2024 Starts with Planuary: my adventures in yearly planning

Some people do Dryuary, but I’m doing Planuary. In fact, I think I’m going to make Planuary a permanent part of my year going forward. Historically, I have not been a planner. I get the work done, but I do it in a meandering, organic way that allows for lots of garden-gazing and chicken-petting breaks. But over the past few years – can I blame Covid for this? – I have felt my focus fray a bit too much, the constant distractions have crept in and walked off with my productive time, and my goals feel… a little squishy. SO, this year I’m doing all they planny things. I watched a (really great) video on Skillshare by Bärbel Dressler that helped me to clarify my 3, 2 and 1-year goals in a refreshing and surprisingly fun and effective way. I bought a huge dry-erase calendar for my door (or future studio wall) so that I can see and plot the whole year (old school, but so useful!). I have lists upon lists of everything that I need to do in this upcoming year, and I’m getting them all plotted on the (huge, dry-erase) calendar. I sat in on a group zoom with the Art Brand Alliance to hear everyone else’s planning hacks (and picked up some good tips there!) And I’ve been listening to several time management books-on-tape while I draw (I highly recommend Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman to put things in perspective).

If I’m honest, the process feels daunting, and is hecka time-consuming. I have moments where I wonder whether this is just one more way for me to not get all my other responsibilities done. But now that I’m through the bulk of it, some of the tasks that seemed impossible are looking more manageable, my goals seem clearer, and I’m feeling really energized about the year. I know the plan is just the framework, and I now have to manage my time and do the work to get me from bed to done every day, but at least the path seems clear. As a self-employed, home office-based person with few imposed deadlines and many different hats to wear, I often feel conflicted about where to put my time. Some days I find myself dithering away at unnecessary tasks because I can’t choose what’s most important, and then suddenly the day is over. Although a plan isn’t going to force me to stop watching cute animal videos and put down the phone, it does help me to clarify where I need to put my time each day, and that takes the decision-making off of my mind.

With my plan nearly finished, I’m feeling really positive about the year ahead, and all the goals I’ve set. I will still have some time for garden gazing and chicken petting, but I have a better sense of what my priorities are, and what I need to be accomplishing each week. Now to get the work done!