Designing a New Year

I generally don't make new year's resolutions because they are often treated as definitive promises to change something significant for the year. And I am not always resolved to simply make various changes. Of course I want to always improve, but I don't see improvement as a once a year resolution. I rather see it as a life-long goal. So, my general practice is to develop a theme for the year.

Last year my theme was Consistency, which included being a great employee, keeping up my blog, and developing a project management system that works well with my creative process. (I'm still working that last one out because I'm often at the whim of other people's project management styles.)

Nevertheless, this year I have a new theme I'm resolved to live by this year. And it's going to be Creativity. I plan to:

• Spend more time observing. I want to be more alert to beautiful design — whether on television, in nature, in print, or online. And I plan to take more pictures just for the beauty of it.
   
• Create stuff that has nothing to do with work. I want to draw more, create design mock ups for emails and websites, illustrate, make a book, write a short story, or get something printed.
   
• Have more unstructured time. Taking walks during breaks at work, visiting a museum, and browsing through a bookstore or library will be a part of my routine this year.

I look forward to a new year of creative endeavors. How about you? Let's get more creative.

Photo courtesy sideshowmom at Morguefile.com