I cannot believe we only have one day left of 2014. Not sure if it was all the traveling, busyness, or many new life changes, but this year flew by. While I know I've accomplished a lot in one year, I thought it would be good to check in with my 2014 resolutions and see exactly how I did. Unfortunately, looking back at all these resolutions is a little shameful because I barely even attempted some of them haha. Here's how my year stacked up:
Design
Finish What I Start // Oh dear, this is no where near close! I have tons of unfinished logos, app ideas, and many, many Skillshare classes. That said, I'm not sure if this resolution was really ever attainable. This year, I noticed exactly where my interests were design-wise more than ever before. For instance, I have always been interested in hand-lettering and when many of my design-friends were picking it up, I thought I would for sure love it too. I attempted four different lettering projects this year, and never returned to finish one because I ended up finding the work more tedious than fun. Maybe some projects are just never meant to be finished!
Be More Open // I'd say I partially accomplished this one. I blogged more about my work than I have in previous years and I even shared my skills with a design class I taught on web typography (something I never thought I'd do this year). I've also come to better terms with my own work. Looking back at things I've designed this year, I'm actually really proud of many projects. Generally I look back and my work and say "yuck! what was I thinking!".
However, I also had a lot of shortfalls with this goal. I didn't post to Dribbble once a week as planned and once the hype after a design conference faded I wasn't leaving comments or critique either. Sometimes out of being too busy, but mostly because I was too nervous to post something. I also had a great opportunity to write a blog post on something new for a big publication, and I took months and months to write something just because I felt I wasn't knowledgeable enough to write something others would care about (don't worry, I did finish the post!). This is definitely still something I need to keep working on in 2015.
Sketch Once A Day // This is probably the resolution I'm most ashamed for not completing! I had wonderful support from many of my friends and Instagram followers, yet I only posted 57 sketches. I did sketch a little more than posted, but excuses of "I'm too busy" or "This looks terrible" floated in. I do still want to get back into drawing, so I will probably take this resolution on again on a smaller scale in the new year.
Personal
Worry Less About The Future // Haha, I'm not sure how to measure this one. On one hand, I had lots of new life changes thrown at me this year and I definitely know I didn't always handle them well. From big trips in foreign countries or new states, to moving, to finding a new apartment, to getting engaged and planning a wedding, to house hunting: worry and stress has been inevitable. That said, while I didn't always handle every situation well, I did have a better handle on things than I would have in previous years. Perhaps it was starting to work from home, or spending more time with my dog, but I do have a lower blood-pressure to prove it! My biggest regret about this resolution is that I didn't really think about it or try to track my progress throughout the year.
Watch Less TV // Another sort of joke resolution. For the first half of the year, I did watch much less TV than I used to (almost none in January, February, and October because I was so busy!). My roommate did justify my tv watching to me though. She brought up I am always keeping busy with something while the tv is on, rarely do I sit and actually watch a show in it's entirety. I definitely noticed this when Eric and I moved out on our own and I started working from home. I need some background noise to keep me focused, or from keeping me from falling asleep when I need to work late on a project! Although that's no excuse for binging season upon season of Gilmore Girls, Twin Peaks, Melrose Place, Beverly Hills 90210, etc. etc.
Learn To Sew // When I hadn't used my machine by July, I ended up just giving all my supplies to my sister for her birthday. Win-win, because I did keep my word, but I can also ask her to make me things if she ever learns herself :)
Keep Up With Running // The only resolution I definitely kept this year. My goal was to run in at least five new places, and two races. I ended up running in three new states and more than five new places just in Charlotte! I also ended up running three different races: The Merge 25k, the Tar Heel 10-Miler, and City of Oaks Half Marathon.
Improve My Photography Skills // I took pictures nearly every day this year, so I definitely got some practice in. I did a lot of reading (and hopefully accomplished) better lighting, proper backgrounds, and composition. I also took the camera off of auto several times (although not nearly enough), and took my new lens out for a spin on a couple of trips. Next year I'd like to pick up some tools like a light diffuser and stop relying on auto so much. I feel like I still need more practice before I splurge on a dslr!
Blog
Blog Once A Week // I hate that I didn't attain this goal, but I did do ok. I wrote 41 blog posts this year (including this one), which is significantly more than I have in the past, and only 11 off from my goal. I tried to put a writing schedule in place and was very diligent about coming up with topics, but just terrible about giving myself enough time to get the posts done. I also really felt guilty whenever I had a great idea for a post, but I didn't have time to write it and the timeliness of it wore off. I hate that because I should be doing this for fun! I will definitely have to revisit this in 2015.
Write What I'm Passionate About // I did stick to this on the blog this year. I didn't try any silly "favorite items this month", or "awesome dribbble shots" posts, and only stuck to topics relevant to me. I'm pretty proud of opening up about health issues, or my problems with freelancing on the blog and I hope to continue to write more involved posts like that in the next year.