Goals for 2015

I've referenced it before, but a classic issue that comes up for me is an interest in too many things. Lack of focus has been helpful in some cases (especially as the role of a designer expands to include All The Things), but I worry that it distracts from achieving real depth in any one thing.

Resolution

For 2015 my main goal is to, you know, chill out and focus on just a couple topics in creativity and life-long learning.

And those topics, in order of priority:

Illustration

I tend to work mostly on web projects these days, so improving my illustration chops would be a logical complement to web design and development. My goal is to log 300 hours outside of work to illustration practice (~6 hours a week). The ultimate goal is to be able to execute several styles quickly.

6 hrs/wk feels a little light, but given all the other things a human does with their time it's at least realistic and can be adjusted.

Javascript

Dev is an easy place to hear the siren song of exciting new things. For now I'll be focusing on Javascript: filling in the cracks in my prior knowledge, working more in vanilla JS (as opposed to jQuery), learning how to write more efficient scripts. JS is such a huge, huge world now so there's still plenty of room for exploration. 150 hours (~3 hrs/wk).

Creative Writing

The older I get, the less I write. I don't feel the need to cultivate creative writing as a Real Skill, but I'd like to not lose touch with this outlet entirely. Once a week should suffice.

Weaving & Knitting

I've been shopping for indoor activities: something with a creative angle that will keep my hands busy, but not precious enough that I feel the need to be good at it. I recently dabbled in weaving on a simple peg loom, and with a little bit of knitting. I'd like to keep exploring these fiber crafts—maybe take a class?—instead of bouncing around to something else, as I am wont to do.

Okay, that's it. Planning to do a quarterly check-in to review how things are going. What is your resolution this year (design-related or otherwise)?