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2014!

AFB_Member_Ad-01-1Hello, 2014!

For many, myself included, New Year’s is a time of reflection and goal-setting for the New Year.   What’s important to me this year?  What do I want to accomplish?  The questions that lead to these New Year’s personal and professional resolutions often center on the end game – what you are going to do, what you are going to achieve, what you’re going to get – but often ignore the means, ie, how you’ll get from where you are now to where you want to go.   If you are frazzled and feel like you have no extra time now, how on earth will you add achieving ten (or 5, or even 2) new things to your plate?  You won’t.

While I love the internet in so many ways, this is one thing about the internet that is a touch dangerous – it is so easy to read other people’s lists and look at (what they’re showing you of) their accomplishments and think, if they can accomplish what they’ve accomplished, and are adding all these new things to their plates, I should be able to do the same!  But here’s the thing:  you are only seeing a small sliver of the whole picture.  What are these people not doing that allows them the time to accomplish these things?  What is unique about their circumstances that contributes to their accomplishments?  (Pssst: the answer to this question is rarely just “they work really, really hard.”)  What do they ignore so that they can focus on the things that help them get to where they want to go?

It’s this ignoring part that is important, but people rarely talk about.  Working with so many designers through A Fresh Bunch, I get to interact with creative folk from all over the world, and one thing that unifies their experiences is that it’s hard for them to ignore things in pursuit of a bigger goal.  A new site where I can upload my designs and sell my work?  Sign me up.  An intensive workshop that “everyone” is doing and that will teach me x, y or z?  Sign me up.  An Etsy shop?  Sign me up.  Social Media?  Sign me up.  Add to this personal responsibilities, and pretty soon a designer is the jack (or jane) of all trades and master of none – someone who confuses activity with accomplishment.

Does this sound like you?  If yes, what would happen to your 2014 if you added things to ignore to your list of resolutions and followed them with just a couple of things you really want to achieve?

My own list might look like this:

To ignore:

  • time sucks like my personal Facebook & Instagram accounts
  • projects that don’t energize me – this includes personal volunteer and social commitments
  • blogs, media & news sources that don’t add anything to my personal or professional lives
  • design side-projects
  • chores that my kids should be doing on their own (their own dishes, picking up bedrooms, etc.)

To focus on:

  • growing A Fresh Bunch even more
  • work-free after-school hours, evenings and weekends
  • exercise

What would your version of this list look like?  If you’ve got “focus on designing” or “focus on licensing my work” or “focus on growing my portfolio” on your list,  A Fresh Bunch has a handful of spots open for new designers like you.  Learn more about becoming part of the Bunch here.

Here’s to a fabulous 2014, whatever your list may include (or ignore)!

 

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