Welcome to our 2016 Woodworking Resolutions blogger series. Every year we invite our bloggers to share their resolutions specific to their woodworking goals for the new year. Click each link below to read our bloggers’ resolutions!
As the New Year approaches, it is really good to take a step back and look at your past year. Woodwork is not really a subject that can ever be “mastered.” There is always a new avenue to be taken, a new skill that can be learned, a different technique to be practiced. No two pieces of wood are the same, no two projects end with the exact same result. With that in mind, I never want my growth in this craft to become stagnant, so at the end of the year, I like to ask myself “what did I learn this year? Of what project am I most proud? What were my greatest successes and failures?” “How do I want to learn and grow next year? Is there a specific task I want to get better at? How can I get the most out of the time I have in the shop?” Goals and aspirations are great, but my favorite professor in business school once told me something that really stuck: Don’t just think and talk about the things you want to accomplish, or you won’t actually accomplish them. Write down measurable, achievable goals and put the paper somewhere you will see it every day. Then you’ll be constantly reminded about and motivated toward the accomplishment of those goals and will be able to hold yourself accountable.
Anne Briggs Bohnett is a 26 year old woodworker out of Seattle, Washington. She and her husband Adam own and operate a small farm aimed at teaching youngsters about animal husbandry, traditional woodwork, and it’s also where their food comes from! Anne has been seriously pursuing woodwork with a focus on handtool use for three years and is passionate about the preservation of traditional methods and skills and building community.
Anne can be reached directly via email at briggs.anne@gmail.com and you can check out her website at www.anneofalltrades.com.