about 12 art books, all focused on something I want to improve ( anatomy, values, color, light, etc. ) and seeing as this is a 1 year challenge if I even get through 1 book a month I will complete most or all of them. And at the end I hope that I am much more experienced in different aspects of art and can continue from there.
Another goal is to find a decent part-time job ( I work full-time at the moment ( 9 hours a day, 45 hours a week ) and it gives me limited time to improve myself ), because in my current living arrangement I can make enough for rent, food, and other small things I need working part-time if I live frugally. I have a good chunk of money saved up in case you guys are worried about this not being viable, so if things go south and I need to find a full-time job again I will have about 8 months of time to find one with my savings. With part-time work I will have much more time to work towards my goals and will have more energy to do so.
My final goal is too personal to post on here, so if anyone wants to know if I'm "keeping true to my third goal" just ask and I will reply honestly.

[Amit Dutta]

Hey man, welcome! I switched from an IT career, taught myself how to art and became a freelancer within 3-4 years while working full time. You can do it!

Ok so a bit of feedback on your goals. I made a video on making Smarter Art goals which people seem to find useful. It uses the SMART system to evaluate and create meaningful goals. If you want you can check it out and try and get really razor sharp on your goals. https://youtu.be/a7wJoRo5MdE

For example this 1 "art book" a month goal...seems a bit nebulous and arbitrary. Perhaps you haven't stated what you are planning but you know in more detail, but I think it's useful to actually create your goals with as much clarity as you have at this time.
Good luck! :)

[neopatogen]

Welcome, hope to see your sketchbook on this forum!
I also highly recommend watching Amit's video on goals, been using this approach for several months and find it helpful.

[MikesQuest]

Hey all, thanks for the replies :)

I watched your video @Amit Dutta and refined my goals quite a bit.

The books are all ordered from the first ones I want to complete to the last and now have specific time frames ( e.g: book 1 will be done by September 30, Book 2 will start Oct 1 and be completed by Oct 31, etc. ). All of them will be finished ( ideally ) by July 31, 2017.
If there is time left in the month after the book is finished, say I have 10 days left until the next book would start, I will spend those days practicing what I learned from the current book.
I should also be finished roughly 1/4 to 1/3 of the book I am on per week to be able to accomplish these goals.
If I need to push some of these back because they are taking longer then I will have a month and 10 days roughly of added time until the year mark hits.

For goal #2 ( getting a new job that is part-time instead of full-time ):
I'm going to start sending out resumes on Tuesday, September 13. Giving me a bit of time to write up cover letters and fix up anything needed on my resume.
If I don't have a new job by October 13 then I will start sending out more resumes again to different places.
I want a new job by November 1st but I will be sticking with my current job until I can find something new, while continuing to look at job availability in my area.

[Artloader]

Welcome to the Crimson Daggers Mike :).

It's great that you've put up some goals - good luck!

[MikesQuest]

Welcome to the Crimson Daggers Mike :).

It's great that you've put up some goals - good luck!

Thanks :)

[MikesQuest]

I put out resumes today as planned and it is a huge load off my mind. I already have an interview scheduled at one of the areas also for this friday!

[Amit Dutta]

Awesome, good luck!!

[MikesQuest]

I got a part-time job! I will be giving my 2 weeks notice to my current job on Monday so by October 11th I will officially be working part-time :)

I'm so happy to be able to have more time to work towards my real goals in life.

Thanks again, everyone :)

[Artloader]

Fantastic Mike :). Sounds like your plan is coming together! Good luck dude!