ZOMG, it’s the final Groundhog Day Resolution Review of 2013! After today, I stop worrying about 2013 about my resolutions and surrender to holiday madness until February 2nd rolls around.

I have a feeling that I didn’t really make any progress, but let me do a quick review.

Last Month’s Last Gasp

In November I wrote out this list of projects that I considered to be “in the queue”. I’m using my text file todo list notation where o = not done, x = done, and . = in-progress:

o  Consolidating all the digital projects on one store.
x  Updating calendars for 2014.
o  Creating “how to use” collateral for all the productivity tools I’ve designed.
.  Creating wholesale packages for the Shopify store.
o  Adding more products.
.  Blogging frequently, and more accessibly.
x  Clearing the backlog of reader emails and conversations that need to be shared!

So I didn’t do much for the store or for collateral, though I did put some effort into catching up with email and preparing for physical wholesale fulfillment. Last time I also wrote a list of specific tasks hoping that I could get them out of the way:

.  Create new packaging SKUs for Shopify Store
.  Create Wholesale Packages
o  Create Collateral for a Productivity Tool or Three

Again, not that much progress. The best I can say is that I got a few things done, but didn’t finish anything concrete that I would consider a new asset. I wish I was faster at getting these done, but it’s been a challenge to maintain energy and enthusiasm for e-commerce. Bah.

Reviewing the Year as a Whole

It’s more interesting to look back at the overall pattern of the past 10 months, so I can see what I did accomplish. Here is a summary of my activity in chronological order:

1. Started the year by defining a joyful state of creative making as my desired “state of being” goal. To attain this, I hypothesized that creating a system of “creative independence”, where my creative work generated an income through creating products rather than services, was the way to do this. 2. I started by creating a large number of products in February, and then reorganized the website to showcase them more effectively on the front page.
2. I established a new e-commerce outlet through Shopify, and put some test products on it.
3. Mid-year, I hit a wall as I lost enthusiasm for e-commerce and marketing activities. In hindsight, I felt overwhelmed and demoralized by the sheer amount of work and uncertainty in how best to do the work. I tried to treat this as a “fun problem” to solve, but it just isn’t that enjoyable. It’s hard to make great marketing material if you’re not enjoying the process.
4. The lack of enjoyment led to a slump from the summer through the fall, and what I did get done exacted a very high energy cost. I managed to get International shipping working (though without products in the store), and got a CPA to help me track finances going forward in the business, but creating better collateral materials just didn’t happen.
5. Toward the end of the year, not realizing that I was just bummed out by e-commerce and marketing, I spent a lot of time tinkering with sleeping schedules, attitude adjustment, and being more disciplined.

I feel a mild sense of accomplishment for 2013, but I don’t feel a sense of closure. I think that I’m on the right path, but I don’t have the right attitude or spirit. I did come up with new (to me) ways to get unstuck and persevere through uncertainty. I also have some new ways of dealing with the feeling of being overwhelmed and tuning-out those parts of me that make me feel bad. And, I have accepted that many tasks just take a lot of time, particularly when they are unfamiliar.

For 2014, I think I need to learn to have fun getting those important e-commerce and marketing projects done. I might also benefit from regular sleeping habits too. The most satisfying way I know of to fall asleep is to have gotten something significant done during the day. Additionally, there are many unresolved challenging projects that are before me, and I grow increasingly perturbed at my lack of progress on them. Achieving creative independence is one of the major ones, but there are other projects (like programming my own video game) that have eluded me since I was in secondary school. I want to get some work done there with a community of like-minded creatives, and I have some ideas on how to make that happen using a simple social sharing mechanism.

Summary

It’s been an eventful year, and I think I have confirmed that I am on the right path. I think creative independence can work. However, I have not found my groove. I’m not having fun, I’m not inspired, and I’m not able to kick-back and enjoy the fruits of my labor in sweet luxury. In 2014, I should be able to make some progress and have a better time doing it. Maybe not be so serious about it?

Anyway, HAPPY HOLIDAYS to all, and let’s pick it up again come February 2nd!