I decided last year that I needed to either fish or cut bait, so to speak. I had long dreamed of a creative job, but had done very little in the way of actually making that happen. I decided that 2021 was the year to either do something about it or to give it up.

I signed up for Immersion (a nearly $1300 course on surface pattern design that made me wince when I hit the “buy” button), and have not looked back since. For the past couple of weeks I have seen many, many people talking about the course as its annual open date loomed, and I got to thinking - what have I done in a year?

**I should probably mention that I did sign up for it again this year. There was a significant discount offered to alumni, and well, I thought I could use the hit of motivation I got from the course the first time.*

In preparation for retaking the class that has served me so well, I wanted to go back and look at the To-Do list I made shortly after completing the course and see just how far I’ve come and how far I still have to go!

2021 To Do List

Identify ideal customer

Identify 12-15 companies I want to work with

Create website

Design a logo

Take “professional” photos

Create 6 greeting cards

Create Mock—ups

Curate Instagram, and regularly post

Build connections with other designers

Refine lettering and font work

Create portfolio

Pitch to companies

Explore print-on-demand options

Learn Photoshop

2022 To Do List

Identify and pitch to companies

Lettering work

Work on greeting card, wrapping paper, sticker, and washi tape designs

Block printing

Complete outstanding classes

Design briefs and prompts list

Complete backlog of Skillshare classes

Work on Big Idea

Retail/Wholesale

Create digital content

So, as you can see, some I accomplished, some I didn’t, and so many more were completely unnecessary. Seriously, my to-do list is 3 pages long, so needless to say I cut some out of this list here.

But there are some I think are important to note:

Identifying and pitching to companies: when I started down this path I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do and which companies I would want to do it with. Once I learned more about the industry I realized there are so many more opportunities out there and you will need all that you can find because you’re not going to make a living on just one of them. I also thought it would be easy to identify the companies to pitch to - which ones have the products that I like the most? The reality is, it’s not that easy. A key component of this is actually figuring out your art style, and until that’s done then you might not really have much direction or maybe much success pitching (I don’t know because I haven’t actually pitched yet). My current approach is to just make as much art as I can and figure out what my style is (I think I have a pretty good idea) and then work from that point forward. If I picked companies based on what my art was a year ago, or what I thought my style was a year ago, I would be in quite the pickle now.

Creating actual product: I am seven months late on the deadline I set myself last year to have made 6 greeting cards. Oops. The truth of the matter is that I am not yet comfortable with finalizing my ideas. See, I think I might have a touch of ADD when it comes to design. I easily get caught up in the idea of “What do I want to draw today?” rather than asking myself what do I need to create today? And that’s a problem that I’m going to have to address sooner rather than later because clients won’t be too happy if I tell them that I didn’t draw what they asked for but rather what I was inspired by. This again goes back to identifying my art style and really focusing on creating and being disciplined in my process.

Instagram: I have a strong love/hate relationship with social media, but I’m especially feeling it right now. I hate the fact posting to Instagram is seen as a necessary step in success and it’s something I’m expected to do daily (or at least multiple times per week). Does it translate into someone actually hiring you or actually buying what you’re selling? From what I hear, no, but nonetheless it is very expected. And while I have found ways to manage my Instagram that I don’t totally hate (by scheduling posts out for a month), the reality is that it still takes a lot of work to do even that and I still kinda hate that I have to do it. I also keep waiting to figure out the magical formula of what will make my Instagram popular among people who would be my potential customers, but the social media fairies have yet to materialize. I also am committed to figuring out the hashtag formula because I think that’s key. The only problem with that is that it’s super boring to study hashtags, but there you go.

Retail/Wholesale: I’ve learned a bit more about this in the past year and I feel that it’s really a viable option for me moving forward to start earning something now, even if I am not yet licensed. I know that licensing will still be in my future (hopefully), but until then this is an area I feel will be something I have more control over and be able to manage a lot easier than waiting to hear back from others on whether or not they like me (or my artwork at least).

And there are still others there: lettering, education, and digital inventory are all areas I still need to work on. But I am quite happy to see there are several that I am able to check off the list: I have learned Photoshop enough to create patterns in it (thought I could still learn more), I created my portfolio and have actually shown it to people, I’ve created mock-ups and taken “professional” photos, and I have a website and a logo (ever evolving though it may be). I have really accomplished a lot in the past year and it feels good to see that. If all else fails, I am proud of myself for not giving up this past year. For not getting bored and moving on, for showing up and continuing to improve, for still wanting it just as much (if not more) than I did last year.

But I also know that I could have done more. I know that I could have been more disciplined, more focused, and really cracked down and done the work. So it hasn’t been a perfect year, but it has been a good year that has shown me that I do have what it takes to stick this out and really make 2022 the year that I cross (nearly) everything off my to-do list.