5 Tips For Finishing Out the Year STRONG

Hello friend!

Can you believe we’re finishing out the third quarter of the year? I don’t know about you, but that’s mind-blowing to me. It’s usually around this time of the year where I begin to curl up in the fetal position and cry panic a bit about all the things I haven’t done yet. All the goals I haven’t achieved, the trips I haven’t taken, the art I haven’t made. I’ve been chatting more lately about my goals on YouTube and how so many of the goals I originally set for the year simply no longer align with who I want to be as an artist. Coming to that conclusion wasn’t easy, and to be honest, I felt like a failure for a bit. As I’m writing this, I have 8 ¼ more illustrations to make for my challenge before the end of the year. (The one I’m currently working on is that ¼; just needs a bit more tweaking.) Now that doesn’t really sound like that many illustrations, but combining that work with putting out a YouTube video every other week, writing my weekly newsletter, creating a new Meraki Monday sketch each week, posting/marketing on social media, as well as the other art projects I’m working on… well, it’s a lot. And truthfully, I felt pretty discouraged when I realized that I would just barely finish my 20 Illustrations Challenge by the end of 2023 if, and only if, I take zero time off. No holidays, no sick days, nothing. I’m sure my fellow Chronically Ill Artists out there are laughing at me right now, because y’all know I’ve probably got at least another couple of sick weeks waiting for me this year.

So, after that discouraging look at the calendar and realizing that maaaaaybe I might be overestimating my capabilities a bit, I took a step back. I took a deep breath. And I thought about what’s really important to me. And if you’re anything like me, maybe you need to do the same. So let’s do this together.

1) Take a step back. Put down the calendar, put down the Super Daunting Goals Spreadsheet™; physically step away for a minute.

2) Take a deep breath. Chances are your heart’s been pumping a little faster while you’re thinking about the end of year time crunch. Just take a breath and simply be for a moment.

3) Remember that you are not behind. Life doesn’t stop simply because we have goals we want to achieve. Life is still going on around us. Your kids and pets still need to be fed. You still need to go grocery shopping. Those Unexpected Life Things still happen like the washing machine finally breaking down, the electricity going out, or an unexpected diagnosis for a family member. Conditions will never be perfect for you to achieve your goals. Sometimes that Life Stuff gets in the way, and THAT’S OKAY.

4) Be grateful for what you’ve already achieved this year and for the amazing, unexpected Life Surprises. Think of five things right now. Take a moment and either write them down or mentally list them out. Gratefulness is a wonderful antidote for fear and discouragement. I’ll share mine with you! (1) I got my first international sale {which was CRAZY EXCITING} (2) I got to be the maid-of-honor in my sister’s wedding (3) there’s a new frozen yogurt shop in my town (4) I designed my first Autumn Art Collection (5) I had the super fun opportunity to help supervise on my church’s youth group outing to an art museum.

5) Re-prioritize. Take a look at the goals you made this year, and cross out the ones that no longer align with who you want to be/where you want to go in life. Maybe you set a goal to run 100 miles this year and realized after mile 17 that you HATE running. Maybe you set a goal to paint five sketchbook spreads with gouache and realized that you just want to use colored pencils instead. Let go of what doesn’t align anymore, and prioritize what does. This 20 Illustrations Challenge is extremely important to me. It’s just as important (if not more so) as the 100 Scene Studies Challenge I did last year. I’m going to let go of the other art projects I’ve been working on and really focus in on finishing the 20 illustrations. I’ll still be doing my weekly Meraki Monday sketch (it’s such a fun, low-pressure art session for me). But I’m going to let go of my wooden animal paintings and the other little side projects for now. I’m also going to be reducing the frequency of my newsletter to make more time for art. Don’t worry, I’ll still be chatting with you every other week! But I want to give this illustrations challenge the time and attention I believe it deserves. I don’t just want to finish it; I want to finish it well.

I hope that if you’ve been stressing about the rapidly approaching final quarter of the year, that this newsletter helped you take a breather and remember that it’s okay to go a different direction. To let go of one goal for the sake of another. To be grateful for what HAS happened this year instead of being discouraged over what HASN’T.

Thank you again for joining me on my art journey. Y’all are so encouraging to me, and I’m more grateful for you than you will ever know.