This is kind of an addendum to the posts regarding The Schedule, a subject that is ongoing in our house of creative entrepreneurial endeavors, job seeking, baby care and day to day surprises. This list of all the plates we have spinning is loaded with emotional content, from the lows of frustration in the job search to the sweat and pitch of artistic inspiration of the many, many, many emotions that come from every little thing my baby nephews do. So, if you are trying to fit your head and your heart around a lot of shifting energies, I hope some of this will prove to be beneficial. The links should all open a new window (I hope!) if you wish to jump around.
I'll start with inspiration through commiseration, a link to a guest article from HeartHandmade. Adele's article outlines perfectly the inner dialogue when events in your life begin to compete and quickly overturn owning a business. Read the article "Navigating the Storm" here.
One of the most basic steps to creating a routine (that took me a while to figure out) is that our daily/ weekly schedule in the house was easier to make after a week of putting off making the schedule in the first place. Ah ha, sometimes in the not having you begin to get more clear with yourself about what the *have* would feel like. So my sister and myself observed and made note for just about a week as to what a week looked like already, what time spent together was productive, and where the traps were. The next step, which we ourselves are coming up on, is to check in after around two weeks and see what is working, what needs work. Personally, and as this pertains to my Etsy/ ouou time, I've applied these same guidelines to my shop itself and my time spent working on new products, and I feel much more clear with myself as to when and how often this work gets done.
We are lucky enough to live in a house with an extra room, and I can't express how incredible it is to have a study, studio, a room of one's own... we have named ours the "Room of Requirement". This serves as a work space for both of the working adults in the house, who are often using the space at opposite times of the day. I use my own room for the folders, stacks, boxes and organized chaos that comes along with the working half of an Etsy business, and the Room of Requirement houses my computer, shipping material, and the Gocco. I find it extremely helpful to do my computer work in a separate room, and even the Gocco printing I've done was quick, fun, and efficient.
I stumbled upon this blog post about having a catch-all room in the house, even more eye opening as it is geared toward children and parents (or Autnies, depending) sharing the space. Just reading the words Playful Learning made me feel inspired about the potential behind shared spaces. Follow the blog here.
C brought my attention to Modish Business Tips, a sideline blog by the curators of the sleek and stylish Modish. I've found these short articles to be very accessible and thought provoking. Last year at some point The Small Object had a post about using NOLO as a resource, but in my first year of the shop I found it very intimidating. Somehow with the people-person speak of Modish I've felt confident in going back and doing more research there. Certainly, as this spring I've begun selling wholesale and consignment to local shops here in Portland, these business structures and facts are helping to guide my steps like never before.
I've got to step away from the computer for now, so I hope this has brought some new links to explore and inspire. Feel free to leave any others in comments- I'll pick up where I left off here next week!
I'll start with inspiration through commiseration, a link to a guest article from HeartHandmade. Adele's article outlines perfectly the inner dialogue when events in your life begin to compete and quickly overturn owning a business. Read the article "Navigating the Storm" here.
One of the most basic steps to creating a routine (that took me a while to figure out) is that our daily/ weekly schedule in the house was easier to make after a week of putting off making the schedule in the first place. Ah ha, sometimes in the not having you begin to get more clear with yourself about what the *have* would feel like. So my sister and myself observed and made note for just about a week as to what a week looked like already, what time spent together was productive, and where the traps were. The next step, which we ourselves are coming up on, is to check in after around two weeks and see what is working, what needs work. Personally, and as this pertains to my Etsy/ ouou time, I've applied these same guidelines to my shop itself and my time spent working on new products, and I feel much more clear with myself as to when and how often this work gets done.
We are lucky enough to live in a house with an extra room, and I can't express how incredible it is to have a study, studio, a room of one's own... we have named ours the "Room of Requirement". This serves as a work space for both of the working adults in the house, who are often using the space at opposite times of the day. I use my own room for the folders, stacks, boxes and organized chaos that comes along with the working half of an Etsy business, and the Room of Requirement houses my computer, shipping material, and the Gocco. I find it extremely helpful to do my computer work in a separate room, and even the Gocco printing I've done was quick, fun, and efficient.
I stumbled upon this blog post about having a catch-all room in the house, even more eye opening as it is geared toward children and parents (or Autnies, depending) sharing the space. Just reading the words Playful Learning made me feel inspired about the potential behind shared spaces. Follow the blog here.
C brought my attention to Modish Business Tips, a sideline blog by the curators of the sleek and stylish Modish. I've found these short articles to be very accessible and thought provoking. Last year at some point The Small Object had a post about using NOLO as a resource, but in my first year of the shop I found it very intimidating. Somehow with the people-person speak of Modish I've felt confident in going back and doing more research there. Certainly, as this spring I've begun selling wholesale and consignment to local shops here in Portland, these business structures and facts are helping to guide my steps like never before.
I've got to step away from the computer for now, so I hope this has brought some new links to explore and inspire. Feel free to leave any others in comments- I'll pick up where I left off here next week!
1 comment:
I'm proud of your resolve, sweet lola. You are doing fine. *hugs*
xoxo, V
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