I’ve been doing lots of photography today, looking at colours in particular. I did a short spell on my accounts, some e-mails, a bit of reading, some cooking…you get the idea. As the day progressed I was intrigued how one activity prompted something else, how the distraction of doing my accounts helped me come back to my photography assignment anew.

It all put me in mind of an old RSAanimate favourite that I revisited this evening. If you are interested in learning and how the brain works I can really recommend The Divided Brain. It moves away from the old debate about Left Brain/Right Brain and builds more on notions of the Intuitive and Rational minds and how we have come to privilege one over the other. Enjoy!

Having spent most of the day filing (ugh!) and using that as a means of reviewing last year I was really struck by the many directions my curiosity had taken me in. One of the joys of working freelance is that I can generally  go where my energy and interests take me. My research led me to examining mergers and acquisitions, exploring the use of the visual research methods and looking at double binds in relation to learning. Through my consultancy and coaching I have worked with theatres, galleries, dance companies, festivals and individual creatives. I have been improving my photography, learning British Sign Language, and even doing some drawing. I feel really lucky to have had the opportunities I’ve had.

That said it feels like 2013 is the time to focus in on a few areas that I can work at exploiting in more depth. I do not imagine that it is going to be an easy year in the arts and cultural sector; the full impact of the Arts Council’s latest restructure is yet to be felt, more local authorities are announcing cut backs, and the public sector will continue to contract.

I am keen to find some practical responses to these ongoing changes that I can share with other like-minded enterprising individuals. If you are going through a similar process and haven’t already come across it I can recommend Business Model You. It works well for me because of its visual, one page format. I have found it a really powerful tool for pulling together and testing out my ideas.

Here we are at the beginning of 2013, and as I emerge out of the fog of flu I can finally start to focus on the year ahead. This is not about resolutions or predictions; it is simply a chance, in this quiet space before the phone starts to ring again and the e-mails pile up, to think about the direction I might want to take.

I like Seth Godin’s approach that suggests taking stock, more of an inventory. Thinking about what I gained in 2012 and what I need to improve on – opportunities I may have missed that I need to revisit. All in all it feels like there is a more of a need for a move to action than ever.

I have also played with my cosmic ordering cards and several things came up – being mindful of my connectivity and how I use my energy, managing negatively toned emotions and the barriers they create, and using my dreams more creatively.

I was encouraged by one card to take a good look at myself in the mirror and ask the question

‘Who do I see?’