There’s nothing quite like the feeling of a blank canvas at the start of a New Year - the chance to take stock and think ahead to what 2025 might hold.
A few years back I wrote a blog post about creating a New Year vision board. Building on that, I wanted to share some of the things I use to get me excited and focused on the coming months. I also have some suggestions for books to pick up if you feel stuck in a creative rut.
A vision board is great starting point to get thinking about goals for the coming year. Whilst Pinterest is a popular option, I love a physical board. I have a wire board which is super easy to change around when I feel like it. You can find similar boards at Dunelm, IKEA and Amazon. I first of all jot down a list of ideas for images to include on my board and then it’s it just a case of cutting pictures out of magazines or finding them online and printing them off. Just having images in front of me, next to my desk, keeps things fresh in my mind.
I also adore my Vision Board Reimagined book from Bold Tuesday. This is a great option if you prefer something not on display and that you can tuck away. It’s such clever idea.
I’m a big lover of journals and I made a fantastic discovery last year- the Project You Journal - Goodbye 2024, Hello 2025. I bought last year’s and it proved to be a brilliant way of checking in every few months on how things were going with home life, career etc. It’s really well thought out and brilliantly designed and it will really get you setting goals and reflecting as you go through the year.
Another recommended journal is the original Five Minute Journal which comes in book format or as an app and gives you a chance to set your intentions and reflect on your day in short sentences. I dip in and out of this one and always sense a shift in mood when I take time to do it.
A few books that have helped me when I have felt in a bit of a creative rut are The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron and Austin Kleon’s book Keep Going. Austin’s paid weekly newsletter is also well worth investing in as he always has something interesting to say on creativity and his blog posts generate brilliant discussions with his Substack subscribers. The Source by Tara Swart has a great chapter on the power of action boards. This article by Tara is also worth a read.
Finally, taking classes in subjects that interest me always gets the creative juices flowing. I regularly use Domestika and this past year have watched courses on drone photography, cinematography and cinematic colour and life journalling. For photographers, I can also recommend Creative Live and Click Photo School.
Hope these suggestions help and a very happy 2025!