How to Set New Year’s Resolutions About Your Art
Whether or not you believe in the power of New Year’s Resolutions, I think it’s a great time to reflect on your art practice and prepare for the year ahead. If you want to try setting a few art-related resolutions, the key is to be clever about them so they actually get done. Here is how you can set art resolutions for your New Year.
First, we should dismiss the idea that you need to set goals for the entire year at New Years. Realistic timeframes for goals are one of the foundational characteristics of achievable goals, and a one-year timeframe can be really tough, especially if you are new to setting goals!
Instead, let’s apply the STAR method of goal setting to our art resolutions.
The STAR Goal-Setting Method
Specific: Define exactly what you want to achieve.
Timely: Set a clear deadline to create urgency and focus.
Achievable: Ensure the goal is realistic and within your abilities or resources.
Relevant: Align the goal with your broader objectives or values.
This simple acronym makes it easy to set goals that will be possible to meet!
Let’s practice together.
Maybe you want to improve your online portfolio so you can send it to potential clients. Let’s break it down into two goals so we can start with something achievable:
Improve your online portfolio
Send your portfolio to potential clients
We’ll use number 1 to set a STAR goal.
Ok - what does an “improved” online portfolio look like to you? Remember, you need to be specific! Let’s say that we want three updated pieces in the portfolio. Now that we have a specific goal, we can set a realistic timeframe. Maybe you know it takes around 1 week to plan and create a finished work. Unless you have an external deadline, using your typical working pace is a great way to make a goal timely.
So here is what we have:
Specific: Improve your online portfolio by updating it with three new pieces
Timely: You will create the three pieces in three weeks
Achievable: Because you know you can create an average of one finished piece a week, three weeks is a reasonable timeframe.
Relevant: Having new work in your portfolio will help you get more clients and help you improve your general skills. A win-win!
It’s that easy!
Specific and timely are usually the most important aspects of the goals when it comes to art. But be realistic about the achievable and relevant aspects, too. For example, it might not be achievable to become a master of silk screen printing within one month, so you can teach a workshop on how to utilize it. Or it might not be relevant to spend time researching comic publishers when you actually want to make editorial illustrations. Don’t overextend yourself. Focus on your strengths and long-term goals, and stick to the STAR method!
