Once again.
Because, yes, I do recognize that what I've written about so often this fall is time . . . in its geologic form (that post's here) . . . how it matters to me more than money (post's here) . . . and about what I planned to accomplish as it passed (here) . . . .
It's clearly a recurring theme of mine right now.
And I'm not done with it.
Back at the beginning of this last quarter of 2011, we made some plans.
For example, fabulous Kate Barrengos logged on and committed to completing 10 new paintings by the end of the year. AND SHE DID IT!!! Click here to see the wonderful gallery of the new pieces. (That one of the scissors . . . I need it. Bad. Such a symbol of cutting out pieces for collage art, and of cutting things out of one's life that no longer serve.)
For another example, awesome Maria Benet logged on and said she wanted to finish her book of poetry, re-tool her graphic and coding skills, and get the poetry book up on-line. AND SHE DID IT!!!! Click here to find her luminous A Month of Haiku, Unraveled at amazon.com.
Now, what about me?
I got lots of things accomplished that I set out as goals in that "4th Quarter" post. New card art's in the mix. Cafe Press store is up. (Click here to see . . . and shop.) Kindle e-book is, too. (Click here for $3.99 worth of DIY tips from me on starting to make your art your business.)
And along with this, other things fell onto my plate. I got to spread my wings and teach my first four-hour art class. I ended up taking an eight-week, on-line class myself -- "Creative + Practice," from Lisa Sonora Beam -- in which I've re-tooled the way I'm going to be doing art and art business going forward in 2012. I completely lucked out and received many kind custom orders for holiday cards, which I loved working on. And, in a leap calculated to hurdle myself over my bookkeeping procrastination, I'm on track to finish 2011 bookkeeping by this Friday -- much earlier than the April-tax-time work I did for 2010's bookeeping.
Which is to say that when the clock strikes midnight on December 31, I figure I've got about two weeks worth of work left before 2012 should be over.
So guess what?
I'm declaring my own personal 2011 ends on January 15.
That's right.
We've got two more weeks to play with.
Let's make them count.
And let's do something else, too.
As long as we're making time fit our own schedules, let's declare that we can start our New Year's resolutions NOW. That's right. BEFORE JANUARY 1. Yep. Trick those little suckers. Trick yourself. Get a jump on what you're afraid of, or dreading, or resisting for whatever reason . . . and START TODAY. You will feel so much better for having done so.
Got a resolution? Got stuff you want to accomplish by our-newly-agreed-upon January 15 "end of the year?" Let us know!
3 comments:
Yippee! Getting ahead and stretching out the deadline at the same time. Ahhh. I'm right in there, sort of by default, with a sense of 2012 rushing in early on Dec 26th. It came to me like a glimpse of architecture. I've never had such a sense of the shape of an entire year. My focus word came too, clearly: Care. There's a big word. It gets to walk around and tell me things before I really know the meaning. (That's probably the point of a focus word.)
And I started addressing my desire for more meaningful organization of my social/business life with the birth of emerald150 on Twitter, last week.
It all makes the onset of the little-number-days (1/1, 1/2, even 3/3 and 4/9), much more comfortable, like a slightly worn velvet couch.
Thanks for more of your superb articulation, Tamara.
Suzanna
I feel so honored to be included in this post of yours about time and accomplishments, both of which have given me enough trouble over the years I’ve spent planning. You know that old saying: life is what happens while you are busy making plans… So, I am glad to see that it is possible to live and carry out one’s plans : )
I remember responding to that post of yours with my own goals for the 4th quarter. My coding and design skills are still languishing … but yes, I am ready to extend the year to January 15 with two resolutions: 1) to get the daily Mt. Tam picture website rolling and 2) to start over the bookkeeping in Quicken.
Great post, Tamara. Okay, my first goal is to finish the book I'm writing on selling artwork online. It's mostly done except for the screaming, as they say.
Love love love the 2012 lion magnet, I have it right here to gaze at - to motivate me to roar.
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