I’m seeing lots of year-end reviews and goal-setting articles, all very inspiring. Carolyn Edlund at ArtsyShark has this one, for example:

• 10 Resolutions for Artists

The folks at Creative Nerds recommend this post from 1st Web Designers:

• 20 New Year’s Resolutions for your Career

I even found a list of things NOT to do, from the Harvard Business Review, via The 99 Percent:

• Five Things You Should Stop Doing

But then I spotted a post that really caught my eye, not even art-related, that said resolutions were a bad idea:

• A Compact Guide to Creating the Fitness Habit

The author of this excellent blog, Leo Babauta, recommends:

Instead of creating a list of resolutions this year, create a new habit.

I realized that’s what I’d been doing last year, for my creative process: make art a daily habit, rather than waiting for the urge to strike me, or a deadline to loom. In fact, I finally managed to unlock from an overarching goal, since I couldn’t think of a specific one I wanted. Making art every day WAS the goal, as it turns out, and I’m very happy with the results. It goes along with those other no-brainer articles you see, that remind me that lots of work is what it takes. That’s the plan: put the time in, and enjoy it as I go.

Now, I’m hard-pressed to think of a new habit to add! What about you? Got any tweaks for the year ahead?