Lettergirl

Success, parts 5-6-7.

Set a timer.

Now, I'm usually not a procrastinator.  I love my work and I love to organize; those two things fit together very nicely, thank you.  But faced with a whole day to do whatever kind of work I want?  I dither.  I resort to list-writing.  I snack.  That was my day on Monday:  a little of this, a little of that, but not a whole lot of anything.  So on Tuesday, I set the timer.  You've got 2 hours to work on this project.  Then 2 hours for this one.  A deadline is not a bad thing.  (It also helped that I started my day with exercise and companionship.)

Keep a journal. 

This year I'm pondering:  What is success?  What does it mean to thrive?  I've started a journal so I can jot my ideas down as they come to me.  I'm also giving some serious thought to working through The Artist's Way.   A friend in the Magic Wand Collective leads an Artist's Way workshop, but I may just start in with the morning pages now.  Tomorrow!

Pay it forward.

I'm trying to figure out how I can get more flat-out creative time into every single day.  I'm thinking of adding The Brilliant Idea Hour to my daily schedule:  an hour set aside each day to work out whatever brilliant idea I can't wait to try.  And if I didn't have a brilliant idea that day, I could play.  Or watch a video on creative living (like Good Life Project).  How do you get creative?  What fuels your fire? 

Now for sale at Spoonflower.

I'm excited to announce that I've written up a few of my favorite quotations and made them available as wall decals on Spoonflower.  See the options here.  The decals are available in 5", 15" and 30" sizes, and are PVC-free and eco-friendly.  I'll be adding more wall decal designs over the next few months and am happy to talk to you about a custom design too.  Have a favorite quote you'd love to see on your wall?  Let me know!

Four love pillows.

I've been enjoying creating designs for fabric so much that I finally decided it was time to enter one of Spoonflower's weekly contests.  Luckily for me, the theme this week is Love Letters.  I'd be so grateful if you'd take a peek at the contest -- there are many darling designs to make it worth your while.  (And you can vote for as many as you like!)  Vote here.  (You may have to scroll through multiple pages as the images are loaded randomly.  Look for the image above.)  And thank you!

Success, part 4.

Music (or not).

When I am really in the heat of creating, I prefer silence; anything else is distracting to me.  When I'm cleaning, or coloring, or stitching, then bring on the music.  Lately, I've been listening to the original soundtrack to Les Mis, but after seeing the new movie, I bought the new soundtrack as well.    (I loved the movie, but I think the soundtrack is better suited to the film than it is to listening independently.)  I usually like music that I know so well I can sing along (a little harder with the thin walls in my new studio). 

Home is a different story.  My husband puts on something new every single night, as soon as he gets home.  I'm grateful for his eclectic taste.  Lately it's old 12-inch singles on the turntable, perfect for making dinner or washing dishes.

How about you:  music, or not?

Success, part 3.

Do your homework.

Last year during my play-week, my intent was really to play, to make stuff.  Then I found myself running out to get things, or wishing I had ordered custom fabric in advance -- so that I had it in my hands to play with.  (Instead I spent part of the week creating the custom fabric -- fun, but then when the fabric came in, I had to wait awhile before I had a chunk of time to make something with it.)

This year it's a little of both.  I've created a few new designs on Spoonflower, which I'll be telling you more about in my next newsletter.  I carved out time here and there in January to make them, I ordered them last week, and I'm hoping they'll be here by the end of next week so I can play with them.  I'm also noodling on yet another Spoonflower project, so I can enjoy the front-end of the process during this time too, even if I have to wait to put it together.

Of course, it's a fine line between being preparing and procrastinating.  Writing lists, stocking up on Good & Plenty (which is what I meant when I said "have the right food"), and getting your supplies in order are all great ways to stoke your fire -- but only if they add to your creative energy.  What do you do to get ready to be creative?  Clean your studio?  Buy new colored pencils?  Jump in?

 

Success, part 2.

Second in a series on habits for success in the studio.  The series starts here.

Get comfortable.

I am so much more successful during the day if I'm not distracted by "What's for lunch?"  If I've got my tea, a lunch (even better if it's warm), water, a snack, then I don't have to spend any energy thinking about it (other than the energy of looking forward to it). 

This would seem to be a no-brainer, but it's a strategy I often forget.  A couple of weeks ago I had a Friday all set aside for creative work, but I rushed out the door with just a mandarin for lunch.  I learned my lesson.

What's your favorite winter lunch?  You can find my recipe for Southwestern Corn Chowder here.

Setting myself up for success.

My etsy shop is closed February 4-18.

As I did last year, I've set it up so I can have a week of etsy organizing (new designs! new photos!) and a week of play.  However, as I got midway through the second week last year, I started to panic:  This is it! You've only got a few more days to play!  Are you using it wisely? 

So this year I've given it a little thought first:  How can I set myself up for success?  Each day during my break I'd like to share a habit with you about how I set myself up for success.

Make a list, then walk away.

Seriously girl, it's only a couple of weeks.  But I want to make the most of them, so my first step was to make a list of everything I wanted to do.  And then I closed the notebook and let the list sit there for a couple of weeks.  When I came back to it, I was able to cross a few things off and add a few other things.   Sure, random "play" sounds fun two months in advance, but as my break got closer, I realized that setting up projects would be more valuable to me than just walking into the studio and saying, "What do I feel like doing today?"

I really had two lists:  one for all the housekeeping tasks I want to take care of in the shop (by far, the longer list), and one list of creative projects I've been wanting to try.

I arranged my list into things that will take a half-day (about 3 hours) and things that are quicker (an hour or two).  Then I made sure that I didn't have 15 days worth of stuff to do.  In the end, I have nine days worth of stuff -- not as much wiggle room as I'd like, especially on the creative end, but it's a start. 

How do you set yourself up for success?  Over the next two weeks as I share my own strategies, I hope you'll comment with tips of your own.

Quotation Friday.

Lettergirl will be closed February 4-18 for winter cleaning.  I'm excited to bring you new designs, new photos, and a surprise or two!

Resolutions and such.

About two weeks ago I started a post on my typical workday for January.  And there it sits in my notebook, all lonely and forgotten.  Well, not really forgotten -- more like whining: Remember me?  I will get back to it.  I will.

Meanwhile, here are a few things that have inspired me this month:

New Year's Resolutions, handwritten!

list it tuesday at Artsyville, because I love lists (and Artsyville!)

The Reconstructionists, part history lesson/part glorious art/part feminist groove thang

Happy Wednesday.  And if you've seen anything inspiring you'd like to share, please leave me a note in the comments.  I'm slogging through some bookkeeping this morning (which I really don't mind, it's just that I'm so far behind) and wouldn't mind a little something to look forward to at lunch.

To be (dis)continued.

Three designs have been in my shop from the very beginning:

Rachel

Ursula

Katie

These three have been around so long they're practically old friends.  But it's time to make room for new designs (and fresh new photos), and so I'm retiring these three when lettergirl closes for winter break on February 4th.