Happy New Year. This Year, Let’s Do It Now.

‘Tis New Year’s Day and I’m sure we all have, to some extent, thoughts of what we will do with ourselves in this coming year. What do we want to do differently, better, or even the same because it actually worked? What do we want to avoid doing or discard completely from our lives? And will we actually do these things?

It’s hard to say. The New Year reminds us to reflect and because the rest of the world is in the same contemplative mood, we find ourselves there, too. The hard part is not facing our failures and our need to improve but actually doing something about it. We all have such wonderful ideas and intentions, but we often stop there, with just the thoughts.

I have this work philosophy that is probably the one reason I can manage to do as much as I do and it is simply this … “Do it Now”.  People are often surprised that they write me and often get an answer within a few minutes. Its because, for one, I’m here working most every hour of the day online and secondly, why should I wait to answer? If I do it now, it’s completed, I have moved forward and I will not waste time later rereading and revisiting the email.

When I’m in the studio, I do this with my art as well. If there is an idea I’ve wanted to try, why not try it now? This piece below by Karen Park was something she had been thinking about doing for years. It’s simple but quite elegant. A great piece. What if she had lost that idea? Doing it when it first came up would have guaranteed it’s existence, or something similar to it. I’m glad she did do it, even if it took some time.

Mind you, I am not saying that some ideas shouldn’t wait. Some designs should be left to “gestate,” as Karen called this process. But what you don’t want to do is keep saying “I should do that someday,” and keep revisiting the idea without anything coming of it.

So, just a suggestion for this New Year; If you have an idea, fully formed with all the materials you need in front of you, why not just start it? If you only have 5 mintues, sketch it. If you have 30 minutes while other things are in the oven, give it a go. Let’s make this the year of doing things, not just thinking about it. Let’s make it a year of creativity and success.