Hey guys! I am so back. My exuberance makes me sound about 15 years old, but hey. I really am excited. There’s something about going away and returning that makes me kick my heels up.

I’ve been thinking about the new year and what that means for me. And for you. Do you have big goals to finally do The Thing this year? Or are you committed more than ever to keeping your sanity and being kind to yourself?

I was in a theater production of Scrooge a couple of weeks ago, and at some point in the process I really identified with the old miser himself. Even if I don’t work a bazillion hours a day, my mind is often spinning around my work. If I come up with a brilliant idea for a site I’m working on, I’m a slave to it until it gets out of my head and into Photoshop. The financial pressures of providing for my family keep me up at night more than I publicly admit. My work-related eccentricities abound.

So this year is going to be all about trust for me. Trust in the process. Trust that my genius (you have one too) has gotten me this far and will continue to take me down the path I want to go. To sum up, I’m relaxing my grip and not pushing myself so hard. At the same time, I’m continuing to hold myself to a standard of personal excellence that I will not trespass against.

A round-up of some of my favorite New Years-ey stuff

(I’m addicted to this stuff right now. If you’ve written something especially New Years-ey, include a link in the comments.)

• The definitive guide to sticking to your New Year’s resolutions
• What no one will tell you about the New Year
• Dear 2010. Or, resolution rejection meets personal ad.
• A new way to look at your year / Best Project 2009
• How to design your perfect average day and fearlessly work towards it
• The collapsing zoom of December

Back on Thursday with the next in the series of what you all are lovingly referring to as “the peanut posts” (getting quite a laugh out of that, thanks). Until then, what are you doing with your new year? Your old one?