‘Happy New Year!’ We want you to have the best possible creative-strong year and January is the perfect time to be open to improvement and change. It’s easy to lose sight of your potential and you have to unleash that to be the best version of yourself that you can be. Creativity does come in waves and when working in the creative sector you have to pave your own way and motivate yourself. Check out these things you can do this month to assure creative success we hope we can assist to you with a positive 2018!

Practice good habits

The start of the year brings the typical ‘new year new me’ mind-set, which is the perfect time to start practicing good habits in your creative mind and work. Saying to yourself, ‘no more leaving deadlines until last minute’, or maybe ‘write a to-do list each morning and stick to it’, even just starting each morning with some doodling over breakfast to get your creativity going for the day may help you! Research suggests it takes 21 days to form a new habit, so what better time to start now so that by the end of January you’ll have some healthy new practices going forward which will help you achieve the best out of each day.

Set realistic but stretching goals

Thinking about potential achievements in 2018 may be daunting to you but let me tell you that now is the perfect time to set some goals to hit throughout the year. This will keep you on track as well as constantly moving forward in your work. The goals don’t have to be huge, such as ‘write a best-selling novel’ or ‘have a sell-out collection’ (there’s no stopping you though!), but sticking to manageable goals, for example ‘finish the year with the grade you want’ or maybe ‘have a full portfolio by the end of the summer to show potential employers’, sound like something we could all work towards. No matter how big or small, write down your goals for the next year and tick them off as they’ve been achieved, it will feel amazing.

Sign up to something creative!

To boost creativity try signing up to short course or night classes to learn a brand new skill. Sign up with a pal, something like pottery or print making classes would be a fun way to utilise one night per week, spend quality time with a loved one AND add a quirky new skill to your C.V. Adding as many strings to your bow makes you a well-rounded creative and an evening class pushes you a little bit out of your comfort zone – and that never hurt anyone.

Invest in yourself

Investing in number one is crucial! Below we’ve listed a few things you can do to take care of yourself, as you’re the only ‘you’.

• Expand your knowledge – take out a few books from the library and invest in your mental space! Learn about new things, delve deeper into the things you already know about, read some beautiful flowery literature that will test you, or even just read something you’re into! Every single book you read will help you some way – academically or just simply giving you that time to switch off your brain from what’s going on right now.
• Spruce up your equipment and study area. If you’ve got some spare cash, treat yourself to some new brushes or whatever you use day to day. We spend so much money on things we don’t need so budget for what you do need and if you can, invest in your creative gear.
• Learn to take time out and say ‘no’. Being in touch with your mental wellbeing is important so switch off from work at a certain time, figure out when too much is too much and don’t be scared to ask for help from close ones.