Why I'm Nixing My "To-Do List Extravaganza" After a Decade in Use

It's just time.  It's served as a wonderful motivator since I inaugurated this idea in 2013.

It kept me accountable.  It inspired fellow artists to "commit" to goals (or so they told me).

But each year, the list and my patented "tab board" has grown.  And it's become somewhat overwhelming.  And particularly this year, I've had one helluva productive past 12 months, but so very few of the tabs were taken down.  

Life and indeed creative projects are fluid.  Things grab hold of your imagination.  Collaborations present themselves.  Hired jobs show up.  And you can't know that in December of the previous year, thus making room for them on the tab board.  I've tried to accomodate for unseen projects, but this year was a banner year of "I barely touched my to-do list".

And being who I am, filled with anxiety and being bummed out when I'm underperforming on creative projects, why should I set myself up for disappointment in myself, each and every winter when I evaluate how I did on the tab board?  'cause frankly, this year is insane as far as tabs untouched.  Not that I don't plainly see that I've been productive.  Heck, I say in my yearly wrap-up what things took me away from my intended work, thus making me feel somewhat better that some of these tabs/tasks didn't get the time of day.  Busy?  Yes.  On the projects I planned for.  Not necessarily.

I'm taking away the chance to feel bad about myself by not keeping track.  On top of all of this, the last couple of months have presented a smorgasbord of potential projects.  There are so many moving parts, there's simply no way to know which ones might come to fruition, take hold or move forward in 2024.  And what a lovely "problem" to have!    

And so, the yearly pseudo-New Year's resolutions will be retired.  It's been fun.  It's been helpful.  And it's been motivating. 

But I think it's time to simply work.  Not PLAN to work, if you catch my drift.  Will this patented "To Do List Extravaganza" ever re-emerge?  Never say never.  

And so, 2024, what have you got in store for me?  I'm ready to go just about anywhere!