The half-drunk carton of eggnog is sour, the tree has been dragged to the curb, and the rolls of wrapping paper are well out of sight until they tumble out of the hall closet the next time you open the door.
The holiday season is over, and, if you live in an area like mine (Michigan), it's time to settle in for the remaining five months of winter without the wonder.
Yes, Christmas is out the door, but, if you're like many, one vestige of the holidays will stay with you throughout the year. No, not the fruitcake or the pine needles in the carpeting. I'm talking about New Year's resolutions.
Who hasn't resolved to get in shape, quit smoking or make more money? Then there's my perennial favorite, lose 10 pounds.
Clearly, some resolutions are easier to keep than others and sometimes we need a little push so, as your magazine editor, I'll help you along. Here are some suggestions for your own New Year's resolutions:
1. Think positively. Nothing will sink the country and industry faster than a doomsday outlook. Besides, there are several signs that the economy is picking back up.
2. Renew your free subscription to Walls & Ceilings. Do it before it stops coming in the mail!
3. Practice good business in five easy steps. Review 2001's installments of All in Agreement, Smart Business and The Bridge, plus our business features from the year. Choose five new strategies that could apply to your business. Make an action plan!
4. Log on to the W&C bulletin board. Answer John's Bulletin Board Question of the Month, post a question, crack a joke, answer a question or just read the threads.
5. Request information. Learn more about an advertiser's product by selecting the corresponding number on the Reader Action Card in the magazine or Web Card on W&C's site.
6. Try something new. Sneak out to your workshop and experiment with a technique or product you read about in Plaster Man, The Finish Line, Adventures in Drywall or one of the year's many how-to features.
7. Turn that invention idea into a reality. Every object in the world had an inventor. You can be one, too!
8. Stay on top of industry events. Read W&C's News and Off the Wall columns every month.
9. Sign up for W&C's online newsletter. Get late-breaking news and updates about the site.
And the most important post-holiday, last-the-year-round resolution:
10. Don't forget where you put the Scotch tape.
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On a different note .... Are there people at your company who can't keep their mitts off your copy of Walls & Ceilings? Don't deprive them--pass it along. Or, if you're not in a sharing mood, rip out one of the free-subscription cards in the magazine and hand it to someone who needs it!
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Sarah Mazure
Editor and Publisher
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