As we stumble through this first week of January and consider our plans for the year ahead, I wonder how many of us have things lurking on our list that were there last year too.

Maybe even longer.

This week feels like the time when the gap between the wish list and how our days actually get used is at its widest.

We’ll do it differently this year.

It’s a kind of madness though, to repeat the same actions and expect a different result.

In my 10 years of creative practice, I’ve somehow become quite used putting things off.

Sometimes for external reasons (even pre-pandemic, plans got dropped, funding declined); sometimes for personal reasons (thanks Fibro); or there were creative ideas that just didn’t work out.

It’s been quite the shift for someone who previously worked in events management and cheerfully piled through tons of work week in week out.

If you’re a deadlines-driven person (rather than a task-driven person) you’re unlikely to change your stripes entirely, but being in community with others can strengthen your resolve and keep you moving forward.

My biggest wish for you this year is to find your squad.

Team up with friends, connect with your studio neighbours, join an online group (like Integrate).

As January starts to shift gear, know who your wing-women are who will be alongside you this year as you work through those extraordinary plans you have for yourself.