New Year’s Resolutions

It is January and at the beginning of the year we try to make our planning, but also our new year’s resolutions.

Seasonal planning for potters:

Last year’s been crazy: starting in September preparatory works began for Christmas with a small interlude for Halloween. Pottery is a slow art so you need to start early enough. Starting in September nevertheless didn’t prevent the End-Of-Year or Christmas rush. I therefore am evaluating whether I need to plan differently. Maybe I should just integrate the production of decorations throughout the year?

Building Stress:

Last year has been intense also because of other reasons: we renovated our house and from the beginning of the year until more or less the last weeks in December it has been all about builders’ meetings, making choices, home decoration, chasing suppliers and contractors, checking prices, solving problems, snagging and running around. My pottery business was kind of on the back burner for quite a while, so this year this needs to be made good.

Self Care:

However, being mental health a continuous work in progress, I will need to keep an eye on that too. Setting boundaries, proper planning, but also leaving time and flexibility and creative time should be my main priority this year.

I have already some commissions on my schedule. Wall art for a restaurant, first communion’s gifts and plant pots are my current projects, but I need to work on long term projects too like an art therapy curriculum, designing of online glaze courses and in person glazing courses, online hand building pottery courses and getting back into podcasting. Plenty to do, so not feeling overwhelmed will be therefore a point of attention too.

Since taking my career break back in 2020 I haven’t been bored for half a second and it looks like I won’t be this year either. So how should I plan? Or actually should I plan? Or should I just buckle up and keep going? What about time for physical exercise, meeting up with friends and self care? Or is my business, being it a result of my passion turned into work, sufficient self care?

Planning:

I find some basic planning a source of comfort. It feels like I have some control over my work and I can build in time for walks and friends and creative time. Rigid planning though gives rise to feelings of frustration and stress once deadlines are not met. So I guess I’ll go with easy and achievable planning, trying to be easy on myself and forgiving when I feel overstretched and pulled thin.

Conclusion:

I guess that’ll be thus my new year’s resolution for this year: achievable planning, trying to be kind and forgiving with myself when I feel overstretched and pulled thin. I will be in touch the beginning of next year on these points and see how I did! Please remind me if I forget 🙏🏻.

What are your new year’s resolutions?