I had a good studio year thanks to planning. I’m showing you the good and the not so good outcomes for 2023.
My system is adapted from the Momentum Planner created by Charlie Gilkey at Productive Flourishing.
This is the fifth post and video out of five about how designing my time in the studio has given me a really good studio year.
Design studio time for a
productive year
Five part series by Beverly Claridge.
Click a box to read or watch video.
Look at last year for a better next year
An Annual Reflection is straightforward way to evaluate your successes, challenges, and lessons from 2023. Then you can use this analysis to celebrate your achievements and create an even better new year.
My 2023 annual reflection
Appreciate the good
Lending moral and practical support to Bill and his crazy schedule during the period of contract negations for the national teachers union really pleased me personally. And, it was important to take care of family by spending time with them.
Be sure to note your achievements so you can look back and give yourself a pat on the back. For instance, publishing the 21 YouTube videos and BeverlyClaridge.com blog posts in 2023 now seems an incredible achievement. Designing my studio time and working it everyday gave me this epic result.
Survey the not so good
I found keeping a good attitude really important, especially when things went bad. Saying good bye to beloved fur babies was tough, and, finishing our home in 2023? We were simply too tired and needed a break!
Even though I had 5 extra videos up my sleeve at relaunch, learning new techniques and materials slowed me down alot. Not to mention… the clean-up!!! The oil-based ink ended up everywhere! So, I found myself recording, editing and and publishing new videos every week! Phew!! Click here to watch some of the messy fun.
What I learnt
I learnt once again (probably the hard way!) that my happiness really is determined by me. Besides, my problems are really not that bad!! In fact, they’re first world. I was also reminded it is really a blessing to be able to do life with my best friend, Bill.
What a relief! YouTube, and the world, didn’t even flinch when I began publishing videos and blogs on a schedule that worked for me. Additionally, I figured out that the very things that slowed me down was exactly what I needed! All that trouble solving problems forced me to work in ways I’d never considered before.
It’s really inspiring to know that working your plan forward in some small way every day, even when you don’t feel like it, is a powerful way to achieve important things.
My main man
In my life there is one main person who is my biggest cheerleader….Bill.
Looking back at 2023
Goals I met
One of my big aims was to create lots of art! I started or finished 25 abstract works in 2023. That’ll do!
Goals I didn't achieve
Finishing of our home, inside and out, was not going to happen in 2023 mainly because we were exhausted from 10 months of hard yakka in 2022! Also, a friend offered to repair the drainage on our property and we had to think about that.
Goals that'll keep
Some goals stretch over several years and that’s okay.
I now have the head room to set up an online space where people can encourage each other.
Details for this will be forthcoming after I complete my 52 in 52 challenge.
Sign up to receive my email to be notified of developments on that front.
The important things
Faith and love, restoration and thriving, and renewing my arts practice were essential for a meaningful year.
We really enjoyed our son’s family holiday visit because I was able to relax. Important tasks that could have distracted me had already been taken care of.
Was 2023 a good year in the studio?
I see 2023 as the year I got the spark back in my life and in the studio. Although I did not accomplish all I set out to do, the act of writing down my dreams and then designing a way to move forward really invigorated my art practice.
I got to play in the studio and create lots of art. Working through the difficult times boosted me creatively. So, I created the kinds of works I never would have imagined before 2023. I really like that.
2023 was a good year in the studio.
I invite you to watch the video below for a more detailed review of the year and to see me work on my "Pinky derivative" series.
HOW TO DO AN ANNUAL REFLECTION
- List your top 3 personal achievements.
- Think about your top 3 studio achievements.
- Note your top 3 personal challenges.
- Write down your top 3 studio challenges.
- Consider lessons learnt personally.
- What lessons were learnt in the studio.
- Think about your key persons, personally.
- List key persons professionally.
HOW TO LOOK AT YOUR PREVIOUS YEARLY PLAN
- Review the impact of your values, themes and challenges over the year. Have they changed?
- Assess the outcome of your planned events.
- Look at the yearly goals you achieved and those you didn’t.
- Assess your individual quarterly goals.
- Evaluate the aims you did not achieve quarter by quarter.
- Are they relevant to the coming year?
- Write down a sentence that encapsulates your feeling about the past year.
- Consider the influence that creating a BHAG and Yearly Plan had.
- What was the overall outcome for the year?