I’ve never really made new year’s resolutions, or if so it would be a vague ‘do more yoga’ or ‘eat less sugar’. I am more likely to make plans (not resolutions) in the fall around my birthday. I figure that is the beginning of my year anyway. But here it is the end of January, the traditional time to make plans or changes or whatever you’d like to call them. With the beginning of the fiscal year, I must admit to having business projects for the new year.

And then I was asked to join this great group of bloggers who blog on a given subject on the last Friday of each month. Thanks Mitsy! This is going to be fun! The first post for 2011 has to do with resolutions and goals, but it’s more than that.

Based on Tonya Davidson’s Renew, Re-energize, Re-commit Planner for Change in 2011, we’ve all done an exercise to lead us to our three compass words for this year, words that will help to find ways to reach our goals instead of just vaguely stating them. These words are written down, which gives them a physical presence and so they are therefore more likely to lead to action.

I’ve come up with my three compass words for 2011, which should keep me on track to reach my goals and make some changes: organize, simplify and appreciate.

I intend to be more organized in all aspects of my business including making purchases, marketing, production, and accounting. Although I don’t want to live according to a strict schedule, I also don’t want to be all over the place, waiting until the end of the year to do my accounting, making only sporadic marketing efforts and buying supplies I don’t need.

This exercise got me thinking about other areas of my life besides my business.

As for simplifying, I mean sticking to the essentials, without excess. Buying only stuff I need, and even better, buying handmade, which benefits other artists. Eating only good food: fruit and vegetables bought locally and in season, fresh foods, cooking from scratch. Wearing only a few articles of clothing, made by myself or others, or perhaps second-hand.

I also intend to appreciate and show my appreciation to my family, and to enjoy these last few years having our teenagers home with us. We love to bake cakes or make crepes and eat them with a good episode of a favorite TV show in English. It’s great listening to them talk about their day in the evening at dinner time. A game of scrabble is always fun. A Sunday matinee. A trip to the US this summer. Lots of things to do and share before they grow up completely.

So, organize, simplify and appreciate, three words that I will write and post in our home to keep me on track to my goals.

Check out what the other members of the group have found. We’re all in different time zones, so check back if their posts aren’t up yet!

Monika at Red2White
Ruth at Birdland Creations
Kim at Vilt a la Kim
Sara at Crafts of Texture
Fabienne at Easterya Jewellery Creations
Mariana at Florcita
Agathe at Le Bar du Vent
Lily at Lily Pang Art and Design
Mitsy at ArtMind

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