My goals for 2019: small and frequent
My to-do list for 2019 is the same I had for 2018: become a better photographer.
The problem is that setting goals for anything creative like photography might be quite difficult. "Make better images" is not a goal that makes sense, since there's no way to measure it.
I do believe we become better at anything -creative endeavors included- the more we practice it, though. That means creating more content in whatever form that helps us improve as photographers.
Committing to create
Making commitments is very important for me. This might not apply to everyone, but I do my best work under pressure: knowing that I have to upload something tomorrow will force me to create that something.
This year, I'm committing myself to create every single day, and that can be easily measured: I will be uploading a new image every day and two new videos every week, among other things.
It might seem counterintuitive to force oneself to create, but I've made some of my best images after dragging myself out of the house into horrible conditions.
I only write when I’m inspired. Luckily, I am inspired at 9 o’clock every morning - disputed quote
Improvement will happen
If I follow through on my commitments, I will be a (much) better photographer by the end of the year. It couldn't be any other way: creating every day makes you a better artist.
Instead of setting big and rather abstract goals for the year, I am making small but frequent commitments.
After all, photography is a marathon that never ends and the only way to keep going forward is step by step.