Do you share my displeasure for resolutions? All they seem to do is arm us for failure or, at best, mediocrity. And yet, with the roll around of each January we find ourselves prompted to be doing more – to be thinner, fitter, better read, more engaged – superhumans ridden with guilt. In recent years, I have embraced the idea of the anti-resolution: an acknowledgement of what we do well already, rather than a kind of hoop-jumping aspiration set up to fail.
1. Find time for my own creativity
During COVID many of us embraced a passion, from sourdough bread-making to jigsaw puzzles and crafting. Just because life is no longer stopping for the pandemic, doesn’t mean you need to give these things up. They made you feel good – right? It was nice to have that ‘me time’.
This is not a resolution to do – you have already done it. This is simply about time management.
The anti-resolution: Lock a regular time in your diary and look forward to it, rather than cheating yourself with guilty reschedules.
2. Don’t work on my days off
Should I just write it 100 times on the blackboard? We all fall into this dark abyss, so my advice is just to focus on how good it feels when you do it. And my guess is that the world didn’t collapse when you did take that day you are owed? To be brutally honest, probably no one noticed.
As Christine Long said back in October last year: ‘In a work-dominated culture, where being busy is equated with worth, rest can become something we hope to get to one day when we have more time.’
The anti-resolution: This is not a resolution; it is your simple right.
Read: Post-COVID or post-burnout: less is necessary
3. Defrag at the end of the day
One of our top read articles last year was, Why lying down is an artistic superpower. ArtsHub writer Jo Pickup discusses how the process of lying down on a hard, flat surface for up to 20 minutes is an effective way to shift the nervous system to a state where both body and mind can break free from what could be unhelpful repetitious cycles.
It feels great … but for some, as a daily practice, that feels like a tough resolution to take on. Rather, take an extra five minutes as part of your computer shutdown process – you do it anyway: close files, light off, shutdown – and apply that to your body. Close the eyes, block everything out, relax the frown, the jaw, the shoulders and take a few deep breaths. Now walk out the door and leave work behind you.
The anti-resolution: Lying down isn’t just reserved for bed. Closed the eyes and defrag at your desk.
4. Embrace a sustainable work practice
One of the recurring themes across the arts in 2022 was climate change and our environment. In a November article, Curator Sabrina Roesner told ArtsHub that there are many things we can do right now in order to make our daily habits more environmentally aware in the arts sector, particularly in galleries and museums.
‘There are various opportunities that galleries can take to reduce their eco-footprint and, while some of them rely on the resources they have available, there is something that everyone can adopt right away,’ explained Roesner.
Read: Making your organisation carbon neutral
She said the best way to start is by setting a target. ‘That target is unique to each organisation: what is achievable and measurable? You have to start thinking, “what can we do?”’ So make your key resolution for 2022 count.
The anti-resolution: Don’t get caught up in big policy; find your own path for change.
Read: 8 creative conversations for climate action
5. Be kind to others… but also be kind to you
Kindness in the workplace is the sidecar to wellness. While they are both big topics and tap into the current zeitgeist, they need not be a big routine change. Like laughter, kindness is infectious. If you are kind to someone, it is usually reversed.
The anti-resolution: Be a little selfish to be kind, and hold back a little something for yourself.
6. Embrace acceptance
Most professionals working in the arts are perfectionists in their work – whether it be delivering the best performance, a new body of artworks for an exhibition, or scribing a new book. But we can’t be perfect all the time.
Embrace that in 2023 things will go wrong, things will be cancelled and that you will feel the pressures on your team, that you are not as perky and gung-ho, that you can’t see all the exhibitions and shows you might normally do, that you will miss many things… and just accept that you are human – not superhuman.
The anti-resolution: It’s OK to feel mediocre (hey, you’re not alone!).
Read: Why creative people are more prone to depression
7. Remember the week
At the end of your work week, take five minutes to reflect and note what you have achieved – the wins you delivered, and the challenges from which you learned, what remains unsolved and what can you put to bed. It is a great way to disconnect the headspace, and to give yourself a little pat on the back for another week nailed.
It is the best new exercise you can do sitting down.
The anti-resolution: Just a general week finished is a resolution achieved.
