Ah, January. The start of a new year and we’re all fresh and bubbly with the potential it brings. Resolutions have been made.
Then, for me at least, I hit my annual ‘why bother with social media’ phase and considering deleting the lot. You can pretty much set the calendar by this – starts in early January and I’m usually out of it a couple of weeks later. I do spend too much time online though, Twitter being the major culprit.
That said, I’ve been working on my ‘create’ theme and doing some sketching. I picked out a couple of great NY cityscapes from a photographer on Instagram and have been having a go at copying them. Not sure if I should share my early progress, but I think progress is being made!
I also picked up a great book last weekend, The Creative Licence by Danny Gregory. It’s not so much a ‘how to’ book, more a ‘why you should (and yes you can)’ book. Some great ideas for giving yourself permission to be creative. Stop worrying about how good (or bad) it is, and just do it. Keep a journal, carry it everywhere. Work in pen to stop yourself from just rubbing out the pencil marks. Take your time, and make the time, even if it’s just 15 minutes a day.
Also my wonderfully creative artist cousin Jina loaned me some of her stash of art books for inspiration. I particularly liked The Daily Zoo and a sketchbook by Nicolas Marlet. Wonderful stuff, and a few things in there I want to have a play around with drawing.
I’ve also started working on a story collaboration with my friend John. He’s recently published a few stories over on Amazon (which you should check out!). It’s something new, and even though it’s at an early stage, it’s still full of exciting potential. I’m in the middle of reading another book (Matthew Reilly’s Great Zoo of China, more of that in another post!) which is just so terrible that it gives me hope. One of those books where you just think if he can write that and get away with it, I know I can do better!
I also want to make more use of my Instagram account. I know not everyone likes Instagram, but there’s something about being forced into the square composition that I quite like. I spotted this the other morning on the way into work, which I quite like.
I’m @dakegra on Instagram if you’re interested in following!
So even though I’ve got the social media blues, I’m still being creative.
Do you get (or have you currently got) the January blues? How do you get yourself out of them?
espresso coco 
I used to get the worst January blues but three years ago my company was bought by a big German company that brings all its employees together for this one insane party in a major German city on the third Friday in January. Somehow having that to look forward to takes the edge off.