Happy New Year everyone! As you may have noticed, I’ve had a bit of a break from blogging over the festive period but I’m back now, ready to tackle 2016 head on.

In fact, I have a little announcement to make. Over the last 6 and a bit months I have been working on my very best creation yet – Sam and I are expecting a baby! We are very excited (and very under-prepared!) for our first little one to arrive in March.

This year is going to be full of changes, so I have decided that to make the most of it, we need to be organised. Just before Christmas I found out about a planning system called ‘Bullet Journaling‘. The idea is to note down all plans, goals and things to do in one notebook and take each day as a clean slate with a new list of tasks.

So, I’ve started 2016 with a fresh new journal and a fresh set of resolutions, ready to face the exciting months ahead!

If all else fails this year, my main resolution is to be a great mum. I can’t quite imagine what life will be like after March, but I’m looking forward to beginning maternity leave and spending time with our new baby.

With time off work, I’m hoping that I can also build up my art business some more – in between feeding, nappy changes and being exhausted!

My new journal is the first step towards being more organised and more productive. I often find myself wasting hours procrastinating – scrolling through Facebook, admiring art on instagram, poring over artists’ blogs – when really I could put the time to a more productive use.

I have to say, I think this is going to be the hardest of all. I’m guilty of spending far too much time on Facebook, and while it’s interesting to see what everyone is up to, most of the time, it’s just like reading through a cheap gossip magazine. Compelling reading but not adding anything to my day!

Doing some more illustration work is part of my plan to build up my art business. Having finished a big illustrated map for Le Boat, once the baby is born I should have time to take on some new projects.

My paper cutting templates in my Etsy shop Clare Willcocks Art sell quite well and I haven’t made any new ones for a while, so I’m keen to get cutting again.

At university I studied French, Spanish and Russian, but over the last few years I’ve let all of them lapse. I love languages, so I really want to make sure I find time to read, listen and speak them this year so that I keep them fresh in my mind.

Another resolution to combat procrastination! I really want to feel that I have spent my time wisely this year.

You might remember that this featured among my 2015 resolutions! I did, indeed, get my ears pierced again, and this year I’d like to add another set so that I can wear three studs each side.

This one has begun already! I have a terrible memory, but I’m sure there will be lots of lovely days that I’d like to remember this year so recording them in a journal seems the perfect way to preserve them forever.

I think this might be slightly difficult to achieve when the baby arrives, but my aim is to draw something, anything, each day. It could be a small 5 minute sketch or a day working on a commission, but the aim is to not let a day go by without doing something creative.

My final resolution is to stay happy! I’m very happy at the moment and I definitely don’t want that to change, so if one thing stays constant this year, I want it to be happiness!

A couple of days before New Year, I spend a few hours setting up my journal. I love stationery, neat writing and organisation, so I was completely in my element with this. Below is a year at a glance calendar, including those all-important bank holiday dates.

These are my first entries for January. If I can, I’ll try to draw a sketch each day, but I’m not too fussed on keeping the format exactly the same. I want the system to be flexible enough that I can record more on interesting days and less when I haven’t done much.

And that brings me to the end of my first post for 2016! I hope you’ve all had a lovely Christmas and New Year with family and friends and are looking forward to what 2016 has in store.

I’m sharing this post on the following blogs: Handmade Harbour and Blue Chair Diary Illustrations!