Organise Me: 5 Tips for Turning Big Dreams into Plans

Many creatives are also dreamers. I think it comes with the territory. To be the one who thinks out of the box and comes up with the creative solutions and ideas, you are also likely to have big crazy ideas of your own. But there’s some skill and planning involved, especially when it comes to doing things for ourselves, in making those big dreams a reality.

This is something that I’ve done myself and a topic that’s dear to my heart, so today I want to share my 5 tips for making those big life dreams a priority whilst keeping the planning process fun.

• Buy a notebook just for your big dreams - decorate it, doodle in it, be messy and just let the ideas flow. Don’t think about shoulds and coulds. Think about the possibilities and aim as high as you like.

• Start with the big crazy dream and break it down. Make dot points your friend. Think of five small steps that you’ll need to take to get to the big dream. Pick one step and break it down again into 5 steps and repeat until the prospect of achieving it is not so scary anymore.

• Do something out of your comfort zone. Take a class you’ve been on the fence about; take a drive to somewhere new; order something on the menu you usually wouldn’t; buy something you love, but wouldn’t usually buy for yourself. Doing little things that can make you feel brave or bold and will help you make steps towards your goal.

• Think about timelines and budgets and put a positive spin on them. This is where you can start to feel nervous, but think of timelines as something to keep you on track. Allow it to be as long as it needs to be, and be okay with it changing when it needs to. If you need to save money to get where you need to be, allocate a budget so you know what you’re aiming for and celebrate when you get closer to it. It’s more fun that way.

• Bring the people you love and who support you along for the ride. Share your big dreams, or a part of them with someone you can trust. Blog it, if that’s your style. Find that support network you’ll need when things seem too hard. It’s amazing the help you find when you let people in. Sometimes they’re a great hand holder and sometimes they may just have a short cut that you never considered.

Turning my big dream of travelling across the North America into a reality changed my life. I went from feeling lost, to having a goal, to living that dream and finding more dreams to chase. I truly believe that if I can do it, anyone can. I hope these tips will help you start to look at your dreams as possibilities.

Dannielle is a blogger, serial organiser and passionate traveller. She has a secret love of '90s teen movies and can often be found on Twitter. In 2013, Dannielle packed up her life in Melbourne into one suitcase and moved to Canada to make her crazy dream of a more adventurous life happen. But she quickly found the inspiration she was searching for was in Melbourne and has returned home. She’s recently started a new project on creating a happy (organised) home which you can see here.