Easing Into the New Year
“New year, new me! What are your New Year’s resolutions? Do you want to walk 10k steps every day? Do you want to lose weight? Eat healthier? Cut out sugar? Cut out carbs? Do you want a new look? A new car? A new job? A new TV? A new phone? Didn’t you say you wanted to read more? Why not read a book a week? Read 100 books this year? What about money? Spend less? Earn more? Do more?”
The noise of New Year resolutions can be deafening. We may feel inclined to make goals based on how we’re feeling in the moment or make goals when we find ourselves comparing our lives to those on social media. It’s tempting to rush into the New Year, react to new trends, and get caught up in the excitement of what the new year may hold for us without first reflecting on the past year and acknowledging all the highs and lows that have led us to this point.
We’re here to offer an alternate start to the new year: let’s ease into 2025. While we can’t provide guidance to every aspect of life, we can at least shed some light on how we can make better, more thoughtful goals in our creative career by taking the time to reflect on who we are, our approach to our work, and the impact our work has on the community around us.
Let’s reflect thoughtfully. Let’s put away the distractions of the screen and step outside of our comfort zones. When we reflect, we can better understand ourselves, our clients, and all those around us, and be better creatives because of it.
Our team has compiled a list of questions to guide your self-reflection time and help cultivate a sense of peace and excitement for this new year:
Reflecting on Ourselves
What life events happened this year, and how have they possibly affected my work?
What lessons have I learned to carry into the new year?
How has my relationship with creativity changed?
How has my attitude towards my work changed?
Reflecting on Our Work
How has my company changed over the years? How have I adapted to that change?
What is one thing I learned about myself? About my community? About design? About software?
What work am I most proud of and why?
What project challenged me? How? Why? Would I do it again?
What were the highlights of my career this year? What were the low points?
Reflecting on Our Goals
What skills can I focus on growing and developing this year?
Do I have any creative projects I want to take up outside of my career?
How do I want to see my career grow this year?
What kind of client do I want to work with this year?
How do I want to get involved with the community this year?
What trends am I looking forward to seeing?
