Some New Year's Resolutions are so grand they're bound to fail. Already joined the Quitter's Day majority? Try this smoother means to success.
Making Space by Jann Alexander ©2014
By now Quitter's Day [January 10] has come and gone, and with it, many of the resolutions made so optimistically for 2025. And how's that working out for you? Did you, too, become one of 80% of Americans who have abandoned New Year's Resolutions? *
I'd been a quitter in the past, too, while busy enjoying all things creative. I made photographs and began printing and selling them, I painted and began exhibiting my oils and pastels, I designed websites and logos, researched and wrote blog posts on creativity, or Vanishing Austin, or my time travels regularly. Of course I scratched my reading itch with great historical fiction whenever I could. I connected with artists, photographers, writers, took classes with them, had coffee or wine with them, and arranged opportunities to exhibit, sell, paint, write, photograph, print, travel, share what I could . . . in other words, abundance was my creative passion.
Embracing abundance is all well and good, and once I did my fair share of that I learned when you embrace too much of it, making space becomes urgent. Especially when you are a creative soul, and there are so many creative activities that beckon.
What did I realize about creativity?
You have to sort through all the possibilities, for one thing, since each day is a day you could paint a landscape, sketch your hand for practice, photograph the wintry city scene, make a video from all of your iPhone footage, write a flash fiction piece, design a new logo, redo the look of your blog, work on your screenplay, hand-letter a wonderful creativity quote, finish editing your novel, and so on. Have I missed one of your favorite pursuits?
Determining priorities is a never-ending saga in the search for creative mecca.
Once you’ve nailed down those things you’re energized to tackle, you realize they're not the things you really need to do. Sigh. Then comes the agony of choosing one, or just a few, over the many. Because as creative idea-generators, our engines are always humming with new possibilities. And determining priorities is a never-ending saga in the search for creative mecca.
Which puts space-making right on top of the priority list. There are plenty of places you might need to make space:
in your head
in your workspace
for your writing
for your art
for your creative passion of choice
for your priorities
and so on ... what are yours?
When the new year rolled around, I looked around at all of the resolutions being made and thought mine could be summed up neatly in these two words: Make Space. Not so much a resolution as a life goal, Making Space is my way of reminding myself to set my intentions.
“Make Space: It’s not so much a resolution as a life goal to set your intentions.”
For me, that meant I would focus on the most critical thing each day. It meant I had to choose. I took up my favorite pen, and wrote down My Top Five, which were the creative activities I most enjoy doing. I stared at those for a while, and then circled two. That’s because I realized that a scattered approach would never allow me to ever really triumph at any one of the five. That was hard, but I concluded it was only temporary. And it would allow me to do the two things I really couldn’t live without: write about what’s important to me, and express myself with my photography.
What would Your Top Five look like? And what would you choose, if you could only select one or two? It’s not an easy decision, and maybe you’ve already made it (kudos to you!), but if you write them down, the top choices will bubble up.
And instead of making a slew of unachievable resolutions for the entire new year, I decided to set one resolution a day. I look upon that as the most important goal of the day, and indeed, it’s become that. Luckily, I’d worked that out by deciding to Create First, React Later. It has become the one thing that lets me settle into bed content each night, knowing I’ve done that. I called it a resolution a day in lieu of a year’s worth.
A resolution a day had suddenly become a thing I could do.
You can do anything for just one day. And it could even become a habit.
Here’s how it’s played out in just one short week, as demonstrated by my social media accounts (Spoiler Alert: It’s been quite a success). Why did I post to the writing community on social media? As it turns out, when you make a commitment publicly, you’re more likely to accomplish it. There is actual scientific research for this premise.
"Resolution for a day, not a whole year: Do as Flannery O’Connor says and be there for the words."
On the first day of the work week, Monday, my resolution was pretty effective. By noon, I could report on social media: Flannery O’Connor would be proud. 1750 words by noon and ready for more after lunch.
"Today’s resolution in lieu of a year’s worth was to do nothing. So naturally that means I am doing something."
On the day before, Sunday, I gave myself a chance to do nothing. And sure enough, I ended up busy. I’d intended to read and relax and cook, and instead, my creative engine was purring along all day, even as I stirred the soup pot.
"Got it! Today’s resolution, not a year’s worth: Take my own advice."
Thursday: What a day! My accomplishment was echoed in my happy update: In the Slog-It-Out department, with 2,000 hard-to-write words now writ, I believed I deserved to pop a bottle of Cava! (I got plenty of social media reinforcement for my self-congratulatory reward.)
By Friday my achievements led me into a great weekend, with a blog post down and 2,100 words for my once-dormant novel. I discovered writing dialogue is hard even when it flows easily. Nonetheless, word count today: 2,100 words. Done!
"Today’s resolution in lieu of a year’s commitment: Have a plan."
When I had a chance for a photography break, I jumped on it, and delivered two gorgeous prints to a client. I felt a little thrill when I could report being “inspired by ‘Creative work first. Reactive work second.'”
To reinforce my belief in my new system, I found an article that gave me encouragement. Experts say this is often the best way to make good on your goals: Find positive reinforcement.
Happily, by Sunday, I could boast: 1700 words, done! This was my commitment to a novel I’d begun nearly a decade ago, and had worked on intermittently since then. And now I had the best chance of writing the 30,000-some words it would take to see it completed. My feeling of accomplishment was amplified by my public acknowledgement to my fellow writing community that I #amwriting.
I’d said I'd do it, publicly, so I did. To me, it meant accountability. No one else cared. Just me.
You can probably see that my concept of making a resolution for my creative day, and letting it come first on my daily To Do List, has been working out pretty well for me.
"Abundance, and possibilities, are the constants the creative mind seeks. But in the making of space for the realities to happen, the real magic can materialize."
A resolution a day had suddenly become a thing I could do, a baby step on the way to the bigger picture. My day had begun with my commitment to writing, and soon I had 1,500 words. I was jazzed! This could work, I realized. My novel could finally be finished, and even better, I was focused on the words I was putting down, not on whether they were any good or not. So much creative output gets derailed by the worry the work is no good. But staying true to one intention each day, the first one of the day, sets aside those fears. And it keeps me feeling positive about my day (and firmly out of the Quitters' camp).
When the new year had dawned I’d felt the stirrings we all feel for a renewed commitment to our personal growth. I’d realized (perhaps instinctively) I needed some kind of change to make good on my long-ago promises to myself. Abundance, and possibilities, are the constants that the creative optimistic mind seeks. But in the making of space for the realities to happen, the real magic can materialize.
When the next year dawns, I'll recommit to a resolution a day. I believe in abundance, in possiblities, and most of all, in magic, and I want to make it happen. Don’t you?
Where are you headed this year, and how are you getting there? Share what works for you in the Comments.
To learn more about how this lead to my historical novel, UNSPOKEN, being published in 2025, subscribe to Pairings, my newsletter for my creative musings and happenings.
*Quitter's Day: The second Friday in January is known as “Quitter's Day” thanks to extensive research conducted by Strav in 2019, which found about 80% of Americans who'd made New Year's resolutions had abandoned them.
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