Beware of the New Year's resolution..
I have a hard time staying still. I have a hard time taking time off and I love to feel busy, so when the topic of new years resolutions, especially the creative type, starts to bubble around social media, I tune out. This busy body does not have time to throw on another “must do” daily project. I’ll fail. No one likes to fail.
I wanted to share some things that I have learned with you over the years to help you through this period of “tuning in to see what everyone is accomplishing and thikning that you too need to do it” period that happens every year. Here goes:
Taking on a daily practice is HARD. It can become mundane and from experience, if you are a month or two into a “must do” practice while painting abstract, you are probably going to get tight. Tight leads to frustration.. frustration sometimes leads to quitting. (Maybe you don’t even make it into a month. 😬)
Painting does not need to happen every day. If you are feeling like you are in a slump, just recognize that you need to do “something” rather than sit in that slump. Take a walk, journal, take your camera phone on that walk, cook, garden.. these are all stimulating activities.
Is the goal centered around building social media? Getting likes is not a good goal..hell.. I am not even sure how anyone would accurately measure social media improvement these days, BUT you CAN focus on things you can control: Take the best photos you can. Write engaging content. Learn hashtags. Continually practicing those three things will boost your engagement over time. Tip: Your feed is your real estate. Whatever you are selling should fill as much as that real estate as possible.
Reflect: I usually plan my work weeks on Sunday. This is the time when you might think about the past week, what did you like and what made you feel good, and repeat. I don’t think anyone would tell you that you can fix yourself in a week, so making these regular adjustments and changes to your routine might help you better keep an eye on your activities.
Everyone will process their own process differently. In September, when I was feeling like I needed to pull myself up, I bought this planner off amazon (non-sponsored link). Even though I am a wizard at my phone, calendar and notes app, (there is always something beeping over here), the physical act of writing in this really helps me stay organized and energized. It’s something I can do in the car or in a waiting room and I found the blocks easy to fill up with my thoughts for each day.
I’m not a therapist, I also am not a writer..but I sit here and try to belt out my feelings just to talk about them. I hope you find this helpful if you are feeling like you need to get 365 canvases lined up for 2023.. You don’t. 😊
“Recess”, original painting by Julie Prichard. Tap the image to purchase art.