Sometime in 2019 I made an offhand remark admiring a friend’s thoughtful approach to end of year personal reflection and planning. Soon, a slim, string bound notebook arrived in the mail. “This is basically what I use,” she said. “Happy New Year!”
I didn’t touch the notebook itself but instead copied and modified the prompts in a – you guessed it – Google Doc so I could use them from one year to the next. This is now year six of me copying last year’s prompts and reflecting on the year prior while planning for the next. I find the exercise invaluable. I am often surprised, when I review the previous year’s reflections, at how prescient past-me was, and how far I’ve come. As Reesa, my stepdaughter, casually said to me last week: “I feel like we’re both New Year’s girlies”. She’s not wrong.
I’ll share some of my personal and professional reflecting going into 2025 below. But in the spirit of paying my friend’s gift to me forward, here’s the rundown of prompts if you are wanting to do some intentional New Year’s-ing of your own:
- What was awesome about this past year?
- What was not-so-awesome about this past year?
- Looking at the highlights of the last year, what themes emerge? What is it about these themes that are important to me? How does it feel when these themes are present in my life?
- What goals or habits can I set to create more highlights in the coming year?
- What were the biggest lessons I learned this past year?
- What made me uncomfortable in the past year that turned out to have a positive impact?
- How can I make the world a better place and help others this year?
- How did I feel about my physical health this past year? What are my intentions for my physical health for the coming year? What actions do I want to take, and how do I want to feel?
- How did I feel about my mental health this past year? What are my intentions for my mental health for the coming year? What actions do I want to take, and how do I want to feel?
- How did I feel about my relationships this past year? ” ”
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Dreaming and scheming from “The Lahnd”, our 30 acres in Northern Arizona.
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If the planning framework/prompts above are oh-kay, but you’re craving planning on a more foundational level, check out this blog post from last year. I do NOT claim to be an expert on your or even my life, but having envisioned and carried through some massive changes myself and also continuing to provide strategic planning support to organizations via consulting, I share these tools in case they are useful. Obviously, modify the process as you see fit – and, if you do, please tell me how!
Okay! Here is some of what I’ve been reflecting on and planning for myself and Alli Harvey Art.
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Left to right, starting at the top: 1) New Year’s Morning 2024 was spent ringing in sunrise with surprise-backpacking pals on a sand dune ridge in Death Valley National Park. That’s right: we *ran into* friends in the park, and happened to have the same backpacking itinerary, AND yours truly – me – did something pre-coffee. 2) cholla “bones” near our winter campsite outside of Tucson; I find their symmetry beautiful. 3) ringing in my 39th year on the fabled playa of the Black Rock Desert with good friends and tunes. 4) a long walk across Boston while visiting my family back east. 5) an uphill walk with a good friend, on a trail that is so achingly familiar (it used to be practically in my backyard) but also still-magical.
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- Here’s a shocker: many of my happiest moments were spent outside. A winning formula for me: outdoors + connection = magic.
- I am feeling burned out on Alli Harvey Art, the business/admin. But, thankfully, not burned out on art. I identified one of my personal values as “expression”.
- Novelty is important to me, even – or, arguably, especially – when it takes effort to break out of my norm. I love having the flexibility to see friends and family in different contexts, and to define “home” as so many different places/experiences, with an anchor in the Airstream.
- I live on a continuum between feral and functional, sometimes at either end of the extremes. I love it here – whether in dirtbag-backpacking-mode, at the easel during an art event in bright lipstick, or showered/in my facilitation costume and ready to work. It turns out there are many ways to appear in drag, and that’s how I think of the different ways I prepare and dress for these different facets of myself.
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A highlight: hanging my work up at Nevada Sunset Winery in downtown Reno, NV! We had a lovely “soft” opening in late August. Squint real close, and you can clearly see that these are the backpackers in “Peekaboo”, 12″x12″. If you live in/near Reno, grab a glass of wine – I can 100% vouch for it, it’s excellent – and say hi to my paintings!
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Goals & Practices for 2025
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- Prioritize excitement for and connection to painting. This is why I’m here, doing what I’m doing, right?! How you’ll see it show up: continued occasional experimental paintings, more routine sketches/play, new paints, more trips to the art supply store to keep supplies top shape.
- Integrate more of my personal and professional selves and deepen connections with people, while looking for ways to streamline Alli Harvey Art, the business. The idea here is to emphasize what gives me energy – creating art, expression, connection – while making the more administrative side of things more efficient so it requires less of me. Ideally, this will help alleviate some of my burnout feeling. How you’ll see it show up: more personal writing here, possibly a change in my website (maybe visible to you, maybe not), possibly a change in how I do merchandise packing/shipping, definitely organizing/showing up at events throughout the year.
- Create meaning and purpose. These are my two “focus words” for the coming year (a practice that helps me), especially as I hold myself accountable to staying engaged through a second Trump administration and whatever that holds in store. How you’ll see it show up: creating art in line with my values (awe, dignity, and doing), partnering with organizations, donating artwork and a percentage of my income to causes aligned with my values, showing up when asked/volunteering.
- 40 as a bingo card vs a bash. I’ll turn forty (!) on May 27, 2025. I’ve racked my brain for how I want to celebrate, but every time I imagine one discrete event it doesn’t feel real. And actually, even trying to plan one feels impossible: living the way I do, I have too many disparate connections with people I love in too many places, with busy lives of their own, to ever really get the full band together. And doesn’t that sound overwhelming anyway? So, instead of viewing my 40th as a “bash” (one big party or event), I’m looking at the year as more of a bingo card. Some experiences I’d like: something long-form and outdoors (my first ultra marathon provided I can train through an injury I’m working on healing, and/or a long walk/hike); an outdoors dance party in the middle of nowhere with good friends and some pop-up ambiance like sparkly lights + costumes, under the stars; a delicious and multi-course dinner with Wes and Reesa that feels out of time and place and involves getting dressed up plus perfectly shiny glasses; reclining somewhere with a view and probably some sand + water with my bestie and beverages with twisty straws; the ability to complete ten unassisted pull-ups – I’m currently at three, which is three more than I ever thought myself capable. In short, I celebrate that I’m reaching year forty and it feels much more viable to realize the event/moment in discrete, singular experiences versus at one time.
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Right here! We’re staying on “The Lahnd” (the Harskins Homestead?! Maybe!) through the spring!
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I am elated to share I am writing you this email from 30 acres of Joshua Tree-dotted land in the middle of beautiful nowheresville, AZ. The closest town to us is Yucca, but that’s forty minutes away. At night we can see stars and planets – even the milky way, in the dead of winter – and by day, our new solar setup translates the sun into what’s (finally) powering the Airstream. Last week we got our well up and running, which is a major upgrade!
We made the decision to stay on here from winter all the way through spring. So the next major move you’ll see us make is from Arizona up to Reno for the summer. But that’s (checks watch) nearly a half a year away. What’s this?! Some semblance of stability for us?! Hell must be freezing over (in related news, I’m trying yoga…truly, who knows what’s going on).
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I’ll be rolling out a few additional specific art initiatives in the coming weeks – including opportunities/asks for you to be part of this whole “purpose and meaning” focus I have in the coming year. Stay tuned. In the meantime, please do reply and catch me up on how you’re doing, whether you resonated with anything in this email, what you want more of, etc etc. I love getting to hear from you. Wishing you and yours a very happy end of year and good start to the next, whatever that looks and feels like for you.
Alli
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