From the Editor: Check, Please

Happy 2018!  You have about a week left before your New Year’s resolutions end up in the trash. Not being a downer, just stating facts: 80 percent of New Year’s resolutions fail by the second week of February, according to US News. The gyms are going to become less crowded. Your grocery cart will mysteriously acquire ice cream and potato chips. And the junk drawer in the kitchen is going to look exactly the same as it did in December.  

So, how do you make this year-long to-do list last more than six weeks? Write it down. Display it somewhere you see every day. And track it. At least that’s what Chip Eichelberger, the keynote speaker at a recent event I attended, says to do.

At the event, Chip asked the audience on what date did we write down our New Year’s resolutions? A unanimous “January 1” filled the room. He then asked on what date did we look at it again? The answer that few were brave enough to say out loud? January 1… of the next year. 

I may be part of the 80 percent when it comes to my personal resolutions. (Scrolling through Instagram at night sometimes just has greater appeal than reading a new book.) But that hasn’t been the case for Big Picture’s 2018 goals: 

Hire a new associate editor. Check. Anya Rao joined the Big Picture and Screen Printing editorial teams mid-January. Her name may be familiar to some in the industry: Anya held the same position at Signs of the Times from 2002 to 2006 as well as a freelancing position for Big Picture in 2008, so she comes with wide-format digital print industry knowledge and experience.

Get a website face-lift. Check. Our new website is here! The new bigpicture.net has a timeless design; a fresh, user-friendly experience; and, of course, superior coverage of the hottest products and technologies, late-breaking industry news and events, intriguing case studies, expert insight, and much more.

Create a new column. Check. You’ll read Rachel Nunziata’s column on the incredible opportunities digital printing brings to the interior décor industry in our upcoming March issue. 

Launch a new event. Check. WFX: Wide-Format Exchange, in partnership with SGIA, is set for Minneapolis, May 21-23. It’s a three-day event filled with networking, educational seminars, thought-provoking keynote speakers, and idea exchange – all designed specifically for top executives from high-volume, wide-format print providers and other printers poised to add wide-format inkjet printing to their businesses. (You should add this to your 2018 travel plans.)

Some of these goals have been in the works for years and some are quite recent. But they were written down, displayed, and tracked. Check. 

It’s not too late to take your 2018 list out of the trash, flatten it out, and paste it somewhere you’ll see it every day. Your checkmarks will come sooner than you think.