Getting back
into Practice.

Ruth Asawa and her family by Imogen Cunnigham

Setting goals and keeping ourselves accountable.

Setting goals and keeping ourselves accountable.

What do you need that you don't currently have?

Time? Space? Curiosity? Inspiration? Community? Solitude? New experiences? A mentor? Accountability ? Sleep? Specific training or materials? Assistance? Childcare? Direction? Visibility? etc.

  • Could you use space. in your home differently, or use other public spaces to work in?

  • How could you change your routine or eliminate tasks to create more time?

  • Could you appoint a friend or colleague as an accountability tracker, or mentor?

  • Could you trade, with friends for childcare or materials, or collaborate with others to make those things more accessible?

  • Could you change the way you work to make it more productive given your current situation?

Creative ways to make this work:

Start by answering two simple questions:

Judy Chicago and volunteers in The Dinner Party studio, Photo by Amy Meadow

1. What would creative success look like for this year?

A few prompts in case you are blanking: 

  • think about outcomes you’d like to see (you can think about artists or peers you admire for inspiration)

  • think about how you want to feel at the end of the year

  • think about tangible products of your creative practice (could be objects, monetary, quantifiable results)

2. “I’m not doing goals, I’m doing conditions”: what conditions do you need to achieve your goals?

Prompts for the more pragmatic of us who need to think this through.

  • think about the current blockers to your creative practice  

  • brainstorm ways they could be solved (i.e. blocking time on your calendar, creating incentives, signing up for a class, etc.)

  • How much time would you like to invest (daily, weekly or monthly)

  • How can you leverage your community (for help, feedback accountability)

  • Will you share your work and how?

  • pick your top 3 actions that you can implement on a regular basis

  • create a ritual with the same regularity to reflect.

The simple action of reflecting and writing some ideas down will make a difference in how you approach this year. The more often you can go back to your notes, look at your objectives and learn from them, the more likely you will reach them. The truth is, like any resolutions you can do this anytime and you can also review and edit your goals based on your learnings and life changes.


Additionally, We highly encourage you to find an accountability partner, and check on each other on a regular basis with a lot of kindness and trust. If you are struggling to find someone, drop us a note, introducing yourself and what you are looking to accomplish and we will do our best to put you in touch with someone.

These key questions were inspired by the Artist in Residency in Motherhood and their Residency Kit, a more comprehensive way to create structure and accountability for your practice which include some of the following: all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.