Seeing January 1 on the calendar is enough to get almost anyone’s blood pumping.
The thrill of starting fresh! The anticipation of creating new benchmarks and attaining new dreams!
Oh, but wait. There’s a lot of crap that you need to get rid of –stuff that might get in your way if it doesn’t drive you crazy first.
What would it be like if the New Year felt . . . well . . . felt truly new?
Make this week and next just for you.
If you can, resist the urge to add anything new to your calendar so you can focus on tying up loose ends and preparing for the New Year.
Here are some ideas.
Review Your Tasks
What has been on your to-do list for too long?
If you’re procrastinating, do you really need to do it?
If it’s not a definite Yes, it’s a No. If it is a Yes, take care of it.
Scan The Studio
What’s broken?
What materials aren’t being used that you could store or give away?
What emits negative energy and stifles your creative juices?
What artwork needs completing?
File
Get those papers off your desk and off the floor and put them into a usable system.
Make digital and hard copy financial files for the New Year.
Archive (usually a digital folder) any files you no longer need to refer to.
Back up your computer.
Recycle anything you don’t use or could find online.
Update Your Mailing List
Have you been saving names and contact info for anyone? Perhaps you made a note on your phone, wrote it in your planner or on a scrap of paper, or maybe you even got a real business card😲!
They aren’t doing you any good in their current form. Add that contact info to your database.
While you’re at it, send a quick “thinking of you” note to that person to stay top of mind. (See more under Send Correspondence below.)
This is an ESSENTIAL step for a successful art business.
See more of them in Establish Yourself: Essentials for Artist Success—a foundational business training program for beginning and emerging artists (and artists who never implemented the fundamentals).
Send Correspondence
Write your Thank You notes from holiday gifts.
Send New Year’s greetings to the important people in your life—especially people who might be lonely and need to hear from you.
Inventory Your Supplies
Pore over your office and art supplies.
What are you running low on? For my office, I primarily check my printing paper stash and printer ink. I don’t want to run out of those—especially with my planning workshop coming up.
Give Your Personal Space Some TLC
Done with the business stuff or just not in the mood?
Tying up loose ends doesn’t have to be just for your art biz.
You’ll enjoy your art business tasks more when you have a more hospitable personal space.
Clean out cabinets, drawers, and closets. Donate and recycle what is no longer needed. Schedule a home pick-up for the big stuff.
