Eight. No, nine. I started nine daily projects or habits in January. Some might consider this too many. Several parts of me agrees, particularly Irene, my inner project manager. But she’s good at her job. And no matter how much I try, this seems to be who I am at the moment.
We just did our January reflection here at the Art Lab: 30-day drawing habit with the DrawTogether community at the Grown-Ups table, gentle comics habit of daily comics, started practicing drawing in Procreate, set up Kanban board on Miro for the next draft of my graphic novel, edited the script for the prologue, made thumbnails for the prologue, took daily-ish walks, developed a regular-ish strength-and-cardio workout schedule, meditated regularly, made and sent out (almost) all of my new year’s cards, started reading regularly again....
I surprised myself with this tally. I gave myself this week to take it easy. Hence why I’m making this January post in February without guilt (mostly). And ignoring the fact that I spent this week traveling for a work conference. “Easy” is probably not the right adjective to use. But I’m too tired to find the right one.
I didn’t sleep much.
On the one hand, it’s hard to believe I did all of these things in January. On the other hand, *psh* this was not the work that I did just in January! These were 30-ish days of creative and wellness practices, sure. But it was decades in the making. Building the dedication muscle, nurturing a creative community, practicing bravery, living for decades without any progress on my dreams, burnout, a global pandemic lockdown, a pay cut, and therapy. Lots and lots of therapy.
My question that I lived with in 2024 was: Who will I be if I lead with curiosity and bravery instead of fear and anxiety? I’ll likely be asking that question for the rest of my life. For today, the question is: Which parts of me get the chance to drive these days now that Fear and Anxiety are relegated to the back seat?
So this is the prompt for me this February (and for you if you need it too).
Art Lab Notebook Summary
Visit the diary comics page on our website for our latest comics.
Currently reading: Atomic Habits by James Clear. (I can’t believe I never read this!)
Recommend: the Finch app (a Tamagotchi-like friend to help with self-care and habit building? Yes, please!)
You’re doing amazing, Jenny. Please remember you’ve got someone here always cheering you on and so thrilled to follow along in your journey!! ✨
This is amazing!! I’m so happy for you & seriously very impressed! (I wish I could keep up that kind of progress!)